JACKSON HOLE, WYO – There are a number of institutions in Teton County that carry a sense of community, and One Ton Pig has certainly carved out their own insulated scene at the Silver Dollar Showroom as the Tuesday house band for over a decade. The sextet will celebrate with a CD Release Party on their home turf this Tuesday.
With the release of Parade of Song, which dropped to streaming services just over a week ago, there’s absolutely a shift in consciousness with individual and collective changes within the band. More than musical maturity, new babies were born and the loss of family and friends percolate lyrically. This is also the first album with upright/electric bassist Marty Camino and the second album with fiddler Matt Herron. The song split also seems to be slightly more spread between primary songwriter/frontman Michael Batdorf, mandolinist/vocalist Tim Farris, and guitarist/vocalist Justin Smith. The latter three writers are as vastly different as their voices, which makes for an interesting track-to-track sequence.
“Of the four albums we’ve produced, Parade of Song is by far our most honest body of work,” Batdorf said. “I feel like a large part of maturing as a band is realizing not only your strengths, but weaknesses. We wrote and performed what we do well instead of trying to attain something that is beyond our reach or capability, and the work is more cohesive and stronger for this. The amount of preparation that went into the album prior to hitting ‘record,’ is indicative of the pride One Ton Pig feels for itself.”
The standout, melancholy title track features guest vocals from Karee Miller Jaeger, a Batdorf-penned song and tribute to Karee’s sister, Candice Miller Kwiatkowski, who passed away a year ago this month. Elsewhere in the set, you can hear special guests and frequent collaborators Ted Wells (banjo) and Ben Winship (vocals). As with all previous studio albums, the twelve-song, fifty minute set was recorded at The Henhouse in Victor and self-produced by One Ton Pig.
“The production of this album is a collaborative effort,” Batdorf added. “Ben got the mix close. We shared a lot of notes and occasionally would go back into the studio with him to discuss adjustments. This process has worked for us in the past with the songwriter ultimately having the say when it is done. We also brought in Shawn Fleming as a drum tech and assist in creating a strong drum tone. Ben does as good a job as any when recording acoustic instruments.”
Unlike many contemporary “progressive” bluegrass bands, Parade of Song is mixed transparently with minimal reverb or effects in favor of polished, crystal clear hi-fidelity. The material dips outside the grassy realm quite often into thoughtfully arranged singer-songwriter material, further emphasizing this band’s chemistry that includes the propulsions of drummer/percussionist Jason Baggett.
Cut a rug at One Ton Pig’s “CD Release Party” 7:30 to 11 p.m. this Tuesday at the Silver Dollar Showroom. Free.
