“they exist as documents of where you were at, as an artist, at that time” - Erik Zobler, (friend from high-school and sound engineer for K. Loggins, George Duke)

Spencer Lewis Releases First EP, “The Grower”

Feb. 20, 2024 (Bethel, VT) - Spencer Lewis and Woodstone Mountain are pleased to announce the release of Lewis’s first EP, The Grower. Containing six once-forgotten songs with evocative lyrics too compelling to ignore, The Grower incorporates rich sounds from several of Lewis’s long-time collaborators in the studio. As Lewis has reflected back on his archive of 26 albums and other unreleased material, this collection represents a musical journey in which Lewis sought ways to expand on the folk-rock genre. By adding vocals to his signature layered instrumental compositions, he creates a free-form lyrical approach combining the poetic expression of hard-earned wisdom with a serendipitous lightness of being.

The title track is meticulously remastered from the 1990 cassette Songs of Change. It features acclaimed jazz pianist Eugene Uman with Lewis on guitar and vocals in an explosive live-in-studio performance. It was recorded and mixed in an all-analog sonic footprint from Spencer’s 8-track reel-to-reel to the legendary White Crow Audio studio in Burlington, VT. Uman is director of the Vermont Jazz Center in Brattleboro Vermont, and has also featured on several of Lewis’s albums, including Dirt Road Instrumentals (2002) and The Healing Distance (2005).

Percussionist Barry Miller is featured on the tender and haunting song “What If Time”. Written in the wake of tragic loss when Lewis’s parents both died together in 2008, Miller’s organic percussion is fluidly juxtaposed to the personal transformation of grief. This previously unreleased song was recorded in 2013. The song speaks to the dual nature of love and loss and the healing power of music to entwine both aspects of humanity.

“To All Fathers Missed" is a 1:58 slice out of the rambling eíght-plus minute track from Lewis’ 2012 all-instrumental folk-rock tome “Vermont Resurrection”. Jeff Berlin’s dramatic drum tracks were recorded at Bow Thayer’s Woodshed Studio in Gaysville by the eminent studio engineer Tim Mikovitz (Aaron Neville, D.Chopra, Catamount Arts, VT State U faculty).

“Say No More” is a meditation of self-examination, thriving on the single mantra:

“All the rays in me”.

“See the Clear” builds upon a series of structural tempo changes concluding with the ethereal and pristine vocals of Lewis’s daughter Ariana Lewis.

“Zephyr Ride” uses the rollicking, swirling Americana stew of fiddles, octave mandolin, banjo, bass, and drums to bring home its earnest message:

“I want a cool breeze and a fair wind

And a sweet zephyr ride

to help me to glide through the change”

The Grower is a bold departure from his own folk anthems, confessional ballads and, of course, his prolific instrumental series of ‘music that paint’s the rural landscape, and quiets the mind.’ He continues to perform and produce new music, in addition to building dry-laid stone walls during the warmer months of the year.