In December of ’06, our friend James Steffan approached us with the idea of releasing a 2-disc compilation of tracks from his Columbia recording studio, The Wildlife Room. We thought it was a pretty good idea, as Steffan’s efforts not only represent a high quality of work in general, but also because Home Tone CEO Adam Roehlke served there as both house engineer and artistic collaborator. When James delivered the project to us in early May of this year, we found “A Mighty Blend” to be a thoroughly pleasing effort, complete with 30 great tracks, 26 pictures, an in-depth liner note by Austin TX musician/writer Mike Rieman, additional info on each song by the producer, and most-fine design and manufacturing by New Jersey’s Disc Makers . . . with icing on the cake provided by our “cover-girl” the pride of Glendale, Arizona, Ms. Lolita Haze.
Musically-speaking, “A Mighty Blend” is “song intensive”, as The Wildlife Room was first and foremost a safe haven where a few artistically-independent writers could hone their tunes in a sympathetic environment. Recording artists/songwriters represented on “Blend” include Norman Merritt aka Lenny Spy, bluesman Dennis Ternamian, Alaskan mariner David Grimes, sometimes Hollywood actor Dillinger Steele, Loyd Warden, and, of course, James Steffan. Adam Roehlke also lent a hand as a tunesmith with James on songs for their R&B-influenced, hemp-conscious studio band, Lotta Swamp. Early comments from folks in the know, such as Mayapple recording artist Noah Earle, have been favorable as to the diversity of material on “Blend”, - from rockabilly, acoustic songwriter, alt-country, swampy rock, bossa nova, and trippy instrumental explorations to blues songs of all stripes, - with an occasional rumba thrown in for good measure.
Strong vocal performances also abound on “Blend”. Go-to guys like Boone County icons Norman Jolly and Curly Joe Harper, as well as Kansas City’s swingin’ Mo Paul chime in alongside singing songwriters mentioned above. A stellar cast of area favorites round out the project by providing rock-solid, yet adventuresome tracks: jazz-blues pianist Tom Andes, guitarist Bill Barnhouse, Kevin Hennessy on bass guitar, St. Louis steel guitar stalwart Bob Briedenbach, Mo and Curly (if not Larry!) on harmonica, and on drums, Loyd Warden, Jake Hanselman, and Michael Cherry (Bel-Airs). In addition to his numerous contributions as songwriter, producer Steffan made sure to include a selection of his best guitar tracks as well; whether on double-guitar instrumentals like “Laguna Madre”, pickin’ classic ‘60s country licks on Dillinger’s “When It’s Over” or layin’ down intense, writhing riffs on his version of Bob Dyer’s “Guinea Sam”.
And finally, in addition to the deft knob-twisting of Adam Roehlke, it would be egregious not to mention that many of the tracks on “Blend” and all mixes were engineered by seasoned producer/engineer Stephen Gardner at his Music House studio. Time taken to check out “A Mighty Blend" will be time well-spent, especially for those of us who have enjoyed and supported the decades-long efforts of area songwriters, musicians and singers who have contributed most generously to the world of music. To paraphrase Loyd Warden in his best Memphis-blues vernacular, “Them Wildlife cats . . . they purty good.”
