feature photo: Devin O’Brien
When distinguished Gainesville, Fla.-based guitarist Mike Baggetta wants to make an instrumental record showcasing the talents of each musician involved, the man does not mess around. In 2019, he got together with bassist mike watt of Minutemen and fIReHOSE fame and eminent all-world session drummer Jim Keltner to make a post-rock record Wall of Flowers. That went so well he came back earlier in 2022 for a second helping Everywhen We Go.
Hotshot musicians pooling their talents together to make music on another level chops-wise happens all the time in jazz, but less so in rock – or rock in a broad sense. But the truth is, Baggetta, watt and Keltner are musicians without genre designations because they can do it all well and often jump across those artificial lines, anyway.
Everywhen We Go was handcrafted with nearly all the tracking was done by the three in a single day at the studio, some rhythm acoustic guitar overdubs here and that is about all else there is. Baggetta penned most of the tunes, but Everywhen We Go is stimulating because everyone brings their considerable talents to bear on songs that are truly distinctive from each other.
Keltner’s snare shuffle firmly underpins the Ennio Morricone styled “Everywhen We Go.” The band-composed “This Is Not a Euphemism” is paced by watt’s big-bottomed bass line and topped by Baggetta spinning out casual but pertinent lyrical lines, while “In The Center” stands out for its floating, ambient quality.
“Yank It Out” is watt’s piece, and as such it rocks harder. Baggetta shows himself to be a fearless improviser as he cuts it up with a freaky intensity. So much so, you risk missing out on Keltner’s own unmatched rhythm inventiveness lurking just underneath.
Baggetta came up with a fine riff for “Fake Break,” alternately presenting it with a slide and crunchy distortion, set against a backdrop of Keltner’s durable backbeat. Bright, spectral loops set the atmosphere for “Not Enough of Time,” remindful of Baggetta’s colleague David Torn (who mastered this record).
“Fearmongers” is a band improv, held together by watt’s elliptical figure. Keltner off the leash comes up with endless spontaneous ideas, creating a groove in a constant state of metamorphosis. The thump of the slow beat out of watt and Keltner for “Measures of a Life” is plenty enough support for Baggetta’s attractive melody.
Mike Baggetta, mike watt and Jim Keltner’s Everywhen We Go does more than merely present the best musicians; it presents the best musicians at their best.
Everywhen We Go comes to us from BIG EGO Records. Go get a copy from Bandcamp.
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