Adventurous acoustic/alt-grassers Milk Drive are set to release The Road From Home, their first studio album, on April 5.
This young Austin-based band includes Noah Jeffries on guitar, Dennis Ludiker on mandolin, Brian Beken on fiddle/vocals, and Matt Medford on bass. Jeffries, Ludiker and Beken had become acquainted some years earlier competing at the Weiser fiddle contest in Idaho, and all had a background in bluegrass and traditional string music.
Noah’s musical horizons expanded during his studies at Boise State University, while Dennis was winning mandolin and fiddle competitions, and later touring with Texas swing kings Asleep At The Wheel. The pair hooked up in Austin, began performing as a duo, and eventually brought in Brian and Matt to pursue a full band sound for Jeffries’ original songs.
They had released a live CD in 2009, and the guys are stoked to now have a new album of studio arrangements to bring forward. Here’s a taste of one track, written by Kym Warner from The Greencards, and Jamie Dick and Kai Welch from Abigail Washburn’s band – along with a few words from Brian Beken.
“Stepping Stones was a song that immediately caught our attention because of its melody and cut time. We are always suckers for anything that doesn’t follow a standard time signature, so it was right up our alley.”
Stepping Stones: [http://traffic.libsyn.com/thegrasscast/stepping_stones.mp3]
Look for more information on the Milk Drive site come April.
