Playing brittle and evocative alt-country with lyrics that draw powerful and sometimes troubling portraits of life along the margins of the contemporary American West, Richmond Fontaine is the brainchild of singer, guitarist, and songwriter Willy Vlautin, who was born in Reno, NV. When Vlautin was in his early teens, his older brother moved to Los Angeles and became interested in the many roots-influenced bands in the city's punk rock scene. He began sending Willy tapes of bands such as the Blasters, Rank and File, and the Long Ryders, and Vlautin became enamored of their blend of punk energy and C&W twang. At 16, Vlautin formed his first band, but after several years he became disenchanted with the limited opportunities to play original music in Reno, and moved to Portland, OR, in 1994.
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