Inside Joke

Sometimes you fall in love with a band, listen to the album over and over and over again, and therefore end up memorizing every note. The things that surprised your ears and fed the lyric geek in you don't perk you up anymore--you know they're coming. You know that those weird notes and that great tag line are waiting patiently for their turn. You never really forget that you love the music, but the element of surprise, the need to sit and listen and analyze this new, funky stuff we're still calling Bluegrass, it goes away. You put the album away, save it for a rainy day, and move on with your musical life.

But then, new music arrives.

It's more beautiful, more surprising, more witty than you remember. It makes you THIRST for the day you can hear the whole album, maybe get to see the band live, hear the musicians themselves talk about these songs and the reasons they play the way they do. You realize, again, exactly why you fell in love with this band in the first place.



And friends, Cadillac Sky is releasing a new album in August, and I've just heard a track from the album. The album is called Gravity's Our Enemy, the song is called "Inside Joke," and the music is Skaggs meets Thile. Bluegrass with attitude, with MAJOR musicianship, and so many outside influences, it's incredible. Check this song out.

Also, the lyrics are written about a dream mandolinist Bryan Simpson had-- Chris Thile sang a song written about a dream as well, though written by North Dakota native Tom Brousseau, called "How to Grow a Woman From the Ground." One time, I wrote a song about a dream too. They're the best, because they're basically already written for you, you just have to put them into permanent form. And apparently, Bluegrassers love them too. I'll have to remember that.