JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Locally written, locally recorded. That’s what Teton-based musicians and artists Coyote Queen, Aaron Davis, Nikki Sixx, and Abby Webster have in common—intimate sessions at Three Hearted Recording, a log cabin studio in Hoback that affords a mountain vibe to hi-fi and lo-fi recording, audio production, mixing and mastering, composition for film/video, and voiceover captures. Today and over the next few months, the fruits of these recordings become available for consumption. Here’s more about each original work, in the order they will be released, and some songs are streaming at the bottom of this page.
Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and producer-engineer Aaron Davis (of Three Hearted Recording) releases the four-song Catalyst EP today. Stream it here. It’s his fourth solo release, and tenth album of original material across several different projects, including four records with Screen Door Porch. Catalyst captures Aaron Davis & the Mystery Machine quartet playing live together, in studio—Jason Baggett (drums), David Bundy (harmony vocals/P Bass), Mike Patton (harmony vocals, piano, Wurlitzer, mellotron, trombone), with Davis on lead vocals, clawhammer banjo, percussion, and guitars (acoustic, electric, resonator, lap steel). Embellishments and post-production experimentation continued as 2020 wobbled into 2021, which included a couple of good pickers in guitarist Mike Swanson (Coyote Queen) and violinist Matt Herron.
Catalyst was funded through a Music Fellowship via the National Endowment for the Arts and Wyoming Arts Council—a merit-based award that takes into consideration an artist’s previous body of work. (Webster was also a Fellowship recipient). First song on the EP, “You Bet (The Catalyst Blues),” broadcasts the words of an indigenous Wyoming family pleading for decency during the pandemic. The upbeat, slide guitar and swirly organ-infused tribute “The Great Ones” is dedicated to the families and loved ones of late local icons, Travis Zeihl and Candice Miller Kwiatkowski—a song which Wyoming Sounds’ Grady Kirkpatrick described as having “The Band vibe going throughout.”
Coyote Queen is the musical project of guitarist-vocalist-songwriter Mike Swanson and vocalist Kate Swanson, the same creative pair that co-founded Idle Hands Workshop. With folk, alt-country, bluegrass and cosmic twang at it’s core, their ambitious debut record It Takes a Steady Wind will drop September 3, including a vinyl release. First single “The Quiet Trail” is already out while a second single, “Only You” was released today. The nine-song set includes locals Brock Benjamin (vocals, Wurlitzer, banjo), Matt Herron (violin), Ryan Ptasnik (drums), and Rob Sidle (electric & upright bass), and guests sprinkled throughout—Aaron Davis (slide guitar), Brett Lanier of The Barr Brothers (pedal steel), Mark Longfield (piano), Mike Patton (organ), and Ben White (organ).
The nine songs were co-produced by Swanson and Davis, recorded and mixed by Davis at Three Hearted Recording, and mastered by David Glasser at Airshow in Boulder, CO. Listen and follow at Coyote Queen’s Spotify.
From “The Quiet Trail”…
Out where time stands still
If for a moment to pass
As the springtime rains recede
The sun-dried hills will call to me
To get back on the quiet trail again
Abby Webster has quickly established herself as an artistic force in the local scene, performing as a solo act and a trio. Dry wit with raw honesty, the avant-garde lyricist’s songs are filled with metaphor and dark humor, though they are just as whimsical as they are visceral. These elements are tied together in her forthcoming single, “88 Constellations,” which was co-produced by Webster and Davis, and mixed/mastered by Davis. The track features Webster (songwriting, vocals, acoustic guitar), Ryan Ptasnik (drums, percussion), Herron (Violin), and Davis (open back banjo, acoustic & electric guitars). The single will drop in September and you can track this at the Abby Webster Spotify page.
Nikki Sixx, best known as the co-founder, bassist and primary songwriter of Mötley Crüe, is also a three-time New York Times best-selling author with The Heroin Diaries, This Is Gonna Hurt, and Mötley Crüe’s The Dirt. His fourth outing as an author, the fascinating The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx tells his origin story: how Frank Feranna became Nikki Sixx, chronicling his journey from irrepressible Idaho farmboy to the man who formed a revolutionary rock group. Prefer the audiobook version? Listen to Nikki read the book to you, captured at Three Hearted Recording and released by Hachette Book Group. Pre-orders are available at Barnes & Noble and other retailers for an October 19 release.
For more information about Three Hearted Recording services, visit AaronDavisMusic.com.
