Howdy Friends, Family, Fans & Supporters
We're are about to record a new album. I didn't really know that this project, RANCH\HOUSE, would grow beyond the debut album, "What Maps Don't Show," but because of the great musicians I've had the pleasure of playing with over the past 2 years here is San Antonio, TX, we have another RANCH\HOUSE album on the way. I compulsively keep writing more songs about the fascinating nuances of this life here that we are in, and I've been playing with talented artists that keep pushing me to explore more ideas and genres.
Dylan Ilseng has been playing bass guitar with RANCH\HOUSE for just over 2 years. He is a Music Student at UTSA, and he is about to begin his Master's Degree in Jazz Performance at Texas State University, my alma mater. We're really excited about where his career is going to take him. He is creative, open minded, supportive, and a great combination of natural talent and formal education which all add up to an extraordinary bass player and overall musician. His education has been impressive studying under Utah Hamrick and Andrew Bergmann. Dylan plays bass with several great acts around San Antonio, and he pushes himself to grow into different genres and work with many artists. Dylan is a young guy around 24 years old, and this record will be a great opportunity to showcase his talents in original songs that he helped arrange. This album will be a strong piece of his portfolio as he moves forward in his career.
Matt Carrell was the first addition to the RANCH\HOUSE solo act when I moved to San Antonio. Matt plays the drums. He grew up playing drums with his father's band, "Reunion." They would play large events like weddings, company picnics, holiday parties, etc. with a huge setlist of all the American pop classics. It was a crowd pleaser to be sure, guests would dance and enjoy the music at these events. In the process, Matt developed an immense catalog of drum beats in his memory that bode well for song arrangement. He was also fortunate to study under Tommy Taylor who played drums for Christopher Cross for many years. Matt has been extraordinarily valuable in arranging the new songs for the upcoming RANCH\HOUSE record. He worked with (me) songwriter S. Brady Dietert on creating original, dynamic parts for each song. The variety throughout the record is going to be very inspiring, and will lend itself well to the journey of this record from start to finish.
It is also very exciting to announce that like the first record, we will be working with David Beck again, the creative force behind bands like Blue Healer and Sons of Fathers. I've known David for many years now from my San Marcos days. We connected through the Cheatham Street Warehouse family of musicians that gathered around the feet of the "Godfather of Texas Songwriters," Kent Finlay. I still have his number programmed in my phone as "David Bass" because he was the premier bass player in San Marcos at a very young age. All of the songwriters in the area would ask David to play bass with their outfit. He was very in demand, and he quickly realized that he would ultimately get to chose his own project first, and not rely on others for leadership or creative content. His father, Bill Whitbeck, has been playing bass for Texas Legend, Robert Earl Keen for many years, and David came up surrounded by great music. David grew out of a singular reputation for bass playing into a manifold skill set in music production and songwriting in his own right. It has been a huge pleasure to work with him in the past and now again on this fresh project for 2017. His role as a third party producer for RANCH\HOUSE is mix, master, audio-engineer the studio recording, and also act as a kind of coach to myself and the band. This coaching role is a huge strength in David. He can bring out the best in musicians and in songs. I'm very excited to work with him again.
We will collaborate with many local musicians in and around San Antonio. First and foremost, Scott Lutz of Snowbyrd will be playing on most tracks throughout the record with pedal steel guitar and/or lead guitar. Scott is an experienced musician, that has a beautiful mind for collaboration. He has played many shows with RANCH\HOUSE. We always love working with him.
We have plans to work with many other musicians on a track by track basis as we develop the details of this record. It si going to be big, bold, loving, and inspiring. We have been working with San Antonio Sound Garden a new collaborative music cooperative here in San Antonio, TX. They are doing great things to enhance the music scene in San Antonio, and create a synergy of local musician by building a stronger community. We plan to record all the collaborative tracks at the SA Sound Garden's new recording studio on N. Alamo St. We're excited to help promote music collaboration in San Antonio!
I have been fortunate to keep playing music even though the demands of life have been ever increasing with full time work among other responsibilities. I have been hard at work here in San Antonio for 3 years to help out where I can and maybe make a small difference. I hope that at least I can inspire others to take this opportunity at life a little more passionately. My good friend and avid music supporter, Ardella Anderson, wrote a great article about the things I've been doing, S. Brady Dietert. we have created 12 original new songs for a 2017 album. We have high aspirations for this record to inspire people to take ownership of there own lives, their individuality, their original qualities, their uniqueness, and unapologetically pursue their purpose in this one life we have been given. Please preorder a copy or book the band for your event to help us achieve our goal.
My very best,
S.B.D.