Ethan Lawton, Jim Miller and Cahalen Morrison visit prior to their local show on the “Songs From the Deluge” tour. This Seattle based honky-tonk outfit is a real throwback to the origins of country-western music with songs about drinking and hell raising. This latest release has expanded the songs to include discussions about VietNam veterans as well as drug addiction in their Pacific NorthWest home.

The band opened up last year’s Green River Festival and were a real treat. They feature songs from all three songwriters, Lawton, Morrison and Miller. Each have had previous success in their own endeavors; Jim Miller was one of the founders of NY based, Donna The Buffalo, Cahalen Morrison was in a critically acclaimed duo with Eli West. Ethan Lawton was the mandolin player in Zoe Muth’s excellent band, the Lost High Rollers.

These guys put the “western” back in country-western music. They avoid the currently trendy pop-country sounds instead preferring old school honky-tonk music with plenty of pedal steel and twang. This release was recorded in Eunice Louisiana with Joel Savoy producing as well as adding his cajun fiddle to the mix. Roddie Romero’s accordion thickens the swampy sound on many songs too.

Our conversation finds the three songwriters in a local watering hall while on tour. Admittedly, the sound is less than perfect but the laughter is genuine and the conversation diverse. Each member chooses a favorite tune from the new release. The songs included are Weight of the World, Earthly Justice, Far From Home, Borrow Time as well as Wild You Run.