Biography
Richard Kaufmann, an expressive singer/songwriter, has maintained a presence in Philadelphia’s indie rock community since the 1980s, beginning with stints in assorted local groups before stepping forward as a solo performer. During 1987 he assembled the Electric Love Muffin, a punk-inflected alternative-rock and indie-rock ensemble that never achieved widespread national recognition yet earned regional attention throughout the Philadelphia area and issued three albums. The 1987 release Playdoh Meathook and the 1990 release Second Third Around appeared on the modest Philadelphia-based imprint Buy Our Records, whereas the 1989 album Rassafranna was issued by Restless. The Electric Love Muffin disbanded in the early 1990s, after which Kaufmann promptly launched another Philadelphia group, the Rolling Hayseeds. Although still rooted in indie rock, the Rolling Hayseeds leaned more heavily toward country and drew notice within the alternative-country and No Depression circles. The band cut two albums for Record Cellar, a modest independent label located in the Philadelphia suburb of Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania: the 1996 debut Tangled Up in You and the 1999 follow-up No Place Like Home. Following the Hayseeds’ dissolution, Kaufmann committed himself to a full-time solo career while remaining with Record Cellar. In 2001 he recorded his first solo album, Common Senses, alongside Philadelphia-based producer and engineer George Manney, who had previously collaborated with the Hayseeds and with the alterna-rock outfit Burn Witch Burn, a Philadelphia band featuring former Dead Milkmen vocalist Rodney Linderman. Record Cellar brought out Common Senses in March 2002.
Albums