While some of the album’s songs are holdovers from the White Soots days, the new versions have different arrangements and additional musical embellishment from Tim Pritchard (pedal steel, slide guitar, organ) and guest musicians like Tom Salvatierra (organ) and Dan Stahl (percussion).
“I wanted to chill out and do more-spaced out music,” Byrum said. “This album definitely revolves more around the songwriting first and then guitar and other additions later. My old approach was to blast out riffs first and then figure out how to sing over them, and that’s not really songwriting in the sense most people think of it.”
The material was recorded by Pritchard of Boxcar Suite and Shrug, who has branched out into producing with the Salvadore Ross disc.
“This is the first project where Tim is really taking on a producer role,” Byrum said. “I wanted to give him as much freedom as I could but we went into it agreeing that I would have final say if we had an argument but we never did. I loved every decision that guy made.
“When Tim listens to something, his reactions are so accurate,” Byrum said. “He just gets it. He’s really in tune with audio in general. He’s awesome. I’ve been working on these songs for a while so I’m excited for people to hear them. I give Tim full credit for the production. I couldn’t be happier.”
In addition to recording percussion on “Mystery Head,” Stahl, the drummer for local acts Shrug and Human Cannonball, is releasing the album on his new Magnaphone Records.
“The beautiful thing is, Dan contacted me out of nowhere and said he wanted to put me on Magnaphone,” Byrum said. “I had no idea what it was but I looked into it and it seemed cool. It’s neat to be their guinea pig. They put out the latest Shrug album but we’re kind of the first thing they’re actually going to put any actual energy into.
“I’m enjoying watching them build the site and get things going,” Byrum added. “It’s a neat experience being a part of a label as it’s being born in parallel with your first record coming out.”
WANT TO GO?
Who: Salvadore Ross with Boxcar Suite, the New Old-Fashioned and Me & Mountains
Where: Oregon Express, 336 E. Fifth St., Dayton
When: 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4
Cost: $5
More info: 937-223-9205 or www.oregonexpressdayton.com
Artist info: https://salvadoreross.bandcamp.com
About the Author