On Saturday, we met with Susan Minichiello for an interview with the Sidney Herald. Here’s what she wrote about the High Plains Heritage Project.
1,000 Miles down, 7 days to go
We reached 1,000 miles on our production vehicle last night, and only a week left of our 19 days on the road.
In all our time on the road so far — be it in North Dakota or Montana — we just keep looking at each other, smiling, and remarking on what great people we’ve been meeting, staying with, and talking to during our time on the road.
Not everyone we’ve met has made it to the website yet — some of these great folks you’ll just have to wait until we finish our movie to meet.
McCone County Museum hasn’t changed much since 1986
A couple of days ago, we posted an article and video about Wendell Pawlowski and the McCone County Museum, which he curates. I grabbed a brochure on the way out. Looking at the similarities between photos of the exhibits from 1986 and what I saw in our tour, not too much has changed. Given the spirit and intent of the museum, that’s okay with me.
Last Best News covers HPHP send-off
Ed Kemmick of Last Best News stopped by the team’s last minutes in Yellowstone County. Following up on his May 9th piece about the HPHP, he asked us about our travel plans, goals for the project, and thoughts on the MonDak region.
Sounds like Montana – Recording ear candy from the Great Plains
The sounds of the prairie winds blowing, of trucks passing, of the hustle and bustle of busy towns, of farm implements dutifully working the land—the noise of a place can take you there. We’re keeping our ears open all the time.
A region’s music can take you there, too, speaking to inhabitants’ influences, feelings, and upbringing. Melodies tell visceral narratives; lyrics relate stories true and fictional.
Last night, multi-instrumentalist Daniel Gillispie visited us at our temporary headquarters in Billings. We set up a quick-and-dirty recording studio in a spare bedroom. Sheets hung from the ceiling and covered the window. Blankets were shoved against the crack under the door. Tarek, Stan and I stood (perfectly!) still while Daniel played some pieces he had prepared for this project.
I’ve heard Daniel perform around Billings in rock and roll bands, but I didn’t know he could play like this. Full, complex numbers flowed from his acoustic six-string. The selections, dynamic in mood and tempo, fit the tone of this project, I think. He improved a couple tracks, too, which turned out great.
Here’s a taste:
We’d like to extend a special thanks to Daniel for stopping by last night and sharing his compositions. We’ve received a lot of support from area musicians. If you’re a tunesmith hailing from MT or ND and you’d like to get involved, shoot us an email: team@highplainsheritage.com.