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Sonny Knight & The Lakers Songwriting Trip

This weekend The Lakers rhythm section went up north with Sonny to work on writing some new tunes. We stayed in a completely secluded little A-frame cabin in Mora, MN. Complete with the most impressive assemblage of perennial plants I’ve ever seen and plenty of free range cats and chickens, this place was like something out of a weird-ass dream (good weird, not bad bad weird!). Armed with liquor, our instruments, a portable recording rig, and a Califone record player for down-time entertainment, we spent the entire weekend completely submerged in the songwriting process. Not only was it a ton of fun, but we also got a lot accomplished. It’s so much easier to write when you leave all the distractions of day to day life behind.

For me I think the highlight of the trip came on Sunday morning. After a long night of enjoying adult beverages a few members of crew were moving a bit slow. I set up the Califone in the den that we had been playing in and started spinning a stack of gospel records I’d brought up with me. There was something about that music that seemed to bring everyone back to life. Before long we were sitting around learning these obscure gospel tunes and playing them together. Eventually we shut off the record player and started crafting our own gospel-influenced songs. It’s funny, everyone knows that gospel is the foundation of soul music, but I think most people that learn soul music today don’t spend much time with gospel. In my humble opinion, they’re missing out on something great. Sitting around a cramped little A-frame room with my friends playing this energizing, revitalizing music was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had playing music. My hope is that we can keep that feeling close and continue to blend it into our sound.

Here are some pictures from our trip….

John, the engineer, took this pic from his loft-control room
John, the engineer, took this pic from his loft-control room
boom box
boom box
Brandon, the free range kitty loves soul records
Brandon, the free range kitty loves soul records
takin' 'em to church
takin’ ’em to church

Just enough space

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NEW music from the Valdons!!!

CLIFF
Great to see our friend Clifton Curtis from the Valdons today. He stopped by to check out the new Valdons single we are about to drop, “Stop, Wait a Minute Girl” b/w “Whatcha Gonna Do”. We’ll be posting info on when you can snap up these two sides of sweet soul loveliness very soon so keep an eye out. In the meantime, Have a listen!!

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Summer Conclusion and Fall Preview

It has been one heck of a summer here in Minnesota. After outlasting a Winter that dumped snow on us all the way up ’til May, we skipped Spring and caught Summer in mid-stride. On the Secret Stash side of things, we spent a lot of time looking into future projects… More info to come on those. All we can say is we are really excited for 2014!

Now that Summer is officially over, we are looking forward to a great Fall. As of October 15, we are kicking off a new sub-label called Reserve Records which tackles releases that don’t quite fit into the funky/afro/latin grooves of Secret Stash. Our first release will be George Jones’ debut on Starday.

We also built an analog studio in our headquarters and so far there are several 45s worth of material in the can, all of which we are eager to bring into the world. It was a long process, but we wanted to take our time to really develop an aesthetic we’re happy with. Over the last few years we’ve spent countless hours listening to records and talking about the best recipes and ingredients we’ve come across for tasty soul, funk, and afro-beat stews. We also went diving into an ocean of research, exploring sunken ships on a mission to learn about historic studios, recordings, arrangers, and producers. After holding our breath for many months, we brought to the surface with us a treasure chest of old recording techniques, equipment, and philosophies. Needless to say, we are enthusiastic about what’s to come.

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Another Stellar Weekend of Afrobeat and Real Country in the Twin Cities

It was another action packed weekend here in the Twin Cities for us. With two new releases we are about to drop it was as good a time as any to celebrate with new music, classic tracks and some of our favorite live musicians in these parts. Black Market Brass are one of the hardest working bands in town. Often playing more than a couple shows a week the band sounds tighter than ever, have added a few players and truly brought the house down at the Nomad to celebrate the upcoming 45′ we’re about to help them unleash into the world.

Black Market Brass - photo by Orrin Pratt
Black Market Brass – photo by Orrin Pratt

As the place got more and more packed during the amazing opening sets from Grolar Bears and Liminal Phase, I had an awesome time DJing the proceedings from the comfort and security of the sound booth. By the time Black Market Brass hit the stage, the Nomad was boiling over with anticipation and they truly delivered the goods with an electrified set that included some new tunes as well as their new radio hit, “Big Muffler”.

Eleganza!
Eleganza!

Saturday night we brought the party to the other side of the river in Saint Paul. The Turf Club generously opened their doors for a great night of celebrating the music of our fave country crooner, George Jones. To celebrate the upcoming reissue of Grand Ole Opry’s New Star on our new imprint, Reserve Records a gang of local buddies took to the stage to perform some of the Possum’s signature songs. John Swardson, Eleganza!, Frankie Lee, Curtiss A, Actual Wolf and the Black Berry Brandy Boys took a pull from Jone’s string of hits and country staples to often amazing effect. A big thank you to everyone who performed and especially everyone who came out!
george jones turf
Peep these highlights from the evening..
Eleganza! “Whatcha Gonna Do”

Blackberry Brandy Boys with Actual Wolf “If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me”

Danny
Secret Stash
Propaganda Minister