Singer/songwriter Gregory James of the band Annapurna made a good friend in fellow musician Jeromy Johns when they met 9 years ago. They'd been wanting to collaborate ever since and finally got their chance after being inspired during a camping trip at Red River Gorge. Gregory tells the story below:
"Since we met 9 years ago, it’s always been a goal of ours (myself and Jeromy Johns) to make music together. It was one of the defining factors of our friendship early on, and has continued to be a driving force for the two of us. We’ve always tossed around different ideas of collaboration, from a bluegrass duo to a heavier side project, but due to commitments with our individual bands and life in general, it was more of a slow and steady process to come up with something we were truly proud of and ready to release out into the wild.
Another shared passion of ours is being out in nature, and over recent years, we’ve found ourselves in the depths of the Red River Gorge many times over. We would trek out to a few of our favorite camping spots, post up, and proceed to cook some truly excessive meals, always attempting to outdo our last. It became tradition to take turns bringing food, never revealing the pièce de résistance until it was dinner time.
One particular trip, Jeromy brought a cooler’s worth of supplies and had me on the edge of my seat as to what madness was about to ensue. It turned out the cooler was packed up with Totino’s Pizza Rolls, artisanal sauces, spices, and cheeses, which he proceeded to cook over the open fire, then serve fine dining style (on paper plates) in a display of pure glory. It was so memorable that we decided to base all of the visuals in the music video on that experience.
Roughly two years after writing the song, we managed to get it all tracked, using exclusively acoustic instruments and rudimentary percussion elements like pots, pans, beer bottles, sets of keys, and spices from the cabinet to add every bit of dimension we needed.
Throughout the recording process, we had some dear friends and partners lend their voices to the song. Joshua and Jacob Powell, two well established Indianapolis based artists, joined in on the choruses. Self admittedly, they were roped into an impromptu recording session whilst picking up their darling feline Tiki after a few weeks on the road (cat-sitting her was a joy). Also featured on the track is my love and partner in crime, Olivia Allison, who closes out the song with elegance and grace. All that to say, it was a really special process getting to include some of the people closest to us, and they just so happened to have angelic pipes.
We’re honored to share this song with you, with all of its raw character. Named after the road on which our favorite camping spot is located, we proudly give you: 'FS-9B' "
"FS-9B" is now streaming.
