With Leftover Salmon headlining Friday night at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, we thought it only fitting to feature their brand new CD, "Aquatic Hitchhiker", their first studio album in 8 years, and the first to debut all original compositions.
“One of the magical things about Leftover Salmon is there’s a lot of symbiosis,” says founding member Vince Herman. “It's been really exciting to get back to the studio and bounce off of each other’s ideas.”
Banjo prodigy Andy Thorn is the most recent addition to the line up, and, at 29, he’s also the youngest. “He brought a lot of energy and excitement into the studio and you can hear it on the title track.”
Written by Thorn, “Aquatic Hitchhikers” starts off as a slow burn and then explodes into a freewheeling instrumental romp showcasing the band’s technical mastery in bluegrass, country, roots, classical, jazz and more. “In less than four minutes it encapsulates what the band’s career has been all about.” The song “Liza” is Leftover Salmon’s take on bluegrass with a calypso twist, and “Gulf Of Mexico” is a bluesy groove about the BP oil spill: Things are a little different ‘round here these days / Since the storm and the spill drove all the people away. “We still like songs that say something about what's going on in the world real time, and songs that get people to move,” explained Vince.
Today, Leftover Salmon is: Vince Herman (vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin); Drew Emmitt (vocals, mandolin, acoustic and electric guitars, mandola, fiddle); Andy Thorn (vocals acoustic and electric banjo, National guitar); Greg Garrison (vocals, acoustic and electric bass, acoustic guitar); Jose Martinez (drums, percussion, and cardboard box.)
Tune-in for Aquatic Hitchhiker, Friday 6/22 at noon. Hope you're lucky enough to see Leftover Salmon at the sold-out 2012 TBGF!
