LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ Rural Rhythm Records) - In 2008,
Jim Lauderdale took home the prestigious Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album with The Bluegrass Diaries, which was produced, engineered, and mixed by world-renowned musician/artist Randy Kohrs in his own Slack Key studio. Kohrs distinctive resonator guitar and harmony vocals can also be heard on every track. The two paired up again for Lauderdale's latest, Could We Get Any Closer?, and discovered that two years later, the combination is still a hit as they have been honored, once again, with a Grammy nomination in the same category for the coming 2010 awards. This is Lauderdale's fifth nomination and potential third win - he and Ralph Stanley won in 2002 with their collaborative effort Lost in the Lonesome Pines - and Kohrs solely produced the last two, as well as co-produced the one before.
The process in making Could We Get Any Closer? was drawn out for well over a year, as shortly after the first recording session, Lauderdale developed polyps on his vocal chords and was forced to postpone.
The severity of his condition resulted in surgery, and following a nine month recovery, he and Kohrs entered the studio yet again.
'Jim's voice was stronger and clearer than it had been in years when he healed from the procedure, and the difference was magnified in the studio,' Kohrs explains. 'Being the engineer, as well as the producer, when it came to recording his vocals allowed me to recognize every little detail, and the second I'd hear him get tired, we'd stop for the day. I used a microphone on him, the Violet Flamingo, which picks up even the tiniest inflection. As a result of this, and the talents of some of the most incredible musicians on the planet, I believe we have one of Jim's best albums to date and I wish him the best of luck at the awards.'
Slack Key studio may best be known, thus far, as a bluegrass recording studio thanks to the accolades received with Jim Lauderdale's previous two bluegrass recordings, but in the last few months, the clientele has ranged from Native American music to British pop, not to mention Kohrs' own projects. A prominent resonator guitarist and singer/songwriter himself, his upcoming, highly-anticipated CD, Quicksand, is due to release on January 12, 2010, on Rural Rhythm records.
