Cedar Fever
CEDAR FEVER is located near beautiful Canyon Lake, Texas...where people come to have fun...float down the Guadalupe River or visit Gruene Hall, the oldest dance hall in Texas. My name is Ronald Earle Boutelle and my wife tells me that I'm the leader of my one-man band, Cedar Fever. Although I have always had one guitar or another, writing and building furniture have been the things I've spent most of my time doing. Back in the mid 90s I got my first computer. This improved my writing enormously and eventually led to a whole new oportunity...my own little home-recording studio. Although very slow going at first due to the steep learning curve and lack of clear guidance; with the decision to buy n-track and just hammering away at it every day for over a year, I have been able to use my studio to acheive things musically that years ago would have been impossible.
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
Cedar Fever was formed in 2000 as a hobby. Actually as a karaoke band...not singing along but playing along. I have never been too keen on what most band's play. So one day I got inspired and using my computer and cd collection, burned a custom-made playlist and then just got this gig lined up. My neighbor, Coz, who is a professional sax player...and with me on keyboard...both of us opened the show at this fancy coffee house with Cedar Fever...playing along to the cd I had burned. All the sound was being pumped thru professional equipment so it actually sounded great. People just loved it. So this is how it all got started.
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
Not often, but I have performed several times at a nearby coffee shop. Every time I play is a special moment.
Your musical influences
I think the greatest influence on my music has been the visual and literary arts that have stimulated my mind. There are things I want to say, and I like to paint. So when I am working on a song this is what I'm doing...painting a picture with sound. I think after having spent so much time writing that I naturally visualize things pretty well. So I am now working on "Sacred Lands." This whole project is based on a song I wrote years and years ago, "White Man's Greed." I see the whole thing as this dramatic story in my mind. OK...I don't sing or use lyrics at all...just sound. I want you to just sit back and listen. Hopefully you will get it...if not, at least say, "Wow, that was really cool." But there are lyrics involved in "Sacred Lands" and I will print them out and have them inside the cd. I want to do that.
What equipment do you use?
I use a 53-year-old Tenor Guitar and my laptop when I play. I create things in my computer to play along to...since most of the time it is just me. I like it this way. Depending on other people to show up has never been enjoyable. I have a Yamaha powered-stereo mixer, a Dawn speaker system, and I use the fabulous, n-track recording software.
Anything else?
I have just released my first cd: Spider Hole Blues, which is a tribute to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. If you want any of my cds, go to www.cedarpost.com.
