If you go
› What: Turnpike Troubadours with Charley Crockett› Where: Walker Theatre of Memorial Auditorium, 399 McCallie Ave.› When: 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23› Admission: $20› Online: wwwtivolichattanooga.com
If you like your country music dusty, the kind of dusty you get from stomping your boots on a dirt dance floor, you’ll love the new album from Turnpike Troubadours.
It’s filled with the toe-tapping, beer-sipping blend of country, bluegrass and sing-along Americana music the band is known for over its 20-year career. It will be available in stores and online Friday, Oct. 20, and bass player R.C. Edwards says the album, “A Long Way from Your Heart,” marked a couple of firsts for the group.
Edwards said the band is looking forward to touring in support of the new record. They’ll make a stop in Chattanooga on Monday, Oct. 23, for a show in Walker Theatre of Memorial Auditorium.
“We’ve added a new member since we did the last one, so it was cool to have Hank Early on accordion, pedal steel and vocals in the studio with us. It was cool to get to do an album with him.
“We also used a producer – Ryan Hewitt – for the first time. We’d always just done it ourselves before.”
Hewitt has previously worked with The Avett Brothers, Flogging Molly and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. His work with the Troubadours would remind people more of the Avett’s or the Peppers’ sound.
Turnpike Troubadours (Photo by David McClister)Edwards said having a new voice in the studio was a pretty easy endeavor for the band because everyone got along and was on the same page from the start. He said the band came in with most of the songs about 50 percent complete and then let them go where they needed to go.
“I think it really helped mix it up in a good way, spurring a lot of creativity. We did a little more working with the arranging on this one.
“It wasn’t an easy record to make because we took a lot of time with it. It was the most time we’ve ever put into a record.”
The album has a lot of the band’s signature sound with plenty of chord changes, harmonies and shuffles, but the group’s storytelling has come more to the forefront with its later material. “A Long Way from Your Heart” is filled with real-life observations about family, friends and neighbors.
“Pay No Rent” is written about lead singer Evan Felker’s aunt.
“She was about the only person I could go drinking with at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday,” Felker said in a the band’s biography.
He said the two became close friends and that she loved that song “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” Upon her death last year, he started rehearsing the song, only to learn that she had gotten similar promises from about five other people.
“So between noon and three in the morning, we wrote ‘Pay No Rent’ for her instead and played that,” Felker said.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.