One by one, members of the local band Elk Tongue made their way to a table in Coal Creek Tap in downtown Laramie on a Wednesday afternoon.
Seth Leininger, guitarist, sat across from me, drinking his coffee while Keaton Elsasser, vocalist and guitarist, made his way over to the other side of the store to order a cappuccino. Moments later Shawn Hess, bassist, slid into the booth next to me, before ordering a beer.
“I get to be interviewed about the album?” Hess said. “What a treat.”
Everyone settled into the booth by the window and after a few jokes and teasing, the band geared up to answer all of the questions regarding their new album.
The Wyoming-native band started recording their first full-length album titled “Salmon Palace” in June 2016.
“When we first moved into our house people referred to it as the Salmon Palace,” Hess said. “And everything that went into this album happened in those walls.”
Anyone who knows the members of Elk Tongue has probably been to a house show or been over to the infamous Salmon Palace in some fashion, which is the humble home of Elsasser, Leininger and Hess near the university campus that stands out due to its exterior salmon color.
Hess, Leininger and Elsasser have been friends since high school and after their previous band, Harriman Exit, came to an end, they found Dylan Stowers, drummer, and formed the “psychedelic desert rock” band that is Elk Tongue.
“For the recording of ‘Salmon Palace,’ the drum tracks were the first priority,” Stowers said. “I laid down most of the recordings from memory, although a couple songs needed Shawn’s guiding bass lines for direction.”
“Salmon Palace” was recorded in the upstairs of the actual Salmon Palace with their own equipment. Elsasser studied audio engineering at the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences in Arizona and applied what he had learned to the recording process.
“We are DIAY, do it all yourself, kind of guys,” Elsasser said.
Elsasser said the recording process was very casual and Leininger added that it may have been a casual experience, but also quality-oriented.
“When Keaton gets into it, it’s like, he knows when it’s a bad take and he’ll just stop and be like, ‘Okay, redo that,’” Leininger said. “I mean, it was silly and fun. It wasn’t just all business; I mean we’re boys at heart.”
Before “Salmon Palace,” Elk Tongue recorded and released an EP titled “A Field Guide to Mammals,” which was placed at fourth in Wyoming Public Media’s top five albums of the year for 2016.
Although there had only been a year between the release of the EP and full-length album, there seemed to be a consensus on the fact that everything had changed for the band’s recording process between the two albums.
Leininger explained that the EP was recorded with all members playing the song at the same time, unlike on the full-length album where each person recorded their own part and then it was mixed together by Elsasser with some help from Leininger.
“Somehow we were able to still make it sound live,” Leininger said. “Which is cool.”
Hess said, “I don’t know if it sounds live, but it sounds alive.”
Hess explained that most of the songs on “Salmon Palace” were written before the recording process even began. The song writing process for Elk Tongue has been described as being very organic, so much that Elsasser said it was, “FDA approved,” with each member having the opportunity to do what they want, when they want.
“All of our musical tastes and backgrounds are so different that I’m hesitant to say our sound is influenced by anything but each other,” Stowers said. “My part isn’t trying to be anything but an analog to Shawn’s, or maybe the lead guitar part that Seth is playing, or Keaton’s vocals.”
The bond that is shared between the members of Elk Tongue is something unique that sets them apart from other bands in the Laramie music scene, and it was apparent as we all sat around a table, sharing laughs.
“I would say that out of every band I’ve seen in Laramie, we enjoy and love each other in a way that no other band does,” Elsasser said.
This bond of friendship is apparent not only in their personal lives, but also in their live performances, song writing, recording process and everything that went into making “Salmon Palace.” The band even had their friend, Austen Williams, design the album cover and featured him on a hidden track that the members said, “may or may not exist.”
As they talked about all of the quirks of their new album, the excitement was contagious. All of the members not only seemed happy about having an album, but there was also an unspoken feeling of relief to have the finished, tangible product.
“I don’t think I’ve been more proud of something in my life than this thing,” Leininger said. “This was something that we wanted for a long time and we kind of knew how to achieve it and we kind of had the drive to do it and then we did it, it’s done and we’re moving on.”
All members of the band expressed the idea of this album being one of the first steps toward more exciting things, such as more albums to come.
“If anything it shows us that we can do it and we have the tools to do it and do it again,” Elsasser said. “Hopefully it keeps getting better because I heard that throughout this album.”
Elsasser, Leininger and Hess explained what it was like listening to their own album as something that seemed to have its ups and downs. Leininger said listening to all of the songs so much during the recording and mixing process made it harder to listen objectively, although they all are genuinely proud of the finished product.
“Sometimes it’s like, ‘Oh my god, this is awesome!’” and [then] like four days ago, I didn’t even like the album,” Elsasser said, while Leininger and Hess laughed. “[Now] I’m back on it again!”
Hess supported this idea by talking about one of the nights after the band had finished a recording or mixing session when they all took a ride around town, listening to the album. He said he was expecting everyone to be blown away by what they heard, but found that after listening to the album almost nonstop, that was not the case.
“The longer that you go without really listening to it and then you go back and listen to it, I feel like it’s a more objective experience,” Hess said. “Instead of listening to it everyday and all the time and nitpicking.”
Regardless of these feelings, Stowers said “Salmon Palace” was the first full-length album that he has been involved with, making him proud of the finished product in general, which was a common feeling throughout the interview.
“I do think that once we started recording it and it started coming together it was just like a snowball effect because it was so cool to watch it build,” Elsasser said.
Leininger said, “I think this was a learning, if anything, just like a learning for what we’re going to do next time. I mean, we’ve already got like half an album ready to start recording almost whenever we have a few more songs written.”
With the hopes of recording more albums in the future, Elsasser said the band is sending the album far and wide with, “No expectations and all the expectations.”
Leininger said the ideal outcome of this would be getting a record deal, although the members of Elk Tongue understand they are currently taking “baby steps.”
One of the “baby steps” Elk Tongue took was playing their first radio show at Wyoming Public Media leading up to the album release show that will be held in the Gardens on campus tonight. Elk Tongue will be performing alongside The Raven and the Writing Desk and Cephas.
The band is looking forward to the future of Elk Tongue with the release of “Salmon Palace,” and hope it will bring their sound to a bigger audience.
“As a band I would say this is the true beginning of ‘Elk Tongue’ and not ‘Elk Tongue, formerly know as Harriman Exit,’” Stowers said.
