BY LARRY NAGER
The Cincinnati Enquirer

‘‘I would do the last 10 years over again in a heartbeat,’’ Over The Rhine’s Linford Detweiler says. ‘‘I had an idea that I brought to the table as a band, and the four of us took it and had a pretty good ride.’’

The CD brings closure to OTR’s first decade.

A lot has changed since 1989. A major-label deal was once key to national success. In 1999, there are alternatives, and Linford and his wife, Karin Bergquist, have some major-label misgivings.

‘‘It’s hard for me to get all that excited about recording a record every three years, dumping a bunch of money into the recording, then giving the record to the label to sell,’’ says, Linford, sitting in the dining room of the couple’s Victorian house in Norwood. (Grey Ghost, their office/studio, is on the third floor.) ‘‘In the meantime how do I make a living?’’

He’s considering releasing OTR CDs through an independent label/distributor like Rykodisc.

‘‘We’d make the records we want to make. If the spirit was moving we could make two or three a year.’’

He figures it would be 2001 at the earliest before the first OTR CD is released on Capitol, for instance.

‘‘We might make a really good record, but in the meantime we could double our catalog (independently).’’

They already know their market. OTR has kept in touch with the faithful through a huge mailing list, their Rhinelander fan club and the Internet. Good Dog Bad Dog, their first CD after the demise of I.R.S., is the band’s top-selling disc at more than 25,000 copies. A major-label flop, that’s an independent hit.

The couple has a busy spring and summer ahead. Along with Amateur Shortwave Radio, Linford is releasing a CD of solo piano music. This summer, they’ll spend five weeks touring with Cowboy Junkies.

Whether they go to the majors or stay independent, mostly they want to keep growing as musicians.

‘‘I’m really looking forward to the next however many years, because (OTR) has grown into a space which is going to push me a lot to get out there and find some fresh ideas, get some new blood, just try different things,’’ Linford says.

‘‘I want to keep things as flexible as possible,’’ Karin agrees. ‘‘I just want to keep my options open. You need to do it to stay healthy. You need to do it to stay inspired.’’