“The Brands My Daddy Drank”, the new song from Lansing country duo Deer & Elk, is ostensibly a tune of faded beer brands and childhood memories. While songwriter and singer Jeffery Gower never mentions any specific beer names, those of us in a certain age bracket might visualize a montage of vintage ads from Lowenbrau, Schlitz, Stroh’s and more.
The song evokes flickering moments of years long past, stacked like so many empty bottles on the table. Over the course of the tune, we’re transported back through the gauze of time, to a moment and a place that we’re not completely sure even really existed.
“The Brands My Daddy Drank” pretty well encapsulates the ethos of Deer & Elk, the country duo composed of Jeffery Gower and guitarist and singer Jason Lantrip. The band is built on a strong sense of memory, and even pangs of nostalgia. Using the template of classic country, Deer & Elk combine Jeff’s tremendous penchant for compact storytelling interlaced with Jason’s slap-echo electric guitar slinking around the corners of the room. The duo then layer sweet, AM Gold vocal harmonies over the top for a new brand of cowboy-country-cool.
In combining a host of great original songs and a carefully curated set of cover tunes, Deer & Elk have already found a sound, and an audience in their home state of Michigan. Their first single, ‘Big Penny’, a tune that tells the story of Lansing’s famed truck eating bridge, was something of a regional hit. The band’s live schedule is also packed with several shows every month throughout the state.
The bulk of this week’s pod will feature Deer & Elk playing live from the Sheddio. I’ll pop in during the middle of their performance for some conversation with our guests, but this week will be music heavy. So, grab a beverage, find a comfy chair, and settle in for this very special, somewhat unusual, episode of the show - live with my friends in Deer & Elk.
Cheers,
Matty C
Matty C & Wild Honey Album Project
