For years, I have had the vision of assembling a "local Wrecking Crew" to accompany the recordings of my songs, with each line-up tailor-made to suit the specifics of each tune. The goal was to represent the sounds of this particular area of the Ozarks by using some of its finest players, also while reaching beyond the confines of a singular group/band of musicians to create a more diverse version of this sound.
This idea would have stayed in my head forever had it not been for @gravyboatjohnson , who graciously invited me out to his family's ranch in rural Stone County, Missouri in fall of 2020 to track some of my songs at the @humpbrellaproductions studio. What began as a simple live session quickly expanded into a full-blown studio production.
Because this started happening during a time where live shows were scarce, a lot of amazing musicians that I could've never dreamt of being involved with my music were suddenly available to contribute to it. Some sent their tracks from far-away places and some made the journey out to the ranch to track in person. Suddenly my dream was happening in real time.
After each session, I got to leave with a CD to recall our progress on the drive back home. Those CDs stacked up over the months as we worked tirelessly on these songs into the small hours of the morning, harvesting tones, riding ATVs, and having a rip-roaring good time. Working with Chad was an insurmountable delight and a total honor. He took these songs to sonic places I never could have imagined, and we never stopped having fun. I can't wait to share with you what we've been cooking up.
