Beer, Book and Burle

by Chris Aaland

Beers, Book & Burle. As if I didn’t get enough of ’em on Reservoir Hill last weekend.

If you’re one of the lucky few, Saturday will find you dancing and drinking in Bodo Park for Ska Brewing’s 19th Anniversary Party & Brewer’s Invitational. Thirty of Ska’s best brewing buddies will be on hand to serve their ales, while the Skatalites, the Pietasters and the Rebel Set provides the evening’s soundtrack. “This is a really special time of year in Durango, and we use the festival to get friends, locals and visitors together and revel in the beauty of fall in the San Juans,” said Ska co-founder and president Dave Thibodeau. “Not to mention book some really sweet bands, drink a bunch of great beer and throw a generally kick-ass party.” Shuttles will run from downtown to Ska between 2:30 and 10:30 p.m. Parking is limited and attendees are encouraged to use the shuttle or ride their bikes.

In conjunction with the Skatalites’ 50th anniversary tour, Ska will release Hi-Hop Rye Pale Ale commemorating the band’s legacy and influence on ska and reggae. “We wanted to brew a beer that incorporates the Skatalites’ Jamaican roots while capturing the essence of early fall in the Rockies,” said Ska’s co-founder and brewery overlord Bill Graham. “It’s a balanced beer that compliments the climatic diversity of the season … something refreshing for the warm days but hearty enough for the cool nights.” If you got shut out on tickets to the sold-out event, you can buy bombers with the Skatalites’ iconic rocket ship logo in the foreground.

If you weren’t quick enough to score a ticket to Ska’s 19th birthday party, you can still light a candle with the limited-release Hi-Hop Rye IPA.

The planets must truly have aligned for beer drinkers this week, as Steamworks’ Firkin Friday falls this very week and its Ruby Red IPA cask gets tapped at 3 p.m. “The base is our Conductor, an Imperial IPA and our most heavily hopped beer,” said brewmaster Ken Martin, who noted its high 8.7 percent ABV. “Then we added an alcohol-based grapefruit extract. The variety of hops we use in the Conductor – Simcoe – already has flavor and aroma properties similar to that of ruby red grapefruit.” Brewer Spencer Roper added that, “It’s one of the more difficult hops in the industry to procure, which makes Ruby Red IPA firkin extra special.”

Travis Book, the most Infamous of Stringdusters, returns to town with tunesmith Benny “Burle” Galloway for a house concert at Mama Kaye’s on Wednesday. The gig is semi-private, but you can message Travis through his Facebook page to request an invitation. Burle was the biggest musical influence in Book’s life, teaching him to play bass back in 2001 right here in Durango. Within three years, Book’s Broke Mountain Bluegrass Band had won RockyGrass and its members soon launched their respective professional careers that would see them eventually join the Stringdusters, Leftover Salmon, Greensky Bluegrass, Town Mountain, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, Wayword Sons and other bands. Meanwhile, Burle had pulled all of the songs he could out of Alice – his trusty Martin D-35 guitar – and was preparing to sell her to buy an upright bass. Book orchestrated a swap and, this past January, released his solo debut, “Alice” … featuring songs he first learned from Burle on that same D-35.

Speaking of Book & Burle, they’ll also play live in the KSUT studios and help the station try to “Hit It and Quit It” during its fall membership drive on Wednesday afternoon. The grand prize of an all-expenses paid trip for two to Strings & Sol in Puerto Morelos, Mexico, this December will be drawn once KSUT reaches its fundraising goal. Bands appearing at Strings & Sol include the Stringdusters, Yonder Mountain, Leftover Salmon, Greensky Bluegrass, Railroad Earth, Sam Bush, the Travelin’ McCourys and others. Pledge online at www.ksut.org.

The Littlest Birds, a cello and banjo duo from the Eastern Sierras of California, plays a couple of brewpub dates in the Four Corners this weekend. Saturday finds David Huebner (cello) and Sharon Martinson (clawhammer banjo) at the Dolores River Brewery at 8 p.m. They’ll head east to Riff Raff Brewing Co. in Pagosa Springs at 6 p.m. Sunday for a free show. Since joining forces in 2010, they’ve taken their unique Americana sound to 34 states and Canada, including the Vancouver Folk Festival and the Oregon Country Fair.

This week’s Top 10 features my favorite Travis Book-sung tunes:

1. “Eliza Lowery,” Broke Mountain Bluegrass Band, “Cabin in the Hills,” 2004. Sweet Sunny South also did a solid version of Burle’s dark ditty, but T’s takes the cake.

2. “Poor Boy’s Delight,” Infamous Stringdusters, “Fork in the Road,” 2007. Travis was late to the Stringduster party, but their debut CD featured this Burle original. It’s since become a BIC lighter moment for countless newgrass jam bands.

3. “Long Lonesome Day,” Colorado Playboys, self-titled EP, 2007. Book originally wrote this back in his Broke Mountain days and has brought it with him through every phase of his career.

4. “Climbin’ up This Hill,” Colorado Playboys, self-titled EP, 2007. Co-written with Book and John Frazier, who later graduated from Hit & Run Bluegrass and the Playboys to the John Cowan Band and (occasionally in their post-Jeff Austin days) Yonder Mountain.

5. “Bound for Tennessee,” Infamous Stringdusters, self-titled, 2008. One of Travis’ first songwriting credits; it later reappeared on “Alice.”

6. “Get It While You Can,” Infamous Stringdusters, “We’ll Do It Live,” 2011. This cover of a Danny Barnes classic also appears on the Stringdusters’ self-titled second album.

7. “Red Tail Lights,” Travis Book, “Alice,” 2014. An old Yonder Mountain String Band tune penned by Burle and Dave Johnston that Book turned into a folksong.

8. “Travelin’ Teardrop Blues,” Travis Book, “Alice,” 2014. Shawn Camp’s song has become a modern bluegrass standard and one that Book has mastered through live renditions with various bands.

9. “Summercamp,” Infamous Stringdusters, 2014. A catchy mid-tempo number that harkens back to the innocence of youth. You’ve likely heard it all summer long on KSUT or KDUR.

10. “Blue Night,” assorted bands featuring Book, but never recorded by him. Kirk McGee wrote it and Hot Rize made it famous, but Travis embraced it. I have numerous bootlegs of T singing it with the Playboys, the ‘Dusters and even the Robin Davis Quartet at the 2008 Durango Bluegrass Meltdown.

I like your biscuits in my gravy, ma’am? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.