Leftover Salmon’s latest album, “High Country,” was released in late November on Black Friday, exclusively at independent record stores. It’s now available in numerous outlets.

The album includes the newest member of the band, and legendary Little Feat keyboardist, Bill Payne and was produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos. It features special guests Sugar Blue, Steve Berlin, Casey Driessen, Andy Hall of The Infamous Stringdusters, Joey Porter of The Motet, and Kim Dawson. The album was recorded at Mighty Fine Productions in Denver over March and April 2013.

Original songs on the album were written by band members Drew Emmitt, Vince Herman, Andy Thorn, Bill Payne, and Greg Garrison as well as a cover of “Six Feet of Snow” by the late Lowell George of Little Feat and Keith Godchaux of the Grateful Dead.

The album kicks off with a new Drew Emmitt-penned song. “Western Skies is a tune I came up with on a tour out west with my solo band. The west coast is my favorite part of the country to tour and always inspires me,” he said.

“Bluegrass Pines,” by Payne and Robert Hunter, found a home with Leftover Salmon, according to Payne. “They made it their own,” he said. “My coming into the band rests as much on this song as anything. Everyone in the band contributed something to the track. That’s the way a great band operates. I couldn’t be happier with the results.”

The title track was contributed by Throne. “I wrote this song while on a hike in the Collegiate Peaks wilderness,” he said. “It was such a beautiful day up there I just started singing, ‘I wanna be in the high country all day,’ and having fun making up verses about it. By the time we got back to the cabin and grabbed a guitar it was basically finished.”

Thorne also wrote “Better Day.” He wrote most of the song while camping out in between Colorado music festivals. “We were spending a lot of time around the campfire at night making up songs and melodies and had most of the tune worked out,” he said. “The song still needed some lyrics for the bridge, and I ran it by Vince. Together we came up with, ‘try to get to sleep at night but time just slips away, next thing that I know were pickin’ till the break of day.’ Not that we know anything about that! Hope it helps y’all have a better day too!”

Herman’s “Home Cookin’” is about his new home. “I’ve recently moved to a southern Oregon organic hippy farming town where good fresh locally produced food, wine, and herbs of the greatest quality, are all around,” he said. “The definition of a good day for us is serving up that goodness with friends and family while grinning and laughin’.”

The cover of “Six Feet of Snow” was Herman’s idea. “Vince told me he wanted to record Lowell’s song, ‘Six Feet Of Snow.’ I thought it was a perfect fit,” Payne said. “Leftover Salmon gets hold of a groove and you are off and running! The song pretty much plays itself. I always had fun playing it with Little Feat. I can’t help but believe Lowell would love what LoS did with his song.”

Visit leftoversalmon.com to purchase the album or find a retail store.

TRACKS
1) Western Skies
2) Home Cookin’
3) High Country
4) Bluegrass Pines
5) Better Day
6) Six Feet of Snow
7) So Lonesome
8) Light in the Woods
9) Thornpipe
10) Two High Ways
11) Finish Your Beer