There’s a lot of straight ahead bluegrass on this CD. I regard this kind of music as kind of a “white guys soul” music. It’s emotional and hard-driving and generally, it tells a personal story about a person or a group of people. And generally, these are real people who work in real jobs and have real lives and real troubles. Music is often their best means of expressing who they are and what they feel and believe. This is the most honest kind of music I know of. And it’s fun to play. Many of these songs take you back to the Appalachian Mountains back East where they were certainly written (and near where I grew up).
I also feature a few original songs on this CD. Two are banjo and guitar instrumentals (Mississippi Rain and Waltz of the Road) and one is a vocal (Baja in My Mind). I’m very proud of all of them. Corre Caballito is a children’s song from South America that tells the story of Jesus’ birth. So this is kind of a pioneering attempt to blend a bluegrass instrumentation with South American (Spanish) lyrics. It’s not “Tex-Mex,” it’s “Colorado-Latin America?”
Basically I sing the lead and harmony vocals and play banjo and guitar throughout the CD. My younger sister, Karen Fricke, who has always had a beautiful, rich, and natural alto voice, sings harmony vocals on songs 5 and 11. And the incredibly talented Don Richmond sings harmony vocals on song 4 and plays bass on songs 1, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, violin on songs 5 and 7, and trumpet, accordion, and maracas on song 14! Don can play just about any instrument you put in his hands- and all at a very high professional level. As it happens, he is also a highly-skilled recording engineer. This project was recorded by Don Richmond at his Howlin’ Dog Recording Studio in Alamosa, Colorado in July, 2011 and July and November, 2012. My sister and I have recorded numerous CDs with Don and he always brings out our very best music!
