Biography
One Riot One Ranger, better known to fans by the shorthand 1R1R, actually calls Columbus, Ohio home despite a moniker that evokes Texas. At most a single member hails from the Lone Star State. Formed in 1990, the ensemble counted only two of its eventual five-piece roster among its charter members. Mark Wyatt—vocalist, bassist, and accordionist who had previously pursued indie-rock avenues and founded Great Plains in the 1980s—launched the project alongside multi-instrumentalist Pete Remenyi and Jack Shortlidge. Chas Williams soon joined on mandolin, fiddle, and songwriting duties. After several personnel shifts, the roster stabilized around Wyatt, Remenyi, Williams, acoustic guitarist Mark Gaskill, and multi-instrumentalist Paul Brown. Five years elapsed before the configuration locked in with Gaskill’s arrival, at which point the musicians entered the studio to cut a self-titled cassette issued in 1995. Shortly thereafter the group inked a deal with Fundamental Records, headquartered in the American South; the label delivered the band’s debut full-length, Faces Made for Radio, in 1996. The album drew the ear of veteran Nashville producer Bill VornDick, whose résumé includes sessions with Ralph Stanley, Doc Watson, and Alison Krauss. VornDick helmed the follow-up, Side Tracks, which climbed Gavin’s Americana Top 40 in 1998 and lingered there for six weeks. Local listeners registered their approval as well: Columbus Alive readers voted One Riot One Ranger Best Acoustic Band, and the group captured two successive Columbus Music Awards. After extensive national touring, the musicians welcomed Brown aboard in 2000 once a succession of earlier banjo players had departed; Brown balances his commitments between the band and the duo Dr. Paul & Travelin’ Tom. With VornDick again producing, the quintet convened in Nashville during 2001 to record its third album, Flat City Nights, which Hayden’s Ferry Records released in early 2002. The ensemble’s name traces to Texas Ranger lore: when a riot threatened and only one of the storied lawmen arrived, the ranger reportedly dismissed concerns with the line that one riot needed only one ranger.
Albums