Arthur King Presents Danny Frankel, Victoria Williams, Doug Wieselman: Roofrack For
Ralph.

Roofrack For Ralph finds three expert musicians and long-time friends, each with their
own distinctly varied and impressive catalogs, joining together to push boundaries and forge a
musical kinship that defies genre and tradition.

The trio of musicians convened in Frankel’s Joshua Tree home in December of 2017 to
record Roofrack. Largely improvised, the calm interplay of guzheng, guitar, reeds, and
percussion fuses into a strange yet stirring impression of Americana. This instrumentation
provides a welcoming bed of sound for Williams’ vocals, which range from the soft melodic
murmurs of “Be Who U R” to the deep guttural proclamations of “Nobody Home.” Throughout
the album the trio touches on elements of folk, ambient, avant-garde jazz, and at times even no
wave without residing in any one area long enough to make their music categorizable.

The recording of this album took place shortly after the passing of the trio’s close friend Ralph
Carney. This tragic event deeply affected the three musicians and imbues these songs with a
somber and reflective quality. The title of the album as well as some of Williams’ lyrics contained
within serve as a tribute to their friendship and memories of Ralph.