​Stillhouse Junkies (from the album The Ballad of Charlie Avalon

​Stillhouse Junkies (from the album The Ballad of Charlie Avalon

​Stillhouse Junkies (from the album The Ballad of Charlie Avalon on Common Loon Records) (by Bryant Liggett) 
 
Durango, Colorado’s Stillhouse Junkies have always kept their foot on the gas pedal. Hours in the studio and miles on the tour bus have resulted in record releases and show performances, of course. The pace and the road-worn lessons learned have enabled them to throw a curveball, that being the band’s recent release, The Ballad of Charlie Avalon. It is a concept album; a Roots Rock Opera telling the tale of a banjo picker trying to make his way in the unpredictable ‘biz’.
The voice of Sam Bush is behind the narration, sparse and minimal leaving space to weave in your own imagination into the tale (and if you are a musician, they are tour stories), while Joe Newberry’s clawhammer banjo plays the role of Avalon, all brought to life via the songs of Fred Kosak.
“Charlie’s Theme” has ballad vibes where the star of the story boasts as he picks ‘the banjo like its running from the hounds’ while the cut drops technical, NewGrass breaks. “Chickadee Rag” is playful and animated while “Hold on to It” is both dreamy and hopeful with more playful, musical moments via plucked fiddle strings. Those playful, musical moments continue in “The Whiskey Works the Same in New York City” as Matt Thomas lays down splashy, jam-influenced bass lines while Stillhouse Junkies deliver a stellar Gospel cut in “My Dying Day”, sung acapella. It is wonderful.
File The Ballad of Charlie Avalon alongside Bill Monroe or New Grass Revival, mandolin player Fred Kosak’s croon and fiddle player Alissa Wolf’s subtle harmonies are ripe for the festival world, but the sound on this latest remains more acoustic Roots Rock, which is perfect for these, or any ears. (by Bryant Liggett)