Rose Absolute (1989 - 1993) was an original Urban Folk Duet consisting of Kari Tauring on guitar and vocals and Gina Sauer on vocals and percussion (sometimes flute).

The two met in the theater department of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa in the mid '80s. Forming Rose Absolute in late 1989 while both were students in St. Paul, Minnesota. The duo quickly became favorites of the Coffee House Folk Renaissance of the early '90's. They wrote voraciously and released two cassettes of their work and recieved accolades from local press. They performed in such a variety of venues around the Twin Cities as the Just Plain Folk festival to benefits at State Theater and the Orpheum. They were one of the first regulars at Mike Mitchke' old Victoria Cafe (Music City Cafe). Frequent guests at the Cedar Cultural Center open stage events, they joined voices with such Twin Cities legends as Curtis and Loretta and Roady Tate.

*Rose Absolute (1990)
Is a self titled full album of 14 original Urban Folk songs on cassette by Rose Absolute which sold widely throughout the Twin Cities. Recorded at Visions of Sound studio by Steve Hughlett, cover art by Andrew Ahlstrom.

MP3 1 "People of the Dark" , Tauring/BMI, A favorite from this album inspired the two to create a music video with bass player Johny Faeth, then head of Audio Visual at Augsburg College, Minneapolis.

"It's a moody, reflective sigh of a song about having one foot in each world as they say. I was actively studying Dream Work and often felt as though I was living interdimensionally"...and she was!

MP3 2 "The Letter" a song about the first Gulf War was recently re-recorded for Voices in the Wilderness available here- protesting the current Gulf War which is also about oil. How bizzare that we would repeat a mistake so closely on the heels of the first one.
"This was based on the letters of a friend of mine serving in that war who, along with countless others, went AWOL."

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*Some Kind of Mecca (1991)
9 originals - included studio musician and recording artist Steve Hughlett at Visions of Sound Studio. Cover art by Karl Jones.

MP3 1 "Amsterdam by Phone." The title comes from a line out of the cut,This popular number relates Tauring's conversation with the soldier from "The Letter" who went AWOL during the first Gulf War.
"He called me in the middle of the night from Amsterdam. He made no sense because he was so freaked out and I felt pretty helpless to help him. I told him to call his mom then sat down and wrote this song."

Mp3 2 "Black River Song" is still being sung and played, most recently along with a poem by Matt Spillum inspired by this work. It is the tale of a young Sheela Na Gig who must begin at the Gulf of the Mississippi River to it's source and heal it there. Along the way she will heal with her own river of blood.

"When Hurricane Katrina hit I thought..."oh, too late for this gentle healing, we are headed for an Enima." It wasn't as harsh up here as it was down there but it will be years of identifying and researching the affects of such a surge.

This is a song about healing in general. We have to go to the source of the pollution, toxins, dis-ease, in order to really purge it!" kt

Thanks to Jim McGuire 12/05 for creating these Mp3s for us!

Wanting to play with a larger sound and a fuller pallet, the duet did some studio recordings with Dave Lewis on drums and Steve Hughlett who recorded their first two releases. He added bass and guitar licks.
These sessions are not yet obtained for web distribution.

Rose Absolute - the Johny Faeth years
In 1992 Rose Absolute expanded to add bass player Johnny Faeth, then a director of AV at Augsburg College. In addition to adding his solid and soulful bass lines, he began to record the group. Inspired by the available technology they also put together two music videos (soon to become available).

A demo CD is now available which includes the searing and emotional fiddle playing of Eric Sessions who joined the group in recording and gigs here and there. He was playing with Pigs Eye Landing at the time as well.

"Dressed in Blue" words by Gina Sauer, music by Kari Tauring and Gina Sauer is a great pop-song.
"I'm not sure but I think this one was inspired by Gina's cousins in Germany. Their perception of the care-free and famous American that rested on a mix of Buddy Holly and David Hasselhoff." kt

"Searching" by Kari Tauring. This long soulful folk rock anthem was inspired by Kari's spiritual questing during these years. Past life work taken on in the dream time, the awakening of the Goddess and a warning to her prince not to loose faith - "she never died, no. You weren't meant to see".

Many thanks to John Faeth for hanging onto and providing copies of these songs after all these years!

Discography