Back in the 60's, when I was growing up and the music business was flourishing, there were a couple of record label names that set the standard for excellence. Brand awareness being an operative principle, when you saw the names Elektra or Vanguard, you knew that there was art contained within. Those were days when you couldn't actually hear the music before you bought an LP. There were no listening stations, and there was no ability to surf the web to see if you like what the artist was putting down. So having faith in a label really was a sacred trust, and only a few imprints were known for their ability to consistently deliver. Cut to today, major labels are so much less important, as they chase the flavor of the minute, forsaking the art in the process. But there are a few folks out there that are doing it the old fashioned way, one great album at a time, though using the new world order to spread the word.
'According To Our Records,' that would be the full name of what is known as ATO Records to you and me. It is a fairly recent addition to the record company landscape having been founded in 2000 by Dave Matthews, Coran Capshaw, Michael McDonald, and Chris Tetzeli. It is a new breed company, which puts out a limited amount of releases, pledging to give each the resources and time that they need to maximize the awareness for their artists. Their initial success was with David Gray's CD White Ladder which yielded the hit "Babylon." ATO's current roster includes Widespread Panic, Drive-By Truckers, Dawes, John Butler Trio, Mike Doughty, Patty Griffin, The Whigs, Brendan Benson, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, My Morning Jacket, Ben Kweller, Gomez; the list goes on, and is very impressive, I might add.
Also on that mighty list is musical savant Danny Barnes. Danny is the banjo (strings, really) maestro who Dave Matthews celebrates, saying, "...the music is smart and soulful, and the lyrics are profound. It is heaven and earth." He just laid down a magnificent performance with Robert Earl Keen on Austin City Limits, which debuted last weekend. He unveiled his new banjo/guitar hybrid, called a "Barnjo," this summer at the Northwest String Summit in North Plains, OR. And he plays in Oregon tonight, as he is bringing it, the zany and erudite, on the road out west for the month.
"Pizza Box" is from the album of the same name, and this version is from our Music Fog shoot in Nashville this past September. Here is a thumbnail about the song from Danny, which was featured in Glide Magazine's Track by Track. "This song is about all those weird artifacts that make up our lives and how, as you get older especially, they take on meanings of their own. Intertextuality. Like when you see an object and it reminds you of an experience. The character in this story let one get away from him. He sees something and it reminds him of her. The orchestration is very simple." And beautiful. Danny Barnes!
- Jessie Scott
