Originally from Minneapolis, Gagner began his musical career as a drummer soaking up local favorites Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, and The Jayhawks. He moved to San Francisco, traded his drum sticks for an acoustic guitar, and began writing. From the start, his songs were rhythmically sophisticated and melodically mature, with hooks both surprising and inevitable. An obsession with home recording quickly developed, and he soon found himself spending every night hunched over a cheap four-track cassette recorder. Several years and several hundred songs later, Gagner was ready to polish the best tracks for his debut.

What started as a loose concept album evolved into a more autobiographical statement after two life-changing events: emergency surgery and marriage within the same year. Rhapsody in Blonde emerged with a focused clarity forged from the extremes of physical pain and redemptive love. This story of adversity and triumph culminates with surprise coda, "Sweet Child of Mine" reinterpreted as a tender lullaby to his unborn daughter.

The album was recorded by JJ Wiesler (Girls, Vic Chestnutt) and mixed at John Vanderslice's Tiny Telephone studio. With this accomplished debut, Gagner presents himself as a formidable songwriter with a singular voice. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.