When he was 16, singer/songwriter Johnathan Rice opened his mouth and let out a weathered, rustic sound that caught him by surprise. Like most teenagers obsessed with music try to do, Rice just wanted to see what his voice sounded like when imitating his heroes -- Joni Mitchell, the Band, Neil Young, Bob Dylan. As consequence would have it, Rice decided to make his songwriting hobby a serious affair and returned to his native Virginia after spending most of his life growing up in Glasgow. He graduated from high school in May 2001 and soon befriended Washington D.C. local, Grantham Dispatch's Chris Keup. He also informed his parents that he wasn't going to college like the rest of his peers and that he planned to go to New York City to play clubs and hopefully land a recording contract. His parents had mixed feelings, but allowed their son one year to chase his vision. Three months later, Keup's indie imprint issued Rice's debut EP, Heart and Mind. While balancing various days jobs as a waiter, a telemarketer, and a dog walker, Rice played shows on the Lower East Side. He soaked up the city as much as he could while maintaining a steady schedule of writing songs, but it wasn't glamorous. By spring 2002, Rice played enough shows to get him a bus ticket home. He mentally readied himself for college life while heading back to Virginia, but as luck would have it, he got a call soon thereafter. Warner Bros./Reprise was impressed with Heart and Mind and wanted to sign Rice. A little skeptical of taking a second chance on his music making dream, Rice eventually signed with Reprise, also home to his heroes like Young, Mitchell, and Lou Reed, and moved back to New York. Over the next two years, Rice struggled with collecting a solid batch of songs that would appease him personally, as well as the label. The Tin Can Love EP was independently issued during this time. In fall 2003, he and producer/engineer Mike Mogis holed themselves up at Presto! in Lincoln, NE to begin work on Rice's proper debut. Fifteen demo tracks resulted in Trouble Is Real, but Rice put that on hold to release Extended Player 24:26 in spring 2004. Trouble Is Real was finally issued in spring 2005. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
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