The musical journey of Geoffrey Rutledge began at age nine in Pontiac, Michigan, when his older brother bought Geoffrey his first guitar for $5. Hitting the road at 18, Geoffrey's made music professionally from Key West to San Francisco ever since. An insightful, soulful singer/songwriter, Geoffrey's musical influences range from James Taylor to Sting to Stevie Wonder.

He received the Northern California Songwriters Association's prestigious "Song of the Year" award, and has played the main stage at the Kerrville Folk Festival for the past six years running. He's also shared the stage at various venues with such prominent artists as Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, David Crosby & Graham Nash, and John Prine (to name just a few) and has worked in the studio with Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, and Dean Parks.

About RST
RST (Rutledge, Smith & Tindel) came to life when Geoffrey Rutledge and Lennox Smith, performing as Two Left Hands, teamed with John Tindel in Key West to become the house band at the famed bar Sloppy Joe's (the favorite haunt of novelist Ernest Hemingway). The chemisty was right and they decided to take the next step and begin writing original songs together.

Upon moving to California, things started going in the right direction for the band. After spending a year in the studio writing songs and developing their unique sound, they earned the reputation as the most happening band to hit the West Coast in years. Chris Jackson, a DJ at KUFX Radio 94.5FM, said "RST is the best band to come out of the South Bay since the Doobie Brothers."

Russ Kunkel (veteran drummer with James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Stevie Nicks, and the producer of Jimmy Buffet's Fruitcakes CD) liked what he heard so much that he personally took RST into the studio and produced their debut CD. In addition to producing and playing drums, Russ brought in some of the best musicians in the business to help with the sessions, including Leland Sklar (bassist for James Taylor, Phil Collins, etc.), Dean Parks (guitarist for Steely Dan), Mark Russo (saxophonist for Yellowjackets and Kenny Loggins), and Sean Hopper (organist with Huey Lewis and the News).

RST's roots and influences vary, with Rutledge and Tindel growing up in the Midwest and Smith hailing from the Gulf Coast. All grew up listening to James Taylor and CSN, but developed audio palettes that included country, classical, and progressive music. Their self-produced second CD How Do We Get There? shows a return to their acoustic origins, weaving tales of Americanan with their trademark three-part harmonies.