TACO TAPES – Penny Down the Drain [trad is rad, LP]
Taco Tapes – trad is rad LP is available for pre-order at Bandcamp.
by Walter Price
The new project, Taco Tapes, from songwriters Jeremy James Meyer and Ben Walden is a phenomenal way to kick-off 2021. Taking inspiration from Dawg Grisman and Jerry Garcia’s Pizza Tapes, their forthcoming LP ‘trad is rad’ will find connectivity to what Ween, Z-Rock Hawaii, and Gibby Haynes once laid out…if these names were making modern jam folk-rock, that is. This album, a mix of covers and originals, could and will be considered stripped-back. But then again, with its use of a vast variety of instrumentation and one-take production, it’s probably best to say that this set is a masterclass of musicians, songwriters, and producers who know what is just the right amount to find sonic in-the-moment perfection.
“The setting, for reference: a small idyllic home on a sprawling property in a northwest corner of the pacific northwest. Between a deep creek, ‘neath towering firs. Evening brings the smell of changing tides. Some days the sun peeks out below the escarpment of low hanging clouds. For a minute the majestic Olympic mountains reflect in the still waters of Hood Canal.” – bio
To wet your beak ahead of the January 28th release date, check out the single “Penny Down the Drain”. A psych-tinged gem that just may induce a sing-a-long and there’s a trippy and unexpected ending that’s worth all the streams you can muster.
TACO TAPES
Band photo courtesy of American Standard Time Records
Jeremy James Meyer: vocals, guitar, dobro, fiddle, accordion, bass
Ben Walden: vocals, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, pump organ, bass
A.F. Jones: mixing and mastering engineer, radio ambiance, pedal steel
Joe Hein: pump organ on “Penny Down the Drain” and “Wishful Thinking”
spotify / american standard time records
“In 2020, humans began to feel more acute symptoms from the Planetary Biome’s affliction. Jeremy James Meyer and I thought it would be only appropriate to invoke the spirit of Garcia And Grisman and create our version of the Pizza Tapes, ushering forth a new generation of plant-guided hippie medicine. Only problem is, I am gluten intolerant, so instead we made the Taco Tapes and played good cop/bad cop during Late Fall on the Olympic Peninsula. Instead of the California complicated sunshine we used ominous drones, with Laminal Audio’s Alan Jones taking the helm.” – Ben Walden