After six years playing drums in the incredibly popular indie-folk band Dr. Dog, Juston Stens left the band in order to front his own band and travel the U.S. on a Triumph motorcycle to write and record a collaborative album, titled Share The Road with help from a host of fellow musicians, including Jessica Lea Mayfield, David Vandervelde, members of Dr. Dog and more.
Stens’ journey was documented in the recent film I Lay Where I Fall. Directed by Andrew Stubbs, the film premiered at the Nashville Film Festival in April. A few months later the LP was released, and it’s now for the first time on the album, Share The Road (Eschatone).
Share The Road is as varied as the individual personalities on the record, yet Stens has still produced an incredibly cohesive album. We recently chatted with Stens who gave us a track by track run down on the collaborations, journey and meanings behind each track on the album.
100 Lives
“Eight hour drive from Philly to Cambridge Mass. Left in the day wearing wayfarers and then the sun went down, and then a flash flood hit and soaked me. Bought some decent goggles the next morning! Handed over the vocals to Sarah Cronin and Sue Bell while Thomas Allen and I held down the rhythm.”
It’s Alright
“I like to sneak away with a guitar any chance I could to just play and see what feelings came through. My last night in Cambridge with all friends gathered, I stepped to the side and came up with this one. Hummed it all the way to Harrisburg, PA. Rebecca Marie Miller helped me focus and laid the sweet trumpet tracks.”
(The map of Juston’s travels)
Strange Love
“Jessica Lea Mayfield and I wrote this one on the spot when I arrived in Akron,OH. It’s about love on the road. Relevant to musicians, as well as carnival folk, airline workers and traveling salespeople and more. Engineered by Bob Cesare of Beatles tribute ‘Revolver’ fame and work with Dan Auerbach (Black Keys).”
Blink of an Eye
“A kick-butt tune filtered through the minds of David Vandervelde and Jesse Newport.”
(Juston and Jessica Lea in Kent, OH)
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Slipping Away
“Tracked this one with long time buddy Seth Kaufmann in Black Mt., NC ( he engineered half of my first album Trash or Treasure). I went into a cabin in the woods to track the vocals and you can hear all the crickets and night bugs. On the way out of North Carolina I endured five hours of relentless rain. Turns out, it was some type of tropical rain band.”
I Lay Where I Fall
“New Orleans. I had a tough time with this one and was feeling a midpoint slump and pretty tired and road worn. After a tough day, Julie Odell, Preston Wittenburg (Giant Cloud) and Vaughn Daigle (fellow touring member of Generationals) turned bad vibes into good and a blah blah song into an oh la la song.”
(One of the many ‘studios’ Share The Love was recorded in)
Old Flames
“Somewhere in Louisiana between New Orleans and Lafayette, someone snapped a shot of me on I-80. I saw it posted on Twitter and this picture became the cover of the album. Tracked this one with the help of (Grammy Award winning ) Chris Stafford and the combined talents of Brass Bed. They were the first band I toured with after starting my own group.”
Summer Wind
“This song was recalling how long it had been since I set out on this journey and how I remembered feeling as I did. It was recorded in a living room with the immeasurable help of San Antonio’s finest souls, The Hawks of The Holy Rosary.”
(Juston taking Frank from The Hawks for a ride)
Collider
“2 guys. 0 hi-hats. Naim Amor is a great person. Listen to his music.”
Darling, Honey, Baby
“A nice reunion to record with long time friends Bradford Trojan ( my introduction to Dr.Dog ) and Dimitri Manos (current member of Dr.Dog ). A sweet little ditty and a campfire to share with old friends. I was done recording this album.”
Share The Road is now available via Eschatone Records Bandcamp.
