Paul Rishell & Annie Raines

Paul Rishell was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1950. His young teenage years coincided with the early 60’s, so naturally he started out as a drummer in a surf-rock band.  Fortunately a friend soon turned him on to the country blues records of Son House, Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson and others, and Paul was hooked for life.  Blues struck such a chord in him that he immersed himself in the old records until he learned to capture their feel on guitar and vocals, all the while gaining an encyclopedic knowledge of the great players and their recordings.  By the early 70’s Paul had moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts and established himself among contemporaries like Bonnie Raitt and Chris Smither as a solo performer, bandleader, and one of the top players in the fertile Boston music scene.  It was an exciting time, as many of the great bluesmen made their first trips north of Chicago, and Paul had the chance to play with many of his heroes — including Son House, Johnny Shines, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Howlin’ Wolf.

At about this time Annie Raines was just across town, working her way through kindergarten.  The blues muse struck her during her high school years, which were the mid-80’s.  While her friends were listening to Pink Floyd, Annie was enthralled by the sounds of the Muddy Waters Band, and particularly drawn to the blues harmonica playing of Little Walter Jacobs, Big Walter Horton and Sonny Boy Williamson.  As with Rishell some twenty years earlier, the blues hit Annie so hard she just had to follow, and she dropped out of college halfway through her freshman year to become one of the first serious female blues harmonica players in the country.  Annie began to play gigs at local Boston area clubs, and later traveled to Chicago where she met and played with Pinetop Perkins, Louis Myers, and James Cotton.

Paul Rishell’s debut recording, BLUES ON A HOLIDAY was released in 1990 as the first CD from the Tone-Cool Records label, to resounding critical acclaim.  The album was half acoustic, half electric, and established Paul as a masterful, versatile blues player and as well as a deeply soulful singer and songwriter.  Meanwhile Annie continued to hone her considerable talents working the club circuit with various bands, including the Tarbox Ramblers and the very first Susan Tedeschi Band.

It was inevitable that these two kindred spirits would eventually get together, and when they did (during the recording of Paul’s second Tone-Cool CD, SWEAR TO TELL THE TRUTH) the sparks flew.  Paul and Annie both base their ensemble playing style on close communication, listening keenly to the other players to support rather than overshadow them, and their duo work here is marked by the sensitive interplay that has become so central to their performances.   Paul and Annie stayed together as a working team, collaborating on original songs and releasing I WANT YOU TO KNOW (1996) and MOVING TO THE COUNTRY (2000), the W.C. Handy Blues Award winner for “Acoustic Blues Album of the Year.” 

Touring nationally and internationally at festivals, clubs, and concert halls, and playing and teaching at workshops, Paul & Annie have earned loyal fans around the globe.  Their music has been featured on various TV soundtracks and radio shows including Americana, Folk, Triple A and Blues formats.  They have performed on diverse radio and TV shows including A Prairie Home Companion, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and PBS’s Arthur.  Paul and Annie have recorded with Susan Tedeschi, Pinetop Perkins and Rory Block, and continue to perform and record as members of John Sebastian’s J-Band.  Susan Tedeschi recorded an “unplugged” version of Paul’s "Blues on a Holiday" with Paul and Annie for her latest CD, WAIT FOR ME.

Working as a team for more than ten years now, Paul and Annie are at the top of their game.  Their live performances balance their dedication to the blues tradition with equal parts originality, intensity, warmth, soulfulness, history, good humor, and sparkling improvisation.  Paul has reached what Boston Phoenix writer Ted Drozdowski called “a place deep and resonant as Robert Johnson’s crossroads, where authenticity, soul, and a sense of purpose and commitment ring out in every note he sings and plays.”  Annie has added vocals, mandolin, piano, and other instruments to her musical arsenal, while being recognized worldwide by top professionals and fans alike as the best female blues harmonica player - ever.

Paul and Annie’s new Tone-Cool/Artemis release, GOIN’ HOME debuts September 21, 2004.