In the Studio with Lloyd Green and Mike Auldridge...

It was a fine Friday morning when we loaded instruments and such into the House of David recording studio in Nashville.

Peter Cooper and I had realized that with a bit of fast logistical work we could make a dream come true and get into the studio with both Mike Auldridge AND Lloyd Green.

Lloyd has recorded two full records with Peter, and was the featured player on my duo record with Peter, "You Don't Have to Like Them Both." And Mike had recorded with me in The Skylighters a few years back (making a dream come true for this longtime fan of the original Seldom Scene lineup).... Then on April 6, Mike joined the two of us (and trumpeter Kevin Cordt) on stage up in Rockville, MD, at the Inst. of Musical Traditions show.... That's when we started dreaming.

And when Mike told us he was coming down to Nashville to lay down some dobro tracks on a Patty Loveless session, well, the cogs just started turning.

So, long story longer..... Mike said he'd love to stay another day for the chance to record with Lloyd Green, his long time friend and major influence on pedal steel (Mike is quite the steel player as anyone who's heard The Skylighters CD knows). And Lloyd said he was free on April 17 and would love to record with Mike, his major influence on dobro.

Peter and I called up House of David and booked the room. Then we called Richard Bennett (gutar and octave mandolin), Pat McInerney (drums), and Dave Roe (upright bass). They were all free and eager to record with a couple of legends. If you don't know those guys, they are among the best on their instruments. Bennett made the guitar sounds on S. Earle's "Guitar Town" and is currently in Mark Knopfler's band. McInerney is the longtime drummer in Nanci Griffith's Blue Moon Orchestra. Roe toured for years with a guy named Cash. Yep. That guy.

The next thing was the material. Hmmmmmm.
I had a song that Karl Straub and I had written, called "It Won't Be Me." It would certainly work with this band. Peter had a fine, fine tune co-written with Don Schlitz called "Suffer a Fool." Perfect. But we needed more. So we did what we did when we made our duo record.... racked our brains and listened to records and came up with a list:
* "Wait a Minute" by Herb Pedersen, recorded by the Seldom Scene
* "I Wish We Had Our Time Again" by John Hartford
* "I Flew Over Our House Last Night" by Tom T Hall
* "Silent Night" by Jon Byrd

Peter and I had sung "Wait a Minute" with Mike up in D.C., and we're both huge Seldom Scene fans... and that's such a great song....

"I Wish We Had Our Time" is an old fiddle tune that Hartford added words to. At first it seems like a lighthearted romp, but then you realize, it's one of the best songs about years going by ever written....

The Tom T. song I've recorded with Last Train Home, on the "Live at IOTA" DVD, but it's such a great song and we knew that Lloyd and Mike could really sink their teeth into it.

And the Jon Byrd song first appeared on the "Yuletide From the Other Side" CD that I put out in 2007 on Red Beet Records, and I can't get it out of my head. It's just gorgeous....

So... we had the songs...
And then we went into the studio...
Brenton was behind the boards running things...

and...
it...
was...
amazing...

I can't say for sure when these songs will see the light of day.... We all agreed that we should find 6 more songs and book another day in the studio. That will all depend on Mike's travel schedule this year, but he is up for it, so I can promise you that I will try hard to make this happen. That will make it a full album.

We were also filming the proceedings (well, Eric Fritsch was behind the camera) so I'll bet that we'll have a short video up soon on YouTube (you can go there now and type "red beet" and see some other stuff we've been up to...)

Okay... that's all for now....

Surrounding myself with talent.....

So it's Tuesday, April 14, and I'm getting ready to play a show tonight at 12th & Porter, a fine venue here in Nashville.... It's the Billy Block Show, and Peter Cooper and I will be doing a 25-minute set starting at 8 pm sharp. So if you read this in time, then come on down... it's going to be really good.
We've got a full band with us tonight : Paul Griffith (drums), Dave Roe (bass), Tim Carroll (electric guitar), Jen Gunderman (keys), and Pete Finney (pedal steel). It'll be mighty fine.

Speaking of how lucky I am to play with such great musicians, I gotta say, this coming Friday, there's something really special happening. Peter and I will be going into the studio with some pals of ours, including pedal steel legend Lloyd Green and dobro legend Mike Auldridge. I've played with Lloyd on this recent recording I did with Peter Cooper ("You Don't Have to Like Them Both"), and Peter has recorded a bunch with Lloyd on his own. I got to record with Mike on "The Skylighters" project with Jimmy Gaudreau and the LTH rhythm section... but here's the thing: Mike and Lloyd have never recorded together like this (Mike on dobro and Lloyd on steel). They *did* record a double-dobro instrumental that Mike wrote called "Lloyd's of Nashville," back on Mike's self-titled album from around 1975... but they've never done *this* before...
Peter and I each have a new song, and we cherry-picked some tunes we wanted to hear these fellers on.... and we've come up with a half-dozen that would be suited to the world's greatest pedal steel player and the world's greatest dobro player (what songs *wouldn't* be improved with those two playing on them???)
We'll be joined in the studio by Dave Roe (bass), Pat McInerney (drums), and Richard Bennett (guitar). The thing is, those three are at the top of any list for their respective instruments too. It's going to be spectacular...
I'll report back on how it all goes....