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Holden Young Trio to release locally-recorded CD

Margaret Hair
Steve Boynton talks about some of his recent work in the recording studio at First String Music store in Steamboat Springs on Wednesday morning.
Brian Ray

— For his first album with the Steamboat-based, self-named, reggae/semi-soul group Holden Young Trio, Young said it was nice to record the project where it started.

“It was nice to be in Steamboat away from the busyness, away from the hubbub of where I live now in Boulder,” he said.

On Wednesday, the group – which formed in December 2006 and is rounded out by Billy Franklin on bass and Eric Rolls on drums – will play songs from its debut album, “Steps to the Top,” at Old Town Pub.



Coming off tour dates across this side of the country during the summer, the Trio went into the studio in the back of First String Music store west of downtown Steamboat to lay down the set they had more or less tightened by performing so often.

When jazz guitarist Steve Boynton opened the music instrument store/repair shop/lessons space in March, he had the place wired for recording.



“This used to all be in my house,” Boynton said of the mixing boards and recording software that occupies about half of the room in the back of the store.

Before setting out for shows scheduled in Chicago and New York, the trio worked with Boynton on a 12-hour session to get the rhythm tracks done for the record’s slightly jammy, but more song-driven feel.

The way Boynton’s studio is set up – drums in the piano lesson room, bass and mixing in the guitar studio and vocals in the guitar showcase – with windows in between – the musicians can see each other, but the sound is isolated.

Young later returned to the studio to record vocals and lead guitar, with the solid rhythm tracks from the initial session to build on.

“The bar is so high for production these days, you kind of have to go in and do pieces,” Boynton said.

Young had the album finished and pressed and said the mixing turned out well. Judging by the recordings Boynton played from the computers in his studio, Young is right.

“Since recording the CD, I’ve taken it to three different people in the process of mastering, and everybody said it turned out really well and they were really impressed with the work Steve had done,” Young said.

The CD was set to be pressed by today, but Young doesn’t want to make any guarantees it will be available for the OTP show. He hopes to have CDs available for two weeks of shows in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. And it will definitely be ready for the Trio’s set at Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill’s Halloween party Oct. 27.


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