Rusty Rierson: Press

Rusty Rierson

Rusty Rierson's noontime crowd Tuesday filled the bleachers at Gottschalk Park Gazebo and left several standing to take in his country music and comedy show.

Rierson, an El Dorado native and student at Kansas State University, covered some hits from country stars such as Josh Turner, Johnny Cash and Diamond Rio, and also played some of his own music.

As he started the set, he thanked the crowd for having him.

"If I wasn't here, I'd be sitting through a double lecture on analytical techniques," he said, grinning under a big straw cowboy hat. "I'm pretty glad to be here."

Rierson also quoted poems by cowboy poet Baxter Black and sang humorous country songs - much to the delight of his audience.

"He's great," said Sandy Nalley, who was visiting the fair from Las Vegas.

"It's the first time I've ever heard of him and he's really good for an unknown singer," added her husband, Joe.

Congratulations on GrIndie Award
author: RadioIndy.com

RadioIndy is proud to present Rusty Rierson a GrIndie Award for their CD "Till The Fat Lady Sings." A GrIndie Award is RadioIndy's stamp of approval that this CD is an excellent quality CD. Please join us in congratulating this artist on this accomplishment.

High-energy country album with catchy tracks and fantastic vocals
author: William & the RadioIndy Review Team

"Till The Fat Lady Sings" is a high energy country-pop album brought to you by Kansas' own Rusty Rierson. Rusty has all the elements in place with great melodies, harmonies, arrangements and performances. Rusty's voice leads the pack with conviction and his song writing ability is superior. Everything seems to fall into place and the result for the listener is a compilation that will spin in your player for years to come. Highlights are the title track "Till The Fat Lady Sings" and “Will You Be My Girl.” It is no doubt the title track features a solid arrangement, catchy lyrics and some fantastic harmony in the backing vocals. "Will You Be My Girl" slows things down a bit with a beautiful piano progression. It then evolves into a powerful, heartfelt ballad led by a soulful vocal performance. "My Island & Me" has a great carefree quality to it as it cleverly borders on island music in the arrangement. Fans of country-pop music should definitely pick up “Till The Fat Lady Sings.”

Following His Dream

For 11 years Rusty Rierson, of El Dorado, has entertained audiences with his singing and guitar playing, performing everything from Garth Brooks to Neil Diamond, including some of own songs.

He began playing guitar in high school and that has expanded to a full-time career for Rierson, who plays around four shows a week throughout the winter and five to seven shows a week during the summer.

“I was always shy,” Rierson said. “I wouldn’t play in front of anyone.”

That changed when he got involved in his jazz band in high school and his church band.

From that, Rierson began making public appearances on a regular basis.

Rierson made his first demo CD at the Prairie Rose Chuckwagon, offering a number of western songs.

“About 2 1/2 years ago is when things really started going,” he said.

After that he met a man from the Better Horses Radio Show, and Rierson began going all over the nation, performing at big horse events and rodeos.

“It helped me get my name out there,” he continued.

Rierson now plays in a band from Wichita, Dead Eye, which performs a number of shows, and performs by himself at shows and benefit concerts.

His local connections go back to his youth, with his parents still living outside of El Dorado.

After high school, Rierson attended Butler Community College for two years, then went on to Kansas State University where he received his bachelor’s degree in economics and is now working on his master’s degree in animal science, which he should complete in May.

“I wrote three sentences on my thesis this week so that made me really proud,” he said.

While he will have his degree as a back-up plan, Rierson will continue to pursue his music after graduation, just with one less thing on his plate to juggle.

“How would I ever find a job in this economy?” he said. “So it only makes sense to pursue music.”

It also is what Rierson wants to be doing.

“I love being in the studio,” he said. “We have so much fun it should probably be illegal.”

As part of his musical future, Rierson is currently working on a new album. He already has two CDs out, on which Nolan Kroeker of Hutchinson wrote five of the 15 songs.

“I will continue with newer stuff I’ve written,” he said. There also will songs others have written on the CD as well.

Rierson is thinking about recording his CD in Los Angeles with a recording agent.

“He helps to promote artists and does music videos,” he explained. “He wants to make it really modern.”

This would bring a pop-country feel to the album.

“I know I have to get out of my comfort zone if I’m going to make it,” he said.

While many of the songs on the new CD remain a surprise, one of the songs, “Running Low on Angels,” on this album Pete Gile from Manhattan wrote. This is a more up-beat song. Another song will be “Monsters,” which is about childhood monsters and written by Mark Bowling about his kids.

“There will be a lot of artists on this project,” Rierson said.

He also is looking forward to the marketing aspect of the project.

“I think I will reach a bigger market,” he said.

Rierson said he doesn’t write all of his own songs.

“I believe the songs write themselves if you give them the proper amount of time,” he said. “A good song writer doesn’t rush. Each song is unique that way if you give it enough time it will come out.”

Of Rierson’s songs he has recorded, “Green With Envy,” off of his “Till the Fat Lady Sings” CD, has received air time on the radio. In addition, “Those Little Hands,” which he wrote with input from the mother for a little cousin of his who died received a lot of play during a telethon.

He also was asked to record “A Smile Like That,” which was for bull rider Lane Frost by Randy Schmutz. It was presented by Johnnie Western on 1070 AM on Mother’s Day.

Rierson said hearing his songs on the radio is not of big as deal as it used to be.

The first time he heard himself on the radio was during deejay Johnny Western’s show.

“I couldn’t get the grin off my face for while,” he said.

Rierson also enjoys listening to others’ music.

“I say it just stirs up the soul,” he said.

Music also is a family affair for Rierson. His father plays guitar and sings often joining him on stage and his mother plays the piano and sings. In addition, his sister plays the bass guitar and sings.

“I guess I’ve been in training since I was 3 years old,” he said with a laugh.

Rierson has performed at many places around this area for shows and benefits, as well as around the country.

“I really like to reach people on an emotional level,” he said. “I think that is why I write and record the songs I do.

“I like to make people laugh,” he said, adding that he enjoys adding in some cowboy humor to his shows.

With all of his performances, Rierson has collected a variety of stories to share, many of them humorous.

One such time was when he had performed a show in San Antonio, Texas, as part of a horse event.

“After the concert I went down to the River Walk and was playing for tips,” he said.

Rierson said a crowd had gathered around him and one of the boats on the River Walk river even pulled over to listen.
“I thought ‘this is really cool,’” he said. “Then I got arrested for singing in public. The cop called me a stupid Kansan.”

He said they decided this was geographic profiling, he explained with a laugh.

“I’m still a wanted man in Texas,” he joked.

Another event occurred when he was headed to the airport for a show. A kitten crawled into his car and under his seat without him knowing.

At the airport, someone saw the kitten and broke into his car to rescue the kitten they thought was being abused. Rierson returned to find a note on his windshield stating the cat was being abused and it was taken to the shelter.

“But they didn’t pick up the cat droppings,” he continued.

One big upcoming show Rierson is working on getting finalized is in Amarillo, Texas, this fall. He would be performing with either Alan Jackson, Toby Keith or George Strait. One of those three would open the show, then Rierson would play during the dance.

Knowing music stars is nothing new to Rierson though. He has met such artists as Garth Brooks, RW Hampton, Doug Stone and others.

Locally, Rierson will be performing at Garden City today and Friday at the Ranch and Farm Show, Saturday he will be at Council Grove for a performance and on Thursdays he performs at the Little Grill in Manhattan.

For more information on Rierson and upcoming performances, visit rustyrierson.com.