The isolation of the American Northwest and naïve ambition, a strong sense of family and a talent for music would prove to be an unbeatable combination for teenage brothers Donnie and John Emerson.
Originally released in 1979, "Dreamin' Wild" is the vision of the Emerson boys, recorded in a family-built recording studio in rural Washington State. Based in the tiny town of Fruitland and far removed from the punk wave of the seventies and the even bigger disco boom, the brothers tilled their own musical soil of bedroom pop jams, raw funk and yacht rock.
Already fired up b …
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The isolation of the American Northwest and naïve ambition, a strong sense of family and a talent for music would prove to be an unbeatable combination for teenage brothers Donnie and John Emerson.
Originally released in 1979, "Dreamin' Wild" is the vision of the Emerson boys, recorded in a family-built recording studio in rural Washington State. Based in the tiny town of Fruitland and far removed from the punk wave of the seventies and the even bigger disco boom, the brothers tilled their own musical soil of bedroom pop jams, raw funk and yacht rock.
Already fired up by the music program at their high school, their father, a dedicated farmer, added fuel to the fire by signing a contract that included supporting his sons' ambitions with their own recording studio as long as they focused on original material - not bad for a man who knew nothing about the music business.
After taking out a second mortgage to cover the costs, Don Sr. built his kids a concert hall ("Camp Jammin'") that not only held 300 people, but also had a ticket booth, a stage and a fully functioning snack bar. The only problem was that the intended audience didn't show up, even though the
Brothers were featured in a prime time TV series called "The Rock And Roll Farmers". Despite everything, Donnie and Joe continued on their musical path and are still on the road as performers today.
Reviews
"A lo-fi pop marvel." (stereoplay, September 2012)
"'aby' has been a staple on just about every playlist / mixtape I've assembled in the past 3 years. It is nothing short of sublime." - Ariel Pink
"This is one of those LPs that helps one understand why people bother to even look for records to begin with. lovely, surprising mix of folk, soul, psych and funk." - Oliver Wang, Soul-Sides
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