Live from the Boom Room | Cree Rider

Live from the Boom Room is a new video series featuring live performances recorded in the Blip Blap Video HQ bunker in St. Louis, Mo. Learn more about Blip Blap Video at blipblapvideo.com, or follow them on Instagram and YouTube.

About this week’s artist:

Cree Rider was born in St. Louis, MO, in 1979. His love of music was sparked by his love and exposure to the oldies and classic rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. He began playing guitar at the age of 11, when his mother and older sister took him (separately) to see Paul Simon and then Bruce Springsteen. Cree almost immediately commenced writing songs as he learned the guitar. In high school he began playing in local clubs and parties, which he continued to do when he moved to Lawrence, KS, in 1998. His professional music career started when he moved to San Francisco in 2005.

In San Francisco, Cree began playing the open mic night at his favorite bar, The Riptide. It was there that he was introduced to Misisipi Mike Wolf (guitarist, songwriter) by bar owner and drummer of Red Meat, Les James. Misisipi Mike and Cree soon formed a band, Misisipi Rider, originally as a duo, and then adding Katy Rexford on fiddle and Doug Blumer on bass. Big influences on the band were Split Lip Rayfield and Uncle Tupelo. Later, Tony Sales was added on drums. Misisipi Rider recorded one “live in the studio” album and two EPs which were later collected on the Presents the Men of La Mancha album. The band toured often in the Northwest and the Midwest.

During his six years in San Francisco, Cree also played and toured in the band The Mission Three, with Misisipi Mike and Jimmy Sweetwater (washboard, harmonica). The trio recorded a self-titled debut EP, and a full-length album, Big Time. The band toured the Northwest and Southwest of the US, going as far north as Vancouver, Canada, and also made trips to the New Orleans area. During this time in San Francisco, Cree also began working with a music publisher who placed his songs in films and TV shows such as Justified, Virgin River, and The Purge.

While in San Francisco, Cree met fellow musician Cheryl Wilson when they both worked at Green Apple Books & Music. The two began a relationship, both personal and musical, and moved to New York together in 2011. Cree and Cheryl married in 2014, and their children were often present at their shows thereafter.

In New York, Cree started the “Cree Rider Band” with a Craigslist ad. The short-lived band included Cheryl Wilson and played at Brooklyn venues such as Spike Hill and Pete’s Candy Store.

In 2012, Cree and Cheryl moved to Cree’s hometown of St. Louis, MO, and formed the Cree Rider Family Band. The band’s mainstays included Jordan Heimburger on guitar, Eric Garland on bass, and Matthew Charles Keuhne on drums.

In 2016, the Cree Rider Family Band was nominated for Best Country Artist in the Riverfront Times Music Awards.  The Cree Rider Family Band last played in public in the summer of 2018, and those shows included Gary Hunt on lead guitar. The Cree Rider Family Band released two albums of original compositions and an album of cover versions of the songs of country songwriter Misisipi Mike Wolf (A Toast to Absent Friends).

Cree currently leads his band “Cree Rider”, which performs a mixture of his songs and some unexpected cover tunes. His backing band features Scott Swartz on pedal steel and electric guitar, Simon Chervitz on bass, and Scotti Iman on drums. Additionally, Cree occasionally performs solo acoustic sets and as a guest member of Sean Canan’s Voodoo Players. He also plays in the Grateful Dead tribute band Alligator Wine.

Links:

Website | Bandcamp

This season of Live from the Boom Room has been partially funded by a generous grant from the Regional Arts Commission. Help keep Live from the Boom Room an absolutely free service for musical artists by supporting the project with your donation here: https://paypal.me/blipblap

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