The Deschutes Brewery launches the Deschutes River Recordings to benefit the Deschutes River

This article was published on: 09/19/12 9:56 AM

Eric D. Johnson sings “Ballad of Easy Rider” on the banks of the Deschutes River. The first in a series of Deschutes River Recordings produced by the Deschutes Brewery.

Here at Deschutes River Conservancy, we are lucky to have the outstanding support of many companies in our community. On the heels of pledging to restore one billion gallons of water to the river for the next few years, Deschutes Brewery has come up with a creative way to provide the DRC with additional support and it is called “Deschutes River Recordings”.

Here’s how Deschutes River Recordings was born:

  • The brewery issued a call to its fans – otherwise called “advisory board members” – to choose songs with a river theme through an online voting process.
  • Next, the brewery teamed up with indie artists to record the selected songs. The musicians traveled to Central Oregon and recorded the music “streamside high-wire: live, unadorned, far from a studio safety net”, resulting in a completely unique sound blending acoustic tunes with the sounds of nature.
  • A partnership with popular music site, pitchfork.com, was formed and implemented to help promote the new recordings.
  • Fans can download the songs for free, but are able to make a donation if they desire. Proceeds from downloads of this new music benefit the Deschutes River Conservancy, which is working to preserve streamflows and health of the river in Central Oregon.

The first music video in the Deschutes River Recordings lineup was released today, 9/12. It features artist Eric D Johnson of the popular Chicago-and-then-Oregon-based band The Fruit Bats. He’s belting it out on the banks of the Deschutes River with a little help from a keyboard, some rushing rapids and a squirrel or two. Here’s the direct link.

Two more recordings are coming up in the next few weeks, featuring Laura Gibson and also Eric Earley of Blitzen Trapper.

We are so excited about this project and it truly represents a community collaboration to help support our important mission. We hope fans of the brewery, indie music and the river all go online to download this one-of-a-kind music and make a donation to the DRC.