Jon Rauhouse

Since his appearance on the alt-country scene with <a href="spotify:artist:49olqoJXXayccvPuI4S2eU">the Grievous Angels</a> in the mid-'90s, Jon Rauhouse has become Bloodshot Records' secret weapon multi-instrumentalist, appearing on more than a dozen of their releases, as well as guesting on albums for other labels. Growing up in Arizona, Rauhouse began playing banjo on a dare from a high school classmate, the two of them ending up in a bluegrass band called <a href="spotify:artist:2X9D1qDqfuU002dhviy7UU">Southwind</a>. Rauhouse played in <a href="spotify:artist:2X9D1qDqfuU002dhviy7UU">Southwind</a> for seven years, switching to pedal steel guitar after two years on banjo. After <a href="spotify:artist:2X9D1qDqfuU002dhviy7UU">Southwind</a>, Rauhouse spent nearly a decade as a sideman in the Phoenix area, playing with every band he could. He ended up in <a href="spotify:artist:49olqoJXXayccvPuI4S2eU">the Grievous Angels</a>, who got a deal with Bloodshot and released two albums and an EP. When <a href="spotify:artist:49olqoJXXayccvPuI4S2eU">the Grievous Angels</a> reached the end of the road, Rauhouse had a short-lived project called Sleepwalker with Jamal Ruhe, then found steady work recording and touring with <a href="spotify:artist:1dXJ2h4bN2wFHvKhKOjWXH">Sally Timms</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2GkbVJYd1bZbQvVYS7ORZ2">Kelly Hogan</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:4Cedjq5BQL3MhapRvDpFED">Neko Case</a>. While on tour with <a href="spotify:artist:4Cedjq5BQL3MhapRvDpFED">Neko Case</a>, Rauhouse ran into Tommy Connell, a former member of <a href="spotify:artist:2X9D1qDqfuU002dhviy7UU">Southwind</a>. When the time came for Rauhouse to record a solo album, he enlisted his old friend Connell, as well as players from the Bloodshot stable, to record Jon Rauhouse's Steel Guitar Air Show, a fun collection of (mostly) instrumentals in the spirit of <a href="spotify:artist:7468mJEr8S2MTrSL02Ayxe">Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant</a>, covering a range of styles from Western swing to Hawaiian that was released in 2002. Rauhouse assembled essentially the same crew for the follow-up, Steel Guitar Rodeo, in 2004. Hawaiian Guitar Expedition arrived in 2005, followed by Steel Guitar Heart Attack in 2007. ~ Sean Westergaard, Rovi