Hot Rize officially disbanded as a full-time endeavor in 1990, after a multi-year string of successful albums and show dates. Reunion tours were booked occasionally afterwards, until Sawtelle succumbed to complications from treatment for the leukemia with which he had struggled for years.
Bryan Sutton has become the “fifth Beatle” in the Hot Rize mix, performing with them on the odd reunion show, along with founders Pete Wernick on banjo, Tim O’Brien on mandolin and Nick Forster on bass. Sutton does a remarkable job of recreating Charles’ minimalistic guitar style, a fitting tribute to a distinctive voice on the instrument.
The band has also recorded some new audio to promote the tour, and is making them available for online listening. Here’s their version of Diamond Joe:
Diamond Joe: [http://kidlogiclovesyou.com/clients/hotrize/Diamond%20Joe.mp3]
Hot Rize has also cut a version of Jimmy Webb’s Wichita Lineman, a huge hit for Glen Campbell in 1968. You can hear that track – complete with phase-shifted banjo – online.
The complete 2010 tour schedule is available on the Hot Rize web site.
