Edith Grove & Bottle Tree: News

We're well into the mixing stage on the new album. We take the occasional time out to sample from an unusual collection of rye whiskeys, but mostly we're spending time wearing out our ear drums in the noble pursuit of The Mix.

Thanks also to Cole Mitchell & the Curs for having us at their CD release party - we had a blast playing in the stunning room at the 3rd St. Arts space!

We'll be a little hush hush for the next couple months as we dig in at the Bottle Tree Ranch to get the recording ship shape for an expected Fall release.

It's happening - we're laying down basic tracks for the new album. We're off to a great start. Just goes to show that if you stay in school, you might still end up recording rock and roll albums.

I've been getting a lot of questions about my guitars, so here's a quick rundown of my favorites:

- Alden ZX Blues Line - this is the one everybody asks about. My guitar tech hooked me up with this beauty from NAMM '07. This abalone-topped stunner is one of two main electrics in my arsenal.
-FrankenTele - an ugly name for a beautiful guitar. This parts tele has a champagne sparkle swamp ash body and kicking Rio Grande single coil pickups.
- '64 Gibson Country Western acoustic - my main acoustic, supplemented with a Martin D-16GT for gigging.

-Edith

Quick update - Looks like we're aiming for March to hit the studio. Intensive rehearsals, here we come!

We're delighted to welcome Dave back after a small hiatus. Now we can get down to eying a studio in earnest. Thanks for the folks that came out to the recent Launchpad gigs where we had a blast on that big ol' stage. We'll be looking to do it again in the new year!

That "fwhoomp" sound you just heard was all of the fall leaves falling off the New Mexico trees in the high winds. We're working up a batch of new (and revived) songs and looking into booking some gig dates.

We had a blast at CorkFest recently - thanks to all who came out on that lovely day. This is a typically slow giggin' time of year, but maybe (just maybe) we'll be found lurking around a studio door in the not-terribly-distant future.

We seem to have misplaced our monsoon season, but at least the thunderstorms are making up for it. After our summer hiatus, we're getting back to rehearsals this coming week.

Will they remember the songs? Will Jimmy really wear chaps? Which guitar will Edith choose to play? Will Michael finally play ukulele? What happened to Dave's evil twin? Stay tuned for the answers to these questions and more...

Amedeo at the TribVid hooked us up with the lovely little online video. He did all the recording and editing...thanks, Amedeo! The songs are the previously unrecorded "Days of Rain" and "Louisiana 2005."

How bad have we been about news updates? Very, very bad. It's not because there hasn't been news, though. EG and Bottle Tree landed at the Albuquerque Tribune for a webvid shoot of "Louisiana 2005" and "Days of Rain." We'll let you know when that goes up online.

Edith had a good time over the Memorial Day weekend, cruising Lucinda the '56 DeSoto down Rt. 66, getting her picture taken with Nigel Tufnel's Spinal Tap flight case and playing at a house concert outside as the sun set in the distance over Cabezon Peak. Add in a rockin' Chris Isaak concert and you couldn't ask for a better three-day weekend!

You heard me. Woot. We have a fabulous debut week with EG & Bottle Tree at the District and the Press Club. A big yeehaw to the organizers of the Texas Independence Day Party, we had a blast. Got another gig coming up on April 6th at Ralli's with the Saltine Ramblers.

There's murmurings about a new recording somewhere in the not-too-distant future. But we're keeping that bottled up for now.

A nice little article today in the Tribune on the Albuquerque Americana scene. Read it: HERE. Writer and photographer Erin Fredrichs stopped by a recent Edith Grove & Bottle Tree rehearsal to chat and take pictures. Thanks, Erin!

Back from NAMM! Got kissed by Jim Marshall and chatted with Albert Lee about his '63 Cadillac. Go check out Lee's latest Sugar Hill album called Roadrunner! Great material and kickin' guitar playing. Photographic evidence can be found on the Photos page.

We were a little delayed in the return to the Edith Grove & Bottle Tree Ranch by a coal train derailment ahead of us. If you're gonna have a travel delay, derailment is the way to go.

It's back to rehearsals for Bottle Tree and we're working to set up an additional gig with our buddies the Rivet Gang.

We've finally scraped the Edith Grove & Bottle Tree Ranch out from under a foot and a half of snow and ice. Not the usual New Mexico weather around here. We've also welcomed Dave Gutierrez and his pedal steel guitar into the mix. We have a lot of new songs and new sounds to roll out as we start to gig again in February. Seeya out on the range (and out at NAMM)!

Snow tomorrow? It's possible. We could wake up in the morning and find a dusting across the fields at the Edith Grove & Bottle Tree Ranch. Time to add rum to the hot cocoa and discover the ideal temperature for warming cheap sake.

While the rattlesnakes are huddling together for warmth, we've been busy booking our first official Bottle Tree show. Come down to the District on Dec. 20th. It's an acoustic-based showcase night so Bandit the Tele will go into hibernation while Buzz the Gibson gets some time under the spotlight.

You can tell it's October. The swamp coolers are hibernating, pumpkin seeds are roasting and the cats are looking fluffier. Didn't mean to scare anyone with the title to the last news post, but there's been some interesting happenings around the Edith Grove Ranch. For starters, Edith is teaming up with a new band, Bottle Tree. More on that in the coming weeks.

Keep an eye out for a couple of gigs in November, including a night with the Albuquerque Songwriter Series where Edith and three other songwriters will play songs and discuss the craft. That's Nov. 2nd at Alfredo's in Old Town. Guaranteed to be an interesting night!

The center cannot hold and so on. There's some big happenings on the horizon, but all we can offer for the time being is cryptic allusions. There will be a big web site update in the near future, stay tuned. In the meantime, come on down Wednesday evening to the Old Town celebration where the Edith Grove Duo will be gigging out at the gazebo at 8.

Just wanted to mention that we've gotten some wonderfully supportive press lately. Check out the Press page for quotes and links to articles. Also keep an eye out for the October issue of Albuquerque the Magazine...we just recently did an interview and photo shoot with them.

Wow, what a fabulous release party! Thanks to all the folks that packed the Press Club to the gills and thanks to the musicians who joined us in celebration. We're lookin' at you Johnny Burns, Rivet Gang, Dave, Catherine and Richard!

We have a bunch of new reviews and article links up in the Press section so you can see what other folks have to say about Highway of Diamonds. We'll get a photo gallery from the release party up on online shortly.

We're pleased to announce that Johnny Burns has signed on to play a half hour solo set to kick off the festivities. Johnny was John Prine's guitar player for many years, co-wrote songs with Prine and played on some of his most famous albums (like Bruised Orange). He's a top notch songwriter and guitarist and it will be a lot of fun to hear him. A rare opportunity to catch a great songwriter live!

We're flexing our fingers, adjusting our guitar straps and talking amongst ourselves...the CD Release Party for Highway of Diamonds is just a couple weeks away on August 18th at the Press Club. San Fran band Merch had to drop out, but we've still got the Rivet Gang on board!

In the meantime, if you just can't wait...Highway of Diamonds is available on iTunes. Just look it up!