The Barnyard Band
The Barnyard Band was cooked up on a sunny day in Colorado in 2018 while hanging out with my then 4 year-old son Charlie. I had this whimsical sorta melody coming off a banjo for a while and magically the first the first line of the first verse just jumped out of my mouth. A few days later, I had come up with most of the tune and proceeded to totally forget about it till I stumbled back up on it while perusing my voice memos on my phone. I finally decided to give my buddy Eric Wiggs a call and see if I could come sit in one of his isolation rooms at his studio as to be socially distanced. (Not sure if y'all are aware of this virus going around in 2020?) I then phoned in some help from some old friends and The Barnyard Band was born. I really hope you and your children enjoy this song. I think it's really fun and the biggest compliment I've gotten about it yet is one of my friends said "Your kids songs are great because they aren't annoying for adults to listen to. I love listening to this with my daughter." What can I say, I'll take it. -Chandler
Written by Chandler Holt
Chandler Holt: Banjo, Guitar, Vocals (both human and animal)
Eric Wiggs: Bass
James Wallace: Clav organ
Zeke Hutchins: Drums
Recorded at Vermillion Road Studios - Longmont, CO. Engineered and mixed by Eric Wiggs
Mastering by Chris Boerner at Kitchen Mastering - Carrboro, NC
Winter's Night Waltz
"Winter’s Night Waltz" is a classic male/female duet that is sure to warm your spirits this holiday season. Grab your honey and waltz along as Chandler and Lauren’s voices beckon you to "forget all your worries as the world fades to white”.
Winter's Night Waltz was written in the spring of 2019 while Chatham County Line was preparing to cut a record with our long-time Norwegian buddy Jonas Fjeld and the one and only Judy Collins. Tracked at Echo Mountain recording studio in Asheville, NC, featuring Greg Readling, Dave Wilson, John Teer, Russell Waldon (Judy's musical director and fabulous piano player), as well as the masterful drummer Bill Berg (Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks as well many other classics), this recording you hear was done with all of us (except for Bill) in one room and in one complete take.
At the time it seemed unfortunate that Winter's Night Waltz didn't make it onto this album, but it gave me the chance to add my own voice to the duet and work with an amazing vocalist in Lauren Stovall of "The Railsplitters" and "By the Lee". Lauren and I headed to Vermillion Road studios to cut the vocal tracks and I'm sure you'll agree that Lauren absolutely nailed her part and that I didn't muck things too much on my end. ;)
Fast forward almost a year and a pandemic later and Winter's Night Waltz is finally ready for release! Lauren and I are so thrilled to be sharing this song with all of you and hope you will enjoy it as much as we do this holiday season! -Chandler
Winter's Night Waltz
Chandler Holt: Vocals, banjo
Lauren Stovall: Vocals
Greg Readling: Pedal Steel, Upright Bass
Russell Waldon: Piano
John Teer: Fiddle, Mandolin
Dave Wilson: Acoustic Guitar
Bill Berg: Drums
Instrumental tracking at Echo Mountain - Asheville, NC, engineering by Dowell Gandy.
Vocal tracking at Vermillion Road Studios - Longmont, CO, engineering by Eric Wiggs.
Mixed by Eric Wiggs.
Mastering by Chris Boerner at Kitchen Mastering - Carrboro, NC.
Artwork by Chandler Holt.