Let the coming of winter and its beloved ski season be officially welcomed with a party.
For the last decade, Ska Brewing Co. has partnered with Venture Snowboards, the Silverton-based snowboard company, to welcome winter in grand style – with music and beer in The Grand Imperial Hotel in Silverton. This year’s event will feature local bands Lawn Chair Kings and The Crags, with proceeds benefiting Silverton’s Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies.
The Crags have grown from a trio to a quartet in the past year. The band is comprised of Tracy Ford on guitar and vocals, John Ford on drums and vocals, Dan Leek on bass and Tim Lilyquist on guitar. Since forming in 2008, The Crags have developed a unique, lo-fi blend of rock and punk. They had been looking for a guitarist who would add a surf rock element to their sound, and they found it in Lilyquist after Tracy Ford randomly asked if he played surf guitar while at his Bayfield restaurant.
“It’s called The Tuning Fork, so obviously someone there is a musician. I asked him if he played surf guitar because I was actively looking for a guitarist,” Tracy Ford said last week at the KDUR studios. “I’m a rhythm guitarist, I do not play leads. We knew if we wanted to be better we had to get a good guitarist.”
The band’s sophomore release came out last week. Recorded locally over the last year with producer/engineer Dan Szabo, “Long Shadow Day” is a strong and radio-friendly record, showcasing the song-writing of Ford and a solid rhythm section with surf and country guitar fills throughout. It’s also diverse; while a number of the songs are upbeat cuts, there are some slower indie-rock friendly numbers right alongside some alternative country.
The addition of Lilyquist has added meat to the older songs, and his surf guitar licks on the record fit right alongside Ford’s vocals. Drummer John Ford even jumps in with deep and warm vocals for a country and Christmas cut.
The Crags recorded the album around town, but saved the vocal recordings for a particular space in La Plata Canyon. The Sword of Truth, as it’s called, is a chapel – a large room with high ceilings perfect for recording vocals. In Keith Richards’ book Life ,the Rolling Stone guitarist explained how particular rooms aid the sound of a record. The Crags wanted to get that out of The Sword of Truth.
“We brought in a couple of nice mics, and the room did the rest,” John Ford said.
The Crags are already looking ahead, having another album’s worth of material written for record number three.
Liggett_b@fortlewis.edu. Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager.
Bryant’s best
Friday: Wild Country plays country music, 9 p.m., no cover, Billy Goat Saloon, 39848 Highway 160, 884-9155.
Saturday: The Crags and The Lawn Chair Kings play the Ska Brewing/Venture Snowboards party, 7 p.m., $6, Grand Imperial Hotel, 1219 Greene St., Silverton, 387-5527.
