Ralph Carney | |
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.jpg) Carney in 2010 | |
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| Born | (1956-01-23)January 23, 1956 Akron, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | December 17, 2017(2017-12-17) (aged 61) Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
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| Website | ralphcarney |
Ralph Carney (January 23, 1956 – December 17, 2017) was an American multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer. While his primary instruments were varioussaxophones andclarinets, Carney also collected and played many instruments, often unusual or obscure ones.[1]
He is best known for his long association withTom Waits and for his collaboration on the theme song forBoJack Horseman, along with his nephewPatrick Carney.[2]
Carney was born and grew up inAkron, Ohio, and listened to music on a windup record player. He was the youngest of three siblings. His father, William Carney, worked in polyester research for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., headquartered in Akron. Ralph Carney showed an early interest in art, but turned to music in the eighth grade. He started learning five string banjo, violin, and harmonica and playedbluegrass andcountry blues. His father, as well as his mother, Madge Carney, encouraged his interest in music. At age 15 he started to play saxophone. He also worked in a mall record store.[3]
Carney got his start as a professional musician as a founding member of theexperimental rock andnew wave bandTin Huey. In addition to work with Tin Huey in the 1970s andTom Waits from the 1980s onwards, Carney also recorded or performed withDieselhed,Marc Ribot,the B-52's,Elvis Costello,Jonathan Richman,Les Claypool,St. Vincent,Stan Ridgway,Medeski Martin & Wood,Jed Davis,Bill Laswell, Griddle, andHowellDevine, among others. In 1981, Carney was one of the lead members of the Swollen Monkeys, along withMars Williams later ofthe Psychedelic Furs : the group released an album that yearAfterbirth of the Cool produced byHal Willner. Carney released several solo albums and was a member of theOranj Symphonette with fellow Waits alumni Joe Gore andMatt Brubeck.[4] He also headed upSan Francisco's Carneyball Johnson, playing onsaxophones, Turkish clarinet,piccolo,trumpet,percussion and vocals.
Carney collaborated with theBlack Keys on their studio albumAttack & Release (2008). He occasionally joined them on stage when they toured that record. In 2014, he collaborated with his nephewPatrick for theBoJack Horseman theme song.[5] He toured withThey Might Be Giants in the fall of 2009. He recorded and performed withBlack Francis in 2008 a score for the silent filmDer Golem (1920), he guested withYo La Tengo andMedeski Martin & Wood for live shows in 2010 and 2011. He recorded on aT Bone Burnett-produced project theGhost Brothers of Darkland County withMarc Ribot andElvis Costello, as yet unreleased. He performed on manyHal Willner-produced shows atUCLA's Royce Hall including a Tribute to Harry Smith in 2001, with a huge number of performers includingTodd Rundgren,Philip Glass, andDavid Johansen.
Carney composed music for two poetry records on Paris Records. One was with poetRobert Creeley calledReally!. He also did music for anIra Cohen record called theStauffenberg Cycle. In 1994 Ralph performed on theKathy Acker recordRedoing Childhood (Paris Records). He did some songs for some flashWeb Premiere Toons cartoons on CartoonNetwork.com in 2001. His old bandTin Huey put out a compilation CD of unreleased material in 2009 onSmog Veil Records. He did a collaboration withDavid Greenberger who puts outthe Duplex Planet calledOh Pa that came out in late 2011.[6] After 2009 he recorded and played gigs with his Ralph Carney's Serious Jass Project. A new recordSeriously was issued in July 2011 onSmog Veil Records.
Carney's nephewPatrick Carney is the drummer for the rock bandthe Black Keys. The two collaborated on the theme music to theNetflix original seriesBoJack Horseman. A memorial tribute can be observed during the opening credits to season 5.[5]
His older brother, Jim Carney, is a retired reporter for theAkron Beacon Journal.
Carney died on December 17, 2017, at the age of 61, from head injuries sustained falling down steps in his home in Portland, Oregon, the previous day.[7][8] He was survived by his daughter, Hedda, as well as his partner, Megan Hinchliffe.
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