Trout Fishing in America (duo)
Trout Fishing in America is an American musical duo which performs folk rock and children's music. The duo is composed of Keith Grimwood (bass guitar, upright bass, vocals) and Ezra Idlet (guitars, banjo, bouzouki, vocals). They took their name from the novel "Trout Fishing in America" by Richard Brautigan. The duo has released multiple albums through their own Trout Music label. History. Grimwood attended the University of Houston and played in the Houston Symphony Orchestra after graduation, whereas Idlet left a college basketball team to pursue rock and roll. The two met while performing  together in the Houston-based folk-rock band Wheatfield, later renamed St. Elmo's Fire. When St. Elmo's Fire dissolved in 1979, Grimwood and Idlet formed Trout Fishing in America on the streets of Santa Cruz, California. The band was based for many years in Houston, Texas, but moved to the Prairie Grove, Arkansas area in 1992. The two began recording music independently on Trout Records, and one of their songs, "When I Was a Dinosaur", received rotation on Dr. Demento's radio show. Trout Fishing in America has received much critical recognition for both family and adult music . This includes four Grammy Award nominations in the Best Musical Album for Children category: first for their 2001 release "inFINity", then for their 2004 release "Merry Fishes to All", then for their 2006 live performance release "My Best Day", and finally for their 2008 release "Big Round World". In addition to their albums and tours, Trout Fishing in America conducts songwriting workshops. Trout Fishing in America has also written two children's books with accompanying CDs: "My Name Is Chicken Joe" and "Chicken Joe Forgets Something Important". Both books were published by Canadian publisher The Secret Mountain, and illustrated by  Stéphane Jorisch. Musical style. A 1995 article in the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" described the duo's music as "not pedantic, nor does it pander to children, but merely deals with topics that kids can relate to or those that will make them laugh." Grimwood noted in the same article that the duo chose to record more children's music because of teachers who would attend their earlier shows and encourage the duo to play for their students. Discography. All releases under the Trout Records label.