Nate Ostrander

BIOGRAPHY

Art born from seeming contradiction has a particular way of penetrating the subconscious. “Ramble”, the new single from Eastern Washington horse trainer / songwriter Nate Ostrander, is eminently engaging and full of nuance. Guided by the singular vision of the landlocked yacht-rock impresario Dionnie Emerson, a heady combination of woozy psychedelia and blue-eyed soul reminds us not to judge a psych-rock visionary by his Carhartt and callouses…

Born into a family equally enthralled with all things musical and equine, Ostrander grew up with a musician father and an extended family of horse trainers. “My dad was a musician in a cover band for 16 years professionally” says Ostrander. “I remember him sitting on the couch practicing songs, playing guitar, and singing for hours. I loved it. He started to teach me a bit here and there. Once I showed enough interest, he and my mom decided to get me a guitar of my own.” Money was tight, and one birthday they gave young Nate a small box. “I thought to myself, ‘A guitar can’t fit in this box!’. I unwrapped it, revealing dollar bills taped all over the inside. There, at the bottom, was a picture of Eddie Van Hallen’s guitar. It was all they could manage, but it was a start.” That gift kicked off a few years of saving up, and eventually a lime-green Epiphone was his.

A high school obsession with R&B would lead to enrollment in Spoke Falls Community College, and a degree in Commercial Music and Audio Engineering. While there, Ostrander landed a job with the multi-station Citadel Radio Broadcasting Company. His talent for the work apparent, he was soon made a part of the engineering team. After graduation, he was hired by two of the largest Eastern Washington live pro sound companies and also taught guitar at a popular school in Spokane. Living the dream, he would go on to produce live sound for hundreds of shows and give thousands of lessons.

At the same time, Ostrander was satisfying the need for the footlights by playing in some of the bigger cover bands on the Coeur d’Alene resort circuit. Inspired to create his own art, he took the initial steps into writing original music. Eleven years later, his debut LP Break Outwas finally released. “The original music scene in Spokane isn’t great” he tells. “Cover bands were where it was if you wanted to make any money being a musician.” Wanting to refine his solo acoustic act, Ostrander spent hours watching his friends Donnie and Nancy Emerson perform.

Eventually, though, Ostrander realized that there was something missing in his life. Although the journey into music had been an adventure, he had fallen away from one of his first loves; horses. So, he decided to start his own training company, Two Eyes Horsemanship. To say things went well would be an understatement. He became so busy that he no longer had time to run live sound or give lessons, so he shifted his music focus to live performance and songwriting.

Meanwhile his friend Donnie Emerson was enjoying breakout success with the rediscovery and re-issue of the 1979 album he’d recorded with his brother Joe, Dreamin’ Wild. Soon enough fate brought the two of them together in the acoustic room of a local music store. They played a few tunes together, and Donnie brought up the idea of working together.

So, today we find Nate Ostrander living his best life, straddling two worlds and excelling at each of them. There will always be more horses to train, and more songs to be written. Expect a full-length from Mr. Ostrander (with Mr. Emerson at his side) soon.