Red Wood Rising

"With the crystal clear voice of Isaac Herbert and enough folk influences from the quintet to make this rock album soar, Red Wood Rising deserves attention for this impressive second studio album. The songwriting is deep and explores hard subjects with instrumentation that keeps you listening again and again. This is an album to seek out."

Jerry Wofford 918-581-8346

jerry.wofford@tulsaworld.com - Tulsa World

"Tulsa alterna-folk quintet Red Wood Rising’s second studio release, “These Fires,” seamlessly spans the stylistic ground among bluegrass-tinged folk, poppy college rock and adult alternative.

A year in the making, these 13 tracks of erudite musings about the intricacies of life, love and loss are more emotionally raw at their core than the album’s impressively tight, large-scale production might indicate on first listen.

Throughout the record, lead singer/guitarist Isaac Herbert’s tenor vocals take center stage, sitting in the group’s densely textured mixes with a crystalline, up-front clarity that emphasizes his often plaintive lyrics.

From songs featuring mandolin, banjo and acoustic guitar, to the occasional jazz-inflected trumpet to up-tempo tracks bathed in warm layers of overdriven guitar, “These Fires” covers a wide swath stylistically while maintaining a cohesive feel. That’s thanks to careful crafting and restraint by Herbert and fellow bandmates Tim Schaefer (guitar, harmonica, mandolin, backup vocals), Tim Bunn (keyboard, trumpet), Ryan Graham (drums, rhythm guitar, backup vocals) and Timothy Conner (bass).

Standout tracks include “Idle Hands,” which kicks off the record with soaring, cinematic chord changes and production reminiscent of latter-day Silverchair; and the lilting, mournful, string-inflected “On Hold,” about the crushing effects of mental illness and subsequent treatment. Herbert’s delivery of the line “Devoted my life to a shell of a person, how could I have known the medicine would rip her away from me?” is particularly affecting.

All in all, “These Fires” is a first-rate sophomore release from a talented group of artists."

By JARROD GOLLIHARE - TulsaPeople

"The members of Red Wood Rising have packed a lot of musical references into their 13-song sophomore collection These Fires. While starting from a folk-rock base, they incorporate elements of timeless anthemic rock (opener “Idle Hands“), ’00s emo (the vocals), hot country (“Down the Old Road”), old-timey bluegrass (“Can’t Figure You Out”), and even smooth jazz (“Deep Within the Ground”). Horns appear throughout, most emphatically on the powerhouse tune “Mark of Cain” and the dramatic “Let Me Carry You.” In their kitchen-sink mentality, they echo bands like Accents that don’t let their way with an acoustic guitar get in the way of including any genre that comes to mind.

These Fires is a long album, and so splitting it in half is a meaningful exercise. The first half is brash, loud, and frenetic; the back half is quiet and chill–but still heavy on drama (“Burning Branches” brings back the anguish of Cain from the first half of the record). It’s tunes like the intimate fingerpicking “On Hold” that will hold the most interest for those of the acoustic persuasion; Isaac Herbert’s soaring, rock-oriented voice is tempered and calmed. If you’re into enthusiastic collections of tunes that don’t shy away from a soaring melody, a huge hook, a new idea (or seven), and interesting juxtapositions, go for Red Wood Rising’s These Fires."

By STEPHEN CARRADINI - Independant Clauses

When Red Wood Rising got into the studio to record their most recent album, they wanted to make something new, something that stretched the band outside its comfort zone.

The band members from around Tulsa ended up making something very different.

And, at the end, they were closer as a band and tighter with their sound.

“We wanted to do a concept album, something all in the same mood, same vein,” said vocalist and guitarist Isaac Herbert. “We put some songs together and really worked through the parts and really focused on trying to make the songs the best they could be, and we spent all last year recording it.”

That time and effort resulted in “These Fires,” a strong album that they are pleased with, even though its themes are a little darker and more depressing than previous efforts.

And they are looking forward to bringing their new work to more people, playing new songs and old favorites at this week’s Mayfest.

The band plays at 5 p.m. Friday on the main Williams Green Stage. The show is free.

Made up of Herbert, Tim Schaefer, Ryan Graham, Tim Conner and Tim Bunn, each member plays a handful of different instruments that create a unique and rich sound with elements of folk, rock and blues. The harmonies and sometimes intricate compositions are uplifting and contemplative.

They formed in 2006 and have added and lost a few members. It was the current lineup that prompted the new approach.

It started with their friend Kendal Osborne, who opened The Closet Studios shortly before they started working on the album.

They had a few songs and a few more ideas, so instead of waiting until they had the music set, they took their time in both writing and recording. “These Fires” was recorded over the course of a year, they said.

“It was definitely a different experience because all previous albums up to this point, we had basically had all the songs written, all the parts figured out,” Schaefer said.

That made a dynamic album, one that changed as the band did. Herbert said while they were writing the songs, there were some sad events going on around them: deaths, divorces and plenty of broken hearts.

“The album is kind of depressing, you could say,” Herbert said. “Definitely some dark subject matter, and I think there’s something magical about everybody experiencing it together, and I think that’s what we want to do with our live show. We want people to walk through it with us, stuff they’ve walked through and we walked through and somehow find some common ground in there.”

With those songs, they wanted to make sure the process conveyed the emotions. Their deliberate approach to “These Fires” helped to bring that emotion across, Herbert said.

“I think it definitely stretched us, because when we were in the studio, we were trying to get the best possible takes we could get,” Herbert said. “We weren’t going to do a lot of work in post. We wanted to get the raw, real emotion coming through all the instruments and all the paying. So we sang all the lines a lot of times, did a lot of takes, and I think we found we have a higher ceiling than maybe we thought as far as our records sounding good. I think it really pushed us to be the best that we could be.”

And that’s encouraged them, affirmed their work and encouraged them to do more, he said.

The band hosted a CD release party earlier this year and is planning more performances after Mayfest as they’re champing at the bit to get their music to new ears.

“We haven’t played these songs live very much at all,” Herbert said. The band is looking forward to “debuting these songs for these people and getting out on the road and gaining new fans and sharing the album with everyone. We’re just really excited because it sounds so good and we’re proud of it.”

Jerry Wofford 918-581-8346

jerry.wofford@tulsaworld.com - Tulsa World

Featured in Noisetrade's "New + Noteable" section - Noisetrade

Drop the Labels

If you're looking for something less commercial or pop oriented and more suited to your Bonnaroo or Wakarusa tendencies, you need to go out of your way to find Red Wood Rising. This four-piece from Tulsa blends genres and defies categorization with a mix of pop, country, rock and bluegrass that delivers all of the ambience of a good jam band with a more intense focus.

There's a reason why these guys have opened, been a feature act at Backwoods Bash, and gotten the nod to open for national artists like Ben Taylor and The Mowgli's over the past year. Unfortunately, genre bending doesn't sit well with an audience raised on set radio formulas and formats. That's too bad, because a big chunk of Tulsa is missing out on one of our city's true talents, when they overlook Red Wood Rising.

With any luck CoUFest will accomplish one of its goals by opening a door for these guys to prove they're more than some hippie jam band when people hear tracks like "I Can Change" and "Set Adrift". After all, are we looking for the next pop sensation or just a great band whose music sticks with you? Catch them at Chimera on Saturday night at 12:30am.

By G.K. Hizer - Urban Tulsa Weekly

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