Lil Smokies' new album touts Whitefish love

The Lil Smokies, a popular Missoula-based band with a Whitefish connection will release its fourth album, “Break of the Tide,” in April. 

The core band members, dobro player Andy Dunnigan, son of local musician John Dunnigan, lead guitarist Matthew Rieger and fiddler Jake Simpson, were joined by bassist Jean Luc Davis and banjo player Sam Armstrong Zickefoose on the new album which has been described as more introspective than the group’s previous work. 

While the band has made studio albums as well as live albums, most of their work had been more highly refined and practiced. The new album contains songs that were not so diligently distilled. 

“I think the main difference was we had kind of road worked the songs and played a lot of the songs on previous albums a lot, live, before we went into the studio, so they were pretty polished,” Dunnigan said. “This one, our songs were pretty undeveloped, really, and we did that intentionally because we just had never done that before.” 

The musicians worked, for the first time, with producer Robert Ellis. They workshopped ideas at his studio in Texas, near Dallas/Fort Worth, and Ellis, whom Dunnigan described as a virtuoso and a mad scientist, played along with the band on several cuts. 

“I think it provided a little more confidence, with him there,” Dunnigan said. “We'd never done these sorts of very loose, freshly born songs, and having him [say], ‘Oh, that sounds amazing,’ helped seal the deal.” 

Dunnigan said making music in this new way was a good learning experience and that most of the songs on the album are “delicate in a really raw way.” 

“I can just slave over certain lines and chords, and I think, during the new album’s process, we had to just kind of surrender to what we had, which was kind of a beautiful thing,” he said. “We would work on a song all day and then record it, and that was it. 

“It was kind of liberating and to unbridle your reins a bit and it still turned out fine,” he added. “I think sometimes we can be really harsh critics, but the music speaks for itself.” 

Creating and producing fresh music for “Break of the Tide” allowed the band to build confidence in fresh songs and expand their musical toolbox. Dunnigan suggested that, on albums in the future, they could “meet in the middle” with more developed songs alongside newer tunes. 

Another thing that helped make the process successful was the nature of the band members, themselves. 

“They're the greatest guys. Everyone's really humble and it's a very ego-free band,” he said. “I don't think it would work any other way.” 

The first single, “Montana Flower,” was written by Simpson for his fiancée, a Whitefish woman who tends bar locally. According to the band’s website, the song compares her beauty to the geographical marvels of the area, including Big Mountain. 

"Jake wrote that 'Montana Flower' for her and it incorporates a lot of some cool Flathead Valley lexicon,” Dunnigan said. “It turned out really nice.” 

Simpson also wrote the song, “Keep Me Down,” which addresses the touring musician’s quandary -- choosing between loved ones left at home and the call of the road. 

Part of what makes “Break of the Tide” a different album from Lil Smokies is its more mature sound.  

“I think we've kind of grown up, especially these last five years, just the way the world is,” he said. “We’re in our mid 30s now and you just see things differently and I think that's all exemplified on this album. It’s really introspective and contemplative.” 

The Lil Smokies’ summer tour takes them to Colorado, across the Midwest and into New York and New England. The closest they’ll be to Whitefish is Red Lodge on Aug. 1, although it’s possible they could do a gig in Kalispell in July.