The world's first "brown grass" album; traditional, unplugged country music with a wrinkle or two.

12 MP3 Songs
COUNTRY: Traditional Country, COUNTRY: Country Folk



Details:
I wasnât born or raised in Montana. I probably wonât die there either, unless I go pheasant hunting with Dick Cheney. But I did go to Flathead High School and I consider Kalispell to be home. Thereâs been a lot of water under the bridge since 1966, the year I graduated. This album is my homage to Montana. Some of it comes directly out of experiences Iâve had there. Some of it doesnât. You can chalk the rest up to good ole fashioned lament, I suppose.

As for "Brown Grass Music":

When I called Paul Scholten of County Q Productions in Nashville, I told him I had an album I wanted to do (in what we know these days as) âunplugged.â He said that was great, that he loved cutting records that way, sort of like âOh Brother Where Art Thou?â I responded; âwell, letâs just say I want to do the album unplugged.â Iâve always thought of my favorite country music as being more along the lines of white trash blues, but I didnât especially want to reveal that to Paul at the time. So I sent him the work tape and he charted out the tunes for his hand-picked blue grass studio band to play on the album. When I arrived in Nashville and went into the studio, Paul told our sound engineer, Rob Matson, that we were going to spend the day cutting a âbrown grassâ album.

Okay. I can live with that. Maybe thatâs a little more flattering than âwhite trash blues.â Maybe it isnât. Either way, itâs heartfelt and thatâs the point. Enjoy it.

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SAID OF PETE WILKE'S MUSIC:

"Pete Wilke's vivid story-songs...run a gamut of real feelings - from tender and warm to angry and hurt to ultimately triumphant and celebratory."
John Roos, LOS ANGELES TIMES

"Wilke's songs cover a wide range of the country spectrum...everything from rousing honky-tonk to tears-in-the-beer weepers."
John McElligott, Jr. ORANGE COUNTY WEEKLY

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Singer/songwriter Pete Wilkeâs first public foray into country music was when his stage production, âCountry! The Musical,â debuted at The Crazy Horse Saloon in Orange County back in the late â90s. A cutting-edge piece of environmental theater, the show thrilled audiences with its 6-piece country band and 6 actors who played the parts of waitresses and patrons, wandering the room as their stories unfolded, occasionally surprising an audience member by sitting down at their table to deliver a song! Creator of both the book and the 20 songs (all recorded in Nashville), Wilke was heralded as a meaningful songwriter: âMainly through Wilkeâs vivid story-songs, this impressive musical makes you care about the fate of its everyday-folk charactersâ; âPete Wilkeâs lyrics, book and music poke gentle fun at and pay tribute to the stereotypes of the country-music world without having to resort to parody, rather with humor and occasional pathos, both of which come across as genuine.â And so on. The stage show went on to a second later run at the Crazy Horse, followed a few years later by a filmed version, âCountry Rules,â shot predominantly at Buck Owenâs Crystal Palace in Bakersfield. An experimental piece, itâs currently in post-production.

But not one to wait, Wilke decided it was time to put his own vocal spin on his songs, picking his favorites from a deep repertoire of material that runs from current to way-back-when! Cutting tracks in Nashville reunited him with producer/arranger Paul Scholten, resulting in a collection of songs that stand out in their authentic traditional-country interpretation, sung simply and knowingly from the writer who penned them. Wilkeâs warm, expressive vocals will surprise those whoâve only known him as a songwriter, and country-music lovers (and others!) will surely find Down From Montana a heartfelt expression of life that belongs in their collection.


DOWN FROM MONTANA:

Music & Lyrics by Pete Wilke

Lead vocals: Pete Wilke

Back-up vocals: Lorraine Devon Wilke, Pete Wilke

Music produced and arranged by Paul Scholten

Vocals produced, mixed and mastered by John Perez

Back-up vocal arrangements by Lorraine Devon Wilke

Music Sound Engineer: Rob Matson

Vocal Sound Engineer: John Perez

Players:

Drums, Percussion: Paul Scholten
Acoustic Guitar: Steven Sheehan
Banjo, Fiddle, Guitar: Joe Spivey
Steel: Russ Pahl
String Bass: Don Kerce

Music produced at County Q Productions, Nashville, Tennessee
Vocals, mixing and mastering at Audioworks, Glendale, California

cd & tray card photos by: Dillon Wilke
www.birdyindustries.com

graphic design/other photos & web design by: Louise Amandes
www.weezieworld.com

Special thanks to: OB's Grill & Bar, Manhattan Beach, CA and Susan Willick for supplying the location for the album photo shoot.