Ernie Gammage and Dave Desmond are two Austin, Texas-based singer-songwriter-performers brought together by inspired songcraft as THE GOOD EARTH. With the help of multiple talented friends, three helpful cats, and enough time to do it their way, ROCK & TREE was born. Call it what you will—and yeah, it’s a Texas gumbo—ROCK & TREE brings a bucketful of great songwriting and performance front and center.

 

Ernie Gammage has been writing songs and performing for a half-century. Long noted as a performer (Sweetarts, Plum Nelly, Mother of Pearl, Ernie Sky & The K-Tels) this is the first recording that focuses on his songwriting. Ernie’s material covers a wide range, from classic R&B to country to traditional folk to jazz, and is glued together by his award-winning vocals and exemplary bass chops.

 

Dave Desmond knocked around the country as a journeyman musician for years before landing in Austin in 1981. His perceptive songwriting and savvy guitar playing always delight and surprise. As his first opportunity to step forward as a lead vocalist, ROCK & TREE serves as a great introduction to his talent.

 

Appearing on this CD are the following:

  Ernie Gammage, bass and vocals

  Dave  Desmond, guitar and vocals

  The East Side Flash: Dobro

  Fiddle and mandolin, Sean Orr

  Fiddle and mandolin, Scott Blesener

  Harmonica, Ted Roddy 

  Percussion:  The Good Earth, Troupe Gammage and Justin Sadowski

 

Recorded at Tres Gatos Sound, Austin, Texas by Justin Sadowski. Mixed by Evan Kaspar and Justin Sadowski. Produced by Ernie Gammage and The Good Earth