Bringing new meaning to the practice of catch and release, Breckenridge Brewery of Colorado and bluegrass band Leftover Salmon have caught up with each other to launch the second release in a series of four original songs. The new music is being pre-released exclusively within Breckenridge Brewery’s 12-pack Sampler Packs through October. Each of four song download codes is provided on Artist Series coasters, specially created by four well-known artists from the “Rock Art” community and packaged inside the Sampler Packs.The second song available is “Thornpipe,” which Andy Thorn wrote years ago, but he believed it was missing something. While attending the Old Settler’s Music Festival in Austin in April, the group hooked up with Casey Driessen who added the missing component – sounds from his fiddle. Sound engineer Mario Casillio was able to set up a makeshift studio in the back of the band’s bus, and as Thorn remembers, “Casey was kind enough to spend a bit of his afternoon laying down some hot fiddlin’.”“In music you've got your hornpipes and your jigs, but this tune is a ‘Thornpipe,’” continued Thorn. “It’s a pretty simple banjo tune with a few twists and turns to have fun with.” Renowned poster artist Jeff Wood of Zen Mystic Studio created the artwork for “Thornpipe.”“My art is heavily steeped in psychedelia, so when approached about the LoS Breckenridge coaster project, swirling images started dancing through my head,” said Wood. “‘Thornpipe’ is a great bluegrass tune and I envisioned a group of salmon forming a mandala spinning inside a ring of thorns. Mandalas have been used through the ages as a meditation and contemplation tool for the artist and the viewer. My hopes were that when one looks at the coaster image they will become lost in the image and, with beer in hand, it will take them to a more peaceful Colorado state of mind.”The second Artist Series song download coasters will begin shipping in specially marked Breckenridge Brewery 12-pack Sampler Packs in mid-August. Every download that is retrieved enters that person in a drawing. The grand prize is a trip for two to Colorado for a VIP experience at Leftover Salmon’s Thanksgiving shows, with a behind-the-scenes Breckenridge Brewery tour and a band meet-and-greet. Other prizes include a band-autographed acoustic guitar made by Andrew White Guitars, which builds Vince Herman his guitars; a set of four Artist Series coaster posters, framed and signed by the band; and weekly online poster giveaways.Gary Houston, Jeff Wood, Nate Duval and Tyler Stout each crafted their artwork with inspiration from Leftover Salmon’s new music and Breckenridge Brewery’s beers. In addition to the coasters, each artist is printing a limited run of 100 screen print posters that are numbered and signed. The posters are available through weekly giveaways on both Breckenridge Brewery’s and Leftover Salmon’s Facebook and Instagram pages. They also will be given away at special events in select bars in cities where the band is touring.
