A shot of Washboard Union
When success comes at you as fast as it has for The Washboard Union, it can be hard to see the significance of the little things. Those little moments that in hindsight can be viewed as a sign of what’s to come.
So when Chris Duncombe, Aaron Grain and David Roberts nailed the recording of “Shot of Glory” in one take, they probably should have known they had something special.
“That’s the only song we’ve ever recorded in our history that is literally one take,” Duncombe said last week during a little downtime in Vancouver. “The take you hear on the record is the one take we recorded. And that was really incredible. Everything just kind of clicked with that tune.”
It clicked with them and with listeners, going top five at country radio in the summer.
The Washboard Union will play Nov. 3 at the Esplanade, starting at 8 p.m.
“‘Shot of Glory’ blew our minds,” said Duncombe.
That song was the followup to the band’s first top 10 hit “Maybe it’s the Moonshine,” both of which were on the “In My Bones” EP. Those two milestones are in the rearview mirror, but it seems there’s another one around every corner, Duncombe said.
One of the early ones was recording “In My Bones” in RCA Studio A in Nashville, a legendary recording studio built in 1964 for Chet Atkins and has seen Dolly Parton, The Beach Boys and others record there. Another highlight was getting to play with the Zac Brown Band and getting to sit down with Brown on his bus and pick his brain.
“He had a lot of things to tell us about keeping grounded and keeping focused on the right things,” Duncombe said. “And I think from every artist that we’ve either seen perform who’s been at it so much longer than we have or that we’ve been able to sit down and talk with, there’s always been pearls of wisdom that musicians are happy to pass on to each other, because in one way or another you’re all going through the same thing and the ability to create a show that people want to come to let alone pay to get into is critical.”
More highlights will likely come as the band releases its next single “Head Over Heels” in the next couple of weeks, a new album next year and sets out on a busy festival circuit.
Tickets, $29.50 plus service charge and GST, are available at www.tixx.ca, by calling 403-502-8777 or in person at the Esplanade box office or the Medicine Hat Mall customer service desk.