Split Lip Rayfield

about

Split Lip Rayfield is a vocal and (acoustic) instrumental group from Wichita, Kansas. Though they are sometimes classified as a bluegrass or alt-country band, their music draws on a wide array of influences. Formed in 1995 as a trio including Kirk Rundstrom (guitar), David Lawrence (banjo) and Jeff Eaton (bass), the group was soon signed to Bloodshot Records, the label home of Rundstrom's previous band, metal-country act Scroat Belly. Early on, the group's gimmick was Eaton's homemade one-string bass, named Stitchgiver, built from the gastank of a 1978 Mercury Grand Marquis and a piece of hickory and strung with one piece of Weedwhacker line. The name "Split Lip Rayfield" was inspired by a real-life person of that name who lived in Eaton's hometown of Gumbo, Missouri, when Eaton was a boy. In 1996 Lawrence left the group and was replaced on banjo by Eric Mardis, a guitarist from Lawrence, Kansas. The trio of Rundstrom, Eaton and Mardis recorded the album Split Lip Rayfield in 1998; Bloodshot released it that same year. Soon after, Wayne Gottstine, a member with Rundstrom in Scroat Belly, joined the group on mandolin. Gottstine has also been featured as a vocalist and songwriter for the group. 1999 saw the release of In the Mud, the first album on which the group performed as a quartet. This album contained fan favorites such as Gottstine's "3.2 Flu", Rundstrom's "Devil", Mardis' "Hounds" and a cover of the George Jones/Melba Montgomery song "Easy Street." The band followe

top songs

albums

Never Make It Home

I'll Be Around

Should Have Seen It Coming

In the Mud

Split Lip Rayfield

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Freight Train Boogie

On My Way

Split Lip Rayfield Live at Double Door 12/12/2004

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For a Decade of Sin: 11 Years of Bloodshot Records

The Squidbillies Present: Music for Americans Only Made by Americans in China for Americans Only God Bless America, U.S.A.

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Down to the Promised Land: 5 Years of Bloodshot Records

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