They call it studio magic, but the truth is that the best recording studios aren’t Wonka-esque wonderlands of fancy gear, they’re humble churches to the joys of making music. Roots musician, recording engineer, and well-traveled sideman Ben Winship knows this well. He’s grown his backyard space, The Henhouse in tiny Victor, Idaho, into a renowned recording space centered less on the gear and more on the vibe, the kind of easy relaxed musical space that calls out for new songs and old tunes. It’s also the space where he’s been working on two ambitious albums, each one a separate showcase of his talents and perspectives and both of them full-to-the-rafters with powerful guests and friends. To be released together July 19, 2019, both albums, Toolshed and Acorns, showcase Ben’s songwriting, arranging, and musicianship with a host of artists he’s come to know from years of performing on the road. Toolshed showcases a full-band sound, forming Americana and country-rock soundscapes and featuring guests like Louisiana legend Ivan Neville, bluegrass legend Joe Newberry, Travis Book of The Infamous Stringdusters, Grammy-winning fingerstyle guitarist Mike Dowling, and Stanton Moore, the drummer for Galactic. Acorns showcases a more organic roots music world based around late-night jam sessions and picking parties, and includes guests like Canadian artists Pharis Romero and Chris Coole, plus Northwest guitarist Forrest Gibson and fiddler Rayna Gellert. Both albums feature Brittany Haas, Eli West, and Mollie O’Brien, among others.
“Both records started out as one giant recording project,” Winship explains. “But as the tunes got written and I saw how many there were, I realized I had to divide them into two camps. I spend a huge amount of time in the studio producing and engineering records for other people, so I’m really comfortable with the tricks and tools of the studio.” Some of those tricks and tools built the full band sound of Toolshed, drawing from over two dozen artists on a host of instruments, everything from full brass bands to a tabla player. Winship doesn’t see a lot of need to tour this band around, so it became at times an exercise in genre creation, wending from the jazz manouche of a song like “My Name’s Mudd” to the jamband buzz of “Across the Great Divide,” the easy-rolling honky-tonking title track, or the mandolin-fused Dixieland beat of “Ragged but Right.” Ivan Neville guests on “What’s the Matter with the Well,” a powerfully apt song written by Winship after the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
“I think over the last few years, as I’ve become more mired in the studio,” Winship says, “the joy of playing live music with people has taken on more shine. The opportunities I get to play with really good players in a casual jam session... I think I get more out of that than just about anything else. I wanted to make the Acorns record more of a celebration of live interactive playing.” Winship sources instrumental pieces from American stringband traditions, and writes old-timey songs in the vein of Tim O’Brien (perhaps not surprising then that his sister Mollie O’Brien appears on both albums). There’s an easy feel to Acorns, a result of the lively sessions that undergird each track, each one born up by hours of impromptu jam sessions at music camps across the US where Winship teaches.
Releasing two albums at once may be a daunting prospect for any artist, but Ben Winship needs this much space. He’s got a much longer musical wingspan than most artists, and easily bears the weight not only of so many stellar guests and all kinds of complex arrangements, but also his own outstanding musicianship and songwriting throughout.