DOO-WAH RIDER BIOGRAPHY

DOO-WAH RIDER BIOGRAPHY
There is no one else like the Doo-Wah Riders. For over 30 years
they have been riding their own patch of the musical range
throughout the west. They possess the rare combination of many
years of experience and youthful energy, fired by a love for what
they do. The Doo-Wahs are country, with a unique, original sound.
They define their sound as "high energy country with a cajun
twist". Their tight musicianship and powerful arrangements of classic and original songs have made them favorites everywhere they
go.
The band appeared in the
movie
"Basic
Instinct",
starring Michael Douglas
and Sharon Stone. They
were featured doing one of
their own songs, "Glowing
in the Ashes". They appeared on TNN's "Prime
Time Country" and on the
prime time television Dick
Clark Production "Will You
Marry Me?"
The Doo-Wah Riders have appeared in concert with: Garth Brooks,
George Strait, Alabama, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Brooks and Dunn,
Chris LeDoux, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, Alison
Krauss, The Judds, Tracy Lawrence, Brad Paisley, Lone Star, Clint
Black, Asleep at the Wheel, Jodee Messina, Randy Travis, The Oak
Ridge Boys, Richochet, Travis Tritt, Marty Stuart, Leann Rimes,
Mark Wills, John Denver, Ricky Van Shelton, K. D. Lang, Mark
Chestnutt, Jo-El Sonnier, The Statler Bros., Jerry Jeff Walker, and
Joan Jett. In addition to being artists in their own right, the DooWah Riders have served as a back-up band for: Collin Raye, Pam
Tillis, Glen Campbell, Deanna Carter, Bryan White, George Jones &
Chalee Tennison, Billy Ray Cyrus, Neal McCoy, Lee Ann Womack,
Martina McBride, Mark Wills, Chad Brock, Clay Walker, Rick Trevino,
Moe Bandy, Aaron Tippin, Doug Supernaw, The Kinleys, Shelby
Lynn, and other country legends. http://doowahriders.com
ADMISSION:
$5 FOR
ALL AGES.
All proceeds after expenses
benefit the cancer support
& assistance in H.C.
BURNS
GARAGE
DOO-WAH RIDERS
KENNY LEE BENSON—
VOCALS, ACCORDIAN,
KEYBOARD, &
HARMONICA
When I was in my
early 20s I decided
to quit playing country music in the beer
and honky tonks of New Mexico and study music "seriously." I
left Albuquerque and moved to Boston to go to music school.
After two semesters I ran out of money and did what came
natural... playing country music in beer joints and honky tonks.
This time in the Northeast. In spite of playing with some wonderful people and players (including the legendary Sleepy LaBeef), I came to the realization that no matter where I was, I
was always playing the "the worst place in town" and decided
to get the hell out of Dodge.
Torn between moving to Nashville and Los Angeles (I had an
"ex" in Texas), I let my record collection decide for me. Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Brian Ahern, Byron Berline, Albert
Lee and Chris Hillman were all in California and making the
kind of records I wanted to make, so I packed up and moved
there. Once again, I went to school and studied arranging and
orchestration with Dick Grove in Studio City, California (my current home). One night after playing music at a friend's house,
the guitar player and I stood in the parking lot and talked
about country music until the wee hours of the morning. We
found that we had a mutual passion for Bob Wills, Asleep at the
Wheel, Guy Clark and, of course, Emmylou Harris; we decided
that we should put a band together just for "laughs." Little did
I know that the band would become a major part of my life and
that I'd still be working with Lindy Rasmusson 30 years later!
DOO-WAH RIDERS
KEITH NIEHENKE—VIOLIN
It all started June 3, 1970 when I was
born in Colfax, Washington. Well.....it actually started 9 months prior......but we
won't get into that. At age 6 I saw a violin demonstration at school. I told my
parents about it, and how I wanted to
play violin. They eventually said yes. I
started classical training using the Suzuki
Method. My teacher was Jan Wasson. I
did well with it, but wearing suits and
playing stuffy recitals was not for a redneck farm boy like myself! So I started
fiddling at the age of 12. My
fiddle
teacher was Tony Ludiker, and he taught
me Texas-style Contest Fiddle. I competed in numerous contests around the
northwest, including the National Fiddle
Contest in Weiser, ID. At this time I also
started playing guitar and mandolin. I
still try to compete in contests, and have
placed, and won a few around the country, including 10th place in the Champion
Division at the Nationals (1992, 1998).
At age 16 I started to branch out with my music. I was playing swing, jazz, bluegrass, 50's
rock, and country. I started teaching myself
lead guitar by listening to Chuck Berry, Buddy
Holly, and Duane Eddy. I also began singing a
little. When I was 18 I moved to Spokane,
Washington. When I turned 19 I started playing at a honky tonk called Kelly's in Stateline,
ID. I was playing with Kelly Hughes and the
Kelly Hughes Band. This was the premiere
country act in the northwest, and Kelly's was
the place to be. We opened for numerous
Nashville acts, such as Clay Walker, Waylon
Jennings, Merle Haggard, and Collin Raye.
DOO-WAH RIDERS
LINDY RASMUSSEN:
VOCALS, ELECTRIC &
ACOUSTIC GUITAR
Raised in the "not-so-country" town of
North
Hollywood,
California,
Lindy
began banging out the tunes on the
guitar to the "California Country Sound."
But The Eagles, Fogelberg and Michael
Martin Murphey only lead to harder stuff.
Asleep at the Wheel, Guy Clark and
other "Cosmic Cowboys" lured him out of
the art school classroom and into the
honky
tonks
where
he
was
fatefully
introduced to Kenny Lee Benson. From
there The Doo-Wah Riders were born.
Almost 20 years later, the two have
opened for or backed up nearly everyone
in the country world.
DOO-WAH RIDERS
PAUL LORANGER:
BASS
At the age of 9, Paul saw his uncle’s wedding band playing.
Seeing the upright bass being played, he thought to himself
that’s what he wanted to play that when he grew up. Brought
up in a musical family he played piano until he was 12. He
asked to play upright in JR High but saying he was too short,
they gave him a baritone horn to play. Paul began playing bass
and guitar when he was 16. By the time he was 17, he was
playing bass professionally. Although not his major in college,
he studied music in college. While attending school full time he
also played 4-5 nights a week. After college, Paul began touring. Through out the years Paul has been fortunate enough to
play in every country in Western Europe, most of Eastern
Europe, Japan, Austria, South Africa and all of the United
States except Alaska. Paul loves being on the road and performing live.