TROUT FISHING IN AMERICA

Trout Fishing in America is the long-standing musical partnership of Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet. The name taken from a Richard Brautigan novel, seems almost as incongruent and intriguing as a picture of this musical duo - Ezra Idlet (guitar) stands six feet nine inches and Keith Grimwood (bass), five feet five and one half inches. What is more intriguing is the musical career these two have carved out in three decades of writing, recording and performing together. Trout Fishing in America can look back at a body of work that is impressive and know they are just hitting their stride. On the heels of their fourth Grammy nomination Big Round World, and the release of a children's book/cd My Name is Chicken Joe, it is no wonder that Trout Fishing in America sees the future as the brightest part of their successful career.

A brief history of Trout Music: Grimwood's professional musical experience began when, as the precocious teenage bass player, he began sitting in with jazz musicians who had socks older than him. Always the good student, he earned a degree in music from the University of Houston and then quickly landed a position with the Houston Symphony. By that time Idlet had given up his spot on the bench of a local junior college basketball team to pursue a life of rock & roll. It was shortly thereafter that Idlet and Grimwood met as members of the Houston based eclectic folk/rock band St. Elmo's Fire which became the perfect percolator for Trout Fishing in America. As St. Elmo's dissolved in 1979, Trout Fishing in America was officially born. Idlet and Grimwood had become best of friends and musical partners.

Success happens when opportunity meets preparation. After years of accumulating original songs and polishing their performance TFIA was ready when the CD revolution took place. TFIA was in the first wave of artist owned labels (Trout Records) to successfully record and market their own music. Their infectious mix of folk/pop and family music is tempered by the diverse influences of reggae, latin, blues, jazz and classical music. TFIA recordings have garnered three National Indie Awards and multiple Parents Choice Gold and American Library Awards as well as 4 Grammy nominations. TFIA has also expanded their touring territory to over forty states and several Canadian provinces.

Sharing knowledge and encouraging art has become another musical mission of TFIA. In the past few years they have developed a variety of song writing workshops for teachers and students which illustrate how art and music come from the fabric of everyday life. Their willingness to make fun of our most annoying and sometimes disgusting habits in one song then touch our hearts with tender and passionate images of family life in the next is what makes the connection between Trout Fishing in America and their audience so real.

Keith and Ezra use




Trout Fishing in America - Top 100 most influential independent artists in the past 15 years
We are very proud to note Performing Songwriter Magazine( June 2008), has chosen four time Grammy Nominees, Trout Fishing in America as one of the 100 most influential independent artists in the past fifteen years. Sandwiched in the pages between Phish, and Widespread Panic, Trout Fishing in America could not be more pleased with company that included, such independent music luminaries as Willie Nelson, Jack Johnson, Ani DiFranco, David Byrne, Tom Waits, Bradford Marsalis, Alison Krauss , Jimmy Buffett, Steve Earle to name a few.

http://www.performingsongwriter.com



Check out photos of the band!

GUITAR PLAYER
PERFORMANCE NOTES: ACOUSTIC DUOS
By Brett Ratner

Those familiar with the acoustic duo Trout Fishing in America appreciate their uncanny ability to create a full-bodied ensemble sound. It helps that both members sing and that bassist Keith Grimwood is an experienced and adroit player. But it's the innovative guitar work of Ezra Idlet that really rounds out the pair's sound.

Idlet's approach is a variation on the traditional bluegrass flat-picking style-the key difference being that, in Idlet's case, all six strings are constantly strummed. "By maintaining a steady eighth-note pattern with my right hand," he explains, "I can selectively mute strings with my left hand or right palm and let specific strings ring." Using this technique, Idlet can simultaneously produce a chunka-chunka percussive feel and play chords and melody lines. He's particularly fond of playing a melody line over droning strings. "Letting certain strings ring can imply another rhythm guitar part," he says.

In addition, Idlet fattens his acoustic/electric sound with chorus and, occasionally, delay. He suggests players set a delay with approximately 320rms with one slapback. If timed correctly-especially on reggae or Bo Diddley-style patterns-the delay creates a faux percussion part. Limiting the delay to one slapback prevents the sound from going sour when you change chords.

On paper, these techniques sound simple. In reality, they require solid timing and a great deal of precision. If mastered, however, they can add a dimension to the acoustic guitar that goes beyond strumming chords. "Anyone can fill out their sound with a little ingenuity and a few simple tools," promises Idlet.

ACOUSTIC GUITAR
fresh fish
By Shelton Clark

Guitarist Ezra Idlet and Bassist Keith Grimwood have played together as the duo Trout Fishing in America for 22 years. They're an anachronism in many ways. They play contemporary, acoustic-based music, but they are a throwback to buskers, vaudeville, and even old-fashioned medicine shows. Their material ranges from introspective folk and country-tinged songs, to wildly energetic rock tunes, to Stan Freberg-style comedy. "It's a balance," says Grimwood. "We do play a lot of funny songs, but you're not funny all the time in life; there are serious thoughts that go on."

The duo's roots are as varied as its set lists. "We come from different backgrounds," says Grimwood. "In 1976, Ezra was in a band called St. Elmo's Fire, and I was in a group called the Houston Symphony." That year, the symphony went on strike, and Grimwood joined St. Elmo's Fire. "Ezra and I were immediate friends," he recalls. "A tour of California [in 1977] just fell to pieces," Idlet says, "and we had the reality of trying to feed ourselves. We started performing on the street in Santa Cruz. We learned a valuable lesson. People will stop if they're entertained, but if you're singing these sad introspective songs, people will walk away as fast as they can."

Although Trout Fishing in America at times works as a four- and five-piece band, Grimwood and Idlet continue to base their sounds-and all but a few of their live shows-on the acoustic guitar and bass. "The acoustic guitar is a very percussive instrument, especially the way Ezra plays it," says Grimwood.

Idlet switched from drums to guitar at the age of 14. "Drums are really boring to practice by yourself," he says, "so guitar was a really good thing for me." He taught himself to play and in a few months landed a job as a strolling musician at a Houston dinner theater. "From early on, I've known what I wanted to do. I had a basketball scholarship to college, but I gave it up when I was offered a job in the Virgin Islands playing music."

While he doesn't go for "guitar heroes" per se, Idlet does admire the aggressive playing of Stephen Stills and the all-around supportive playing of John Leventhal (Shawn Colvin, Rosanne Cash). His Gordon Lightfoot/James Taylor/style fingerpicking on slower songs provides a nice contrast to the duo's frenetic rock numbers.

Both Idlet and Grimwood have children, which naturally led them to writing music for kids. "Our music is sophisticated," says Idlet. "It doesn't play down to kids or adults. Kids are moved by the lyrics or the rhythm. They know right off the bat if you're faking it musically."

A 1992 Indie Award for "Pop Album of the Year" for Over the Limit led to national distribution for the group's own Trout Records (PO Box 914, Prairie Grove, AR 72753-0914; [888]439-8342; www.troutmusic.com). Since then, the two musicians have won two more Indies for their children's albums Mine! (1994) and My World (1997), as well as a Hall of Fame induction from the Kerrville Folk Festival. Their most recent recording, Family Music Party, has also been released as a performance video that was shown by many PBS stations. It features the achingly beautiful ballads "Lullaby," "Back When I Could Fly" and "Count on Me."

The variety of styles makes Trout Fishing in America's music hard to classify. "If you go into a music store and try to find our CDs, you find them in different parts of the store," say Grimwood. "In Nashville, we're country. Someplace else, we're in kids' music. Some other place, we show up in the pop section. They don't know quite what to do with us, which may not be the best marketing strategy, but at the same time it's-" "-allowed us to stay together happily for 22 years!" Idlet interjects.