Rasputina

Rasputina is a "cello-rock" ensemble.

Founded by Melora Creager in 1891, they have long held true to their mission of enlightening the common man as to the power and versatility of the mighty cello. Historically influenced, and constantly costumed, Rasputina keeps a small legion of incredibly passionate admirers enthralled with their earnest musicianship. Considered to be quite a pioneer and visionary, Melora and her group have inspired countless young people to pick up the cello, and have re-inspired many uninspired string players. Rasputina considers this to be the finest payment for their work. Professional involvements and appearances have included Nirvana, Marilyn Manson, Porno For Pyros, Regis & Kathie Lee, Belle & Sebastian, Cheap Trick, Joan Osborne, Bob Mould, Goo-Goo Dolls and Conan O'Brian.

Rasputina made two albums for Columbia Records in the 'nineties; Thanks For the Ether, and How We Quit the Forest. Their last album was Cabin Fever, and they have now finished their fourth long-player, due out in March 2004: Frustration Plantation (both albums on Instinct Records). Although there have been periods of quick rotation regarding band members, the present line-up is undoubtedly the best, and the current members contributed greatly to this new recording.

Melora Creager is the foundress, composer and directress. She is a Kansas native, moved to New York City in the 1880's to attend art school, and is the mother of a four-year-old daughter. She has played cello since the age of nine.

Zoë Keating lives in San Fransisco and began her cello studies in a storage closet in Northern England. She has publicly sworn to stick with Rasputina. Zoë also performs and records her own compositions, and is an avatar of looping techniques.

Jonathon TeBeest is the first Rasputina drummer to be considered "one of the Ladies". He is a Minnesota native, does nothing but make music, and has a background in the "ska" form.

In addition, Mr. Joseph Bishara stepped in as co-producer. He has worked with the likes of Jane's Addiction, Marilyn Manson, Danzig, & The Jayhawks.

For inspiration for this most recent release, Rasputina raided the Library of Congress' history of Southern song, and indeed also, their daguerreotype vaults. What a miracle that this fine treasure trove is freely available to us Americans.

They also spent time in costume, touring the plantations of Louisiana, frolicking in the fields and exploring the sanitized slave cabins.

Melora believes that if you stay true to your vision, and do your tasks as thoroughly as you can, it will all work out in the end.

The New York City-based trio Rasputina was led by singer/songwriter Melora Creager, a classically-trained cellist who backed Nirvana on the group's final tour. In 1992, Creager placed a want ad seeking other cellists to form a rock band; among those responding was Canadian musician Julie Kent, and with the later addition of Polish native Agnieszka Rybska, Rasputina was born. The three cellists' image further developed by the addition of tightly-laced vintage Victorian costumes, their gothic chamber-pop soon caught the attention of Sony, who issued the group's debut Thanks for the Ether in 1996; Transylvanian Regurgitations, an EP featuring remixes by fan Marilyn Manson, appeared a year later, and in 1998 Rasputina resurfaced with How We Quit the Forest. By the new millennium, Rybska and Kent had been replaced with Nana Bornant and K. Cowperthwaite. A deal with Instinct surfaced in 2001 and the magical mystery of Cabin Fever appeared the following spring. Bornant's stay was brief; she left in June 2002 and Cowperthwaite followed four months later. Zoe Keating (cello) and first ever male bandmate Jonathon TeBeest were quickly added to the beautiful chaos of Rasputina just in time for the 2003 release of the Lost & Found EP. Frustration Plantation, their most cohesive work to date, appeared in spring 2004. In 2007 the group released Oh Perilous World, a loosely-connected song suite culled from newspaper clippings that lead singer Melora Creager gathered over a two year period, then juxtaposed with the band's signature 18th century steampunk imagery. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide