Before the glitz and glamour of modern Nashville, country music was all about every-day, relatable experiences, be that heartbreak or poverty. That brand of country is still alive and kicking, and Nick Dittmeier and the Sawdusters are putting in the work. A touring band, Dittmeier and crew have a spent the majority of this year on the road promoting Midwest Heart/Southern Blues, a classic take on the genre that picks and grins with the best of them.
Rather than focus on a physical release, Dittmeier opted for a digital first-release, which dropped this past January. Almost a year later, the band is finally getting around to a vinyl release, available at their show this Friday at Mag Bar.
I feel like in this day and age, there isnt really a need for record-release shows, because you can get music anywhere really, said Dittmeier.
For Dittmeier, the record was imagined as an exercise in restraint, with a focus on simple and easily-identifiable themes.
I was feeling like a mutt, he said. Were not northerners, but were not southerners. When you tell people youre from Louisville, people think of Kentucky, but were not really. It just feels like were in this weird geographical space. I felt the need to write really basic songs and make them like a mirror. I didnt want to tell people how to feel. I guess a lot of the songs are about moral ambivalence, just about the things that people do to survive.
Music keeps the lights on, and while Dittmeier certainly seems to have fun, its definitely a learning experience. Their road has been a winding path that has seen them staying in weird and uncomfortable places, avoiding knife fights at shows, and getting mistaken for unruly truckers in Iowa, but Dittmeier and company have fun with it.
Were playing our set and selling merch, he said. Playing rooms we want to play or with people that we look up to. I think the feeling that youre connecting with people at the show is important, that its something that you could come back and do again.
Nick Dittmeier and the Sawdusters play on Friday, Nov. 11 at Mag Bar. $7.
This article appears in November 9, 2016.