Driftwood

Lost Finger Lakes recently caught up with Driftwood before their gig on June 22 at Lincoln Hill Farms. They are an Americana band based in Binghamton, New York, and they put on a hell of a live show. Check out their upcoming tour dates at driftwoodtheband.com.

Is this your first gig at Lincoln Hill Farms?

It’s our first time here. We just heard about how awesome it is and It’s a really beautiful place. 

I just watched your sound check and you finished with Hello, a great song from your new album, Tree of Shade. Can you talk a bit about the new recordings?

It was released on April 6, 2019 and we recorded it with Simone Felice, from The Felice Brothers, who produced it in the Catskill area. It was also recorded with Pete Hanlon, he’s a sound engineer there. We did it in 10 straight days. It’s the first album we ever just cranked out like that, day after day. We stayed in an Airbnb about 20 minutes away, it was a really beautiful drive. We were immersed in it, just totally in the zone. We’ve always recorded about two or three days a week, at most, so we were totally in it. We had outside help from Simone and Pete everyday to make it move so quick. That alleviated a lot of the pressure from us to make major decisions on it, and they put their touch on it. So when we hear the album, we think back to those great times. We’ve been doing this for a while. This is our 5th album, everyone is writing beautifully, we’re proud of it.

Do you guys come in with all the songs written or do some of them come together while you’re in the studio?

Most of the time we write the songs individually and then come together to record. This album is different in that we did demos, which is not a process we’ve ever gone through. Simone actually picked the tunes, which sort of gave the record a certain solidity. Some of them we had played together, but most of them we had not. Most of them we just created in the studio from the demos, or from scratch. 

A couple of the songs on the final album are the actual demos. It’s cool because there’s an early element that remains. For those songs, we tried doing takes in the studio and we couldn’t beat the demos.

Sometimes the early takes are the best, right?

Yes, and the cool thing about something like that is it’s keeping the essence of the early stage of those songs. It stayed in that true form. It’s way more awkward when there’s like five people in the studio listening to you and you’re trying to perform a really heavy song. You can see them all sitting in the room and you’re like, “Okay! Here we go!”

That was a big part of the album experience in general is we all sat in the same big space. There was no place to hide out because we recorded in November and it was cold. 

What are your summer tour plans? You’re playing Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance, right?

Yep, we’re doing a lot of regional dates. We play Saturday and Sunday at Grassroots in Trumansburg. We’ll go to Utah and maybe Colorado. Then we’ll be back in Trumansburg for The BBQ V on August 23 and 24. Just a lot of outdoor events.

You guys play the perfect music for hanging outside with a beer. 

Oh ya, like being here at Lincoln Hill Farms is perfect. We’re ready to go.

So what are your favorite food and drinks in the Finger Lakes?

Damiani Winery on Seneca Lake is like, Finger Lakin’ Good. We love Cayuga Lake Creamery in Interlaken. They make really awesome ice cream. Roots Café in Naples has an amazing veggie burger with garlic aioli.

How about outdoor activities?

We love hiking, biking, and fishing. We just passed Geneva and I always forget it’s the Lake Trout Capital of the World. People must come from all over the place to fish for trout.

What is the best kept secret about the Finger Lakes?

The people. We’ve been all over the place and people ask where we’re from. When we say New York they always just assume New York City. And there’s a particular vibe down there that’s really happening, but I think people in this area are so special. They are so invested in each other in a beautiful, profound, and palpable way. It’s such a great place to be and the people really make that possible. It’s beautiful. I think it’s the people, and the albino deer.

Essential Driftwood Tracks:

Header Photo: Anna Maynard

Lost + Found is a series of short, standardized Q+A interviews with people involved in the Finger Lakes community. We sit down with the seekers, artisans, crafts people, and enthusiasts of the region, searching for food & drink, entertainment, culture, nature – everything that makes The Finger Lakes great. We invite you to get lost with us, and maybe find yourself along the way.