Blitzen Trapper fits the River Rocks vibe

For the past few years, Blitzen Trapper has put together a special promotional recording for Record Store Day to show their support for independent record shops. “We release a 7-inch demo or an old recording we never released,” said guitar player and songwriter Eric Earley. “It gives fans a chance to get something that’s hard to get, and it’s on vinyl.”

This year’s Record Store Day (April 18) offering showcases the personality and musical roots of the band. It’s a live recording from two concerts in which the band covered Neil Young’s 1972 “Harvest” album from start to finish. Those shows in Portland served as decompression sessions in late 2013 at the end of a long tour for their latest album, “VII.”

“We just kind of got in our heads that we loved that record,” Earley said. During rehearsals for the concert, “we tried some songs. We’d go ‘This is one we know.’ And we’d play it. But there were others, like ‘Man Needs a Maid,’ where we had to think ‘How do we do this?’”

A friend recorded the concerts, and everything came together so well the band decided to make it its Record Store Day entry this year. About 3,000 copies will be available on April 18, and the band will replicate the concert at City Winery locations in Chicago (two shows April 14), New York (two shows April 17) and Nashville (April 20).

Those five shows are part of a whirlwind spring tour that crams 12 shows into 10 days. River Rocks is the tour kickoff.

“It’ll be our first show in seven or eight months, but we’ve been playing together so long now, it doesn’t take long to get going again,” Earley said.

After 14 years together, Blitzen Trapper has a tight sound that fits in the broad Americana genre, with a jam band feel and tastes of alt-country and rock ’n’ roll. Sort of The Band meets R.E.M. with John Prine at the helm.

The other bands on the River Rocks menu include The Heavy Pets, The Mantras, The Mustache Brothers and She Returns from War. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the gate.

Joey Holleman

This story was originally published April 9, 2015 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Blitzen Trapper fits the River Rocks vibe."