Artist description Music for Americans who think with a British accent

Music Style melodic pop

Musical Influences The Who, Guided by Voices, Neil Young, Pedro the Lion, Damien Jurado

Similar Artists Guided by Voices, The Ocean Blue, Oasis

Artist History It must rain quite frequently in Dayton, Ohio. Well, even if Dayton doesn't have the same feel as Seattle or London, songwriter Mike Ruetschle has created a similar musical world of beauty, hope, introversion, and tranquil rage right here in the Midwest. And with the help of Seattle, Washington's new Poptek Recordings, Ruetschle is proud to release his second album, Lesser than Opaque. After four years of living in Portland, Oregon and playing the Seattle and Portland music scenes with his brother's band Spacefighter, Ruetschle returned to his hometown set on expressing his own musical ideas. These years worth of ideas and song fragments have culminated and morphed into the rock'n'roll gems found on Lesser than Opaque as well as his debut, self-titled rock lp. The previous use of "gems" is not just meant to be shallow hype. The Smiths broke up before they ever made a bad album. The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album is perfect from top to bottom. And in the same consistent manner, Ruetschle is a songwriter in the true pop language of the word. No albums full of filler. No thoughtless melodies combined with thoughtless progressions. Just an aim for the catchiest, most beautiful combination of overlying melodies and underlying instrumental progressions. Ruetschle states, "I figure that if I can strip the song down to just guitar and vocals, and the song still has the same essence, then it's worthy to keep. I think that that is what classic songs have." Take All I Get from You for example. It's the definition of classic pop. Other songs on Ruetschle's sophomore project range from the upbeat (Going Solo, The Real Thing) to the somber (To See the World) and even to the aggressive (Radiate the Cost of Grace, The Dark Side). But Ruetschle paints these pictures, not with clearly stated intentions, but with dreamy melodies, atmospheres, and stream of consciousness ramblings. It's exploratory music, with a faux-british accent. While most of the instruments on self-titled rock lp were recorded by Ruetschle with minimal help, Ruetschle says, "I don't like to play alone." He since has recruited friends from Dayton and Seattle to help split his personality for live shows and to make Lesser than Opaque a louder, moodier piece of rock. They definitely have achieved that. Still, new songs are being written. The sound is always evolving. And shows in Dayton and the surrounding areas are becoming more frequent. So in the end, the future is bright for Mike Ruetschle. That means the future is a bit brighter for pop music as well.

Group Members Mike Ruetschle- vocals, guitar, everything else Tim Thomas- guitars Justin Ingram- bass Alison Thomas- synths Shelly Hulce- vocals, synths Tracy Schmittler- synths Aaron Smith- drums Andy Ingram- drums

Instruments Nord Lead 2, Gibson SG, Fender Telecaster, Fender P-bass, Ernie Ball Music Man bass, Top Hat guitar, Ludwig drums, Zildjian cymbals

Albums "Lesser than Opaque", "self-titled rock lp"

Location Dayton, OH - USA

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