Interview with Leftover
Salmon’s Andy Thorn
by BissList contributing editor, Josh Danson
I recently
spoke with Andy Thorn, banjo player for the seminal Colorado “slamgrass” unit Leftover
Salmon, as he was about to set off for the West Coast on the second leg of the
band’s Fall Tour. Thorn was thankfully spared the worst of the recent flooding
that devastated so much of the Rocky Mountain Front Slope, but his house has apparently
become something of a refuge for many that were displaced by the deluge. During
our conversation we discussed the floods and the sense of community that has
arisen out of the tragedy and then turned our focus to the music. Most
specifically, we discussed the recently announced partnership between Leftover
Salmon and one of their local craft brewers, Breckenridge Brewery, to deliver some of the band’s new music through an inventive marketing
arrangement. Starting in July and running through October, Leftover Salmon has pre-released
four new songs through Breckenridge Brewery’s 12-pack Sampler Packs, with
download codes provided on four collectable “Artist Series” beer coasters
packaged within the 12-packs.
The four
“Artist Series” coasters, were specially created by four well-known artists
from the “Rock Art” community -- Gary Houston, Jeff Wood, Nate Duval and Tyler
Stout – taking their inspiration from Leftover Salmon’s music and Breckenridge
Brewery’s beers. In addition to the coasters, each artist is printing a limited
run of 100 screen print posters. The posters will be available through select
giveaways on social media and at special events across the country.
In addition
to the download codes available on the coasters, the first three songs in the
series, “High Country,” “Thornpipe,” and “Get up and Go,” are all currently
available for download on iTunes, with the fourth coming soon.
Here’s the
rest of my conversation with Andy...
BL: I saw that you’ve been playing some
shows with the guys from Assembly of Dust. Have you played with those guys
before?
AT: Yeah, those guys are really good
friends. We did a tour together with them with the Emmitt-Nershi band and got
to know them then, so this was kind of picking back up on that.
BL: Last time I spoke with Vince [Herman, LoS’ founding
guitar player and vocalist] you guys were just back out
on the road after a pretty extended hiatus and feeling really good about being
back out there. You guys still feeling rejuvenated and enjoying yourselves out
there?
AT: Yeah I think so. We haven’t been
killing ourselves too bad, so we’re pretty fresh these days whenever we go out.
And we got some new material recorded, so we’re playing a lot of that and
that’s good fun and it’s keeping it new and fresh for everybody.
BL: So you’re keeping a little spring in
your step. That’s great. I guess you get wiser as the years go by and you’re
better able to prioritize what’s important. Are you guys all family men these
days, or is it just that when you mature as an artist you’re better able to
find that comfort zone between going out there getting after it and pulling
back a little and keeping your sanity?
AT: Yeah, you know, it’s trial and error
really. Sometimes you do lose your sanity, but that’s OK [laughs]. Together we
have a lot of fun. Everybody gets a long really great. Vince actually moved to
Oregon, which is a little sad because I used to just go over to his house all
the time. His house had an open-door policy, so anytime you stopped by somebody
was there jamming, whether it was his kids or him. So that’s a little
different, but now we just see him when we’re playing in the band and that kind
of keeps it even more fun that way – and he probably gets a little bit more
rest too.
BL: You ever get a song in your head or a
little kernel of a song and have to call him up and play something for him, or
play something for him over Skype or something like that?
AT: Yeah, or if I run across his kid’s
band playing in town I always give him a call and say, “Hey man, I’m watching
Gypsy Moon [featuring Vince Herman’s son Silas on guitar and mandolin] and
they’re killin’ it!” or something like that. I know sometimes he wishes he was
here, but I know he’s happy up there where he is too.
BL: Tell me a little about this new promotion
you guys are doing with Breckenridge Brewery.
AT: They’re based in Denver and our
manager is friends with some of the guys there and I guess in talking they came
up with this promotion. Breckenridge Brewery is trying to get more involved
with the local music scene and they came up with this idea. So basically it
forced us to go into the studio and figure out some new songs and that was
really the best part of it, because otherwise we don’t get together to work on
new stuff often enough. So it was really just a great excuse for us to go into
the studio, because everyone had a bunch of new originals, and we recorded ten
new songs -- and four of them are coming out through this new promotion.
BL: That’s great. And it’s pretty
appropriate considering Leftover Salmon is kind of good times music…
AT: Right, for some bands it might not be
an appropriate partnership, but it was perfect for us.
BL: Hah, right! Well you guys are so
closely associated with Colorado and the Rockies. It’s kind of like: Craft
Music, Craft Beer…
AT: Yeah, it just kind of makes sense.
BL: Now for the most important question
of the interview… Can I get one of those 12 packs out here in California?
AT: I hope so! Honestly, I’m not exactly
sure what the availability is right now. But if you see us out in San Francisco
we’re going to have a ton of the coasters with us and we’ll be giving them out
to people at the shows and there’s a download on each one.
BL: That’s great, because the artwork is
really cool and I’ve really enjoyed the couple songs that I’ve heard so far.
Particularly “High Country,” which is one that you wrote, correct? It’s kind of
a traditional bluegrass-y piece.
AT: Exactly. Yeah, it’s just a simple little tune that’s fun to jam.
BL: Yeah, just an old-timey, kind of nice, traditional
bluegrass piece.
AT: Yeah, it’s definitely the most traditional tune of
the bunch.
BL: How
would you describe the other tunes in the set? What’s Thornpipe all about? Is
that another acoustic piece?
AT: Yeah,
it’s a banjo instrumental. Kind of traditional as well. But other than that we
a little bit of everything. We have some bluesy stuff with the harmonica player
Sugar Blue [a Grammy Award-winner who is best known for his work with
the Rolling Stones on Some Girls, Emotional Rescue and Tattoo You]. Andy Hall from the Infamous
String Dusters played dobro on one song. So there’s some cool guests too.
BL: Well that sounds great and it brings
me to my next question… You guys are
playing at the Independent in San Francisco, one of my favorite venues out
here, this coming Sunday [October 6th], and I see it’s billed as Leftover
Salmon and Friends. Any hints as to who the “friends” might be? Or do I just
have to go to the show and find out?
AT: We’re really not even sure at this
point, but we have so many friends who are playing Hardly Strictly on Sunday
that if you just look at the schedule you could just sort of expect any of them
to show up. A lot of those bands are good friends of our so I have a feeling
that a lot of those people will show up. Should be pretty cool, should be some
pretty fun guests.
Leftover Salmon and Friends are playing at The
Independent at 628 Divisidero in San Francisco on Sunday, Oct. 6th
at 8:00 PM.
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