Meanwhile, Somewhere in St. Louis...

When is a cabin not a cabin? Probably lots of replies would fit that question. Today's answer is: When it is a recording studio. Back in October, the Erin Bode Group came up and transformed Birch cabin into a recording studio, so that they could work on their latest jazz album. The musicians are based in St. Louis, Tennessee, and California, but they all agree that the Northwoods is a great place to converge for a task such as this. They came with their cars and truck fully packed with instruments, speakers, components, and all sorts of other things of which I don't even know the names. One time, Bill, our local UPS man, delivered a big black set of something, clearly for the effort's success.

This was actually the second time they used Birch for this purpose. A year earlier, they had produced a Christmas album in August. They said that the layout worked well for what they were doing: each musician was set up in a room and all were connected by headphones, microphones, and wires...Lots of wires.

That album, A Cold December Night, ended up with a cabin on the cover, one that resembles Birch in a way, with a bit of artistic license thrown in.

Since I am not able to describe the music of this group, other than to say that it is fantastic, I will quote here from their website:

"The Erin Bode Group creates music forged from the Americana of its members' midwestern roots, infused with jazz grooves and made magic by Bode's bell-like voice. Sophisticated arrangements and attention to phrasing, both vocal and instrumental, further distinguish the band's fresh sound."

We have had the opportunity to hear Erin, Syd, Adam and Derek play live in Grand Marais. They have appeared at the Gunflint Tavern, and they performed at the Jazz Festival in 2008. Erin has longtime ties to the Gunflint Trail, and when we visited the museum the other night, we saw pictures of many of her relatives there.

When Erin called to book the cabin for the second album, my main concern was for the outside noise that would be happening here. Since it was October, it was firewood season. We had to keep working our way through the firewood pile, using the very noisy splitter, as winter was not far off. She assured me that it would not interfere, since things had worked so well in the previous year. Back then, my concern was that Moses the donkey would somehow find a way to get one of his songs on the album. Of course, that didn't happen, thank heavens.

During the latter part of their stay, Erin invited us over to hear a preview of the music. What a delightful time we had, listening to the tracks that they had accomplished. I got a quick look into the creative process of musicians, as they would critique each song as it was playing, notebook and pencil in hand. At the end of the song, they would say things like, "What was missing?" or "I think it needed --this-- in that particular spot." I was amazed that they could identify areas that they wanted to change, when to me, it already sounded spectacular.

So, back to St. Louis. Today happens to be the debut for the new album. If I were able to travel in a blink, I would love to be in that city today, to go to the release party. If someone out there in Missouri is reading this, you should go in my place. I know you'll have a great time!

I love that the album is titled Photograph. Be sure to visit the website, as you will be able to learn more about Erin and her group, and you can catch glimpses of some of the photos they took while they stayed here at Heston's. This one in particular really delights me. And be sure to listen to a few of her tracks. They are amazing!