
Like fine wine, local legends Over the Rhine have gotten better with age. From their first show at Sudsy Malone's (about 20 folks showed up to see it) to their various record deals (I.R.S. and Virgin/Backporch) and back to their DIY roots (which has given them some of their biggest successes yet), OtR is marking two decades of gorgeous, soulful music-making.
For Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist, the founders and sole remaining creative forces of Over the Rhine, home has always been both an abstract concept and a concrete reality. After moving to Cincinnati from smalltown Ohio nearly a decade and a half ago, the city became the pair's adopted hometown. It's also been the base of operations for OtR, their gauzily pretty Pop band.
Drunkard's Prayer, OTR's latest for the Virgin/Backporch imprint, came out of the turmoil the band experienced while touring behind their last release, the double-disc Ohio. Singer Karin Bergquist and multi-instrumentalist Linford Detweiler realized that the energy expended trying to make OTR fly was taking a toll on their relationship.
It is always with mixed emotion that Cincinnatians relinquish our own to the greater good. We're happy to share with the world the homegrown music that we've adored long before outsiders took notice. But, like heartbroken parents, we part ways on the condition that our babies remember us fondly and visit often. They mostly do us proud, as is the case with Over the Rhine.