Music Box: Elk Attack grows Antlers with "Second Born"

By Aaron Davis (for JHWeekly.com)

Jackson Hole, Wyo. - There’s more to elk season than migrating, bugling and hunting. These days, there’s Elk Attack. And before the quintet migrates eastward towards the first batch of escapades outside of Teton County – touring Colorado and then prominently, through the Southeast – this locally-bred group has something special under its indie folk-rock fur. Elk Attack has birthed its eponymous debut album, Second Born.When I first reported on the band (“Elk Attack: a new collaboration,” JH Weekly, Feb. 1, 2012), the band was a tad green, yet endearing, chomping at the bit to write, perform and release its debut, four-track EP, Ya Herd?! For many bands, an EP would have been a satisfactory start, at least in a given year. But to the contrary, the band’s singing-songwriting combo of Dustin Nichols-Schmolze (electric guitar) and Bo Elledge (acoustic guitar) has been on a tear and the sixth-month progression is discernible.“Second Born is obviously a lot better,” Elledge said of the two recordings. “The EP was mostly recorded in Dusty’s bedroom, so vocally, I don’t think it was my best performance because I was singing [simultaneously] with an acoustic guitar and then we added drums and bass. I’d rather sing over drums and bass because there’s more energy and it’s more powerful, [which is what we did on Second Born].

I like being in the studio, and having someone be in control of everything … just record and have a finished product sent to us.”To fund the studio time, engineering, post-production and CD pressing, Elk Attack successfully raised more than $5,600 via fan-funding site, Kickstarter. It further stepped up the game plan by enlisting Brooklyn-based producer/engineer/session player Andrew Lappin to oversee high-fidelity tracking at Henhouse Studios in Victor. Over the course of four days, the group recorded eight songs totaling a slim 33 minutes. The Nichols-Smoltz penned “Boomfront Town” – released as the album’s single – was inspired from the boom and bust evidence of towns in New Mexico.From start to finish, Elledge expressed gratification of the album’s process, with only a few blind moments.“It’s a pretty big Pandora’s box. Once you start down the road, there are so many things that you don’t even think about,” Elledge said. “Like [issuing] the Kickstarter perks – it wasn’t really a big deal, but it was a lot of work. I think we took it all in stride and made the best of it, and we’ve got an awesome album.”Elk Attack will celebrate with a release party just days before embarking on its first tour. Four of the five band members have roots in the South, where they have 15 shows booked in towns where they have college friends and family. They even purchased a used van from Red Top Meadows School and fixed it up to be highway-worthy.So where do they go from here?“I would definitely like to do another album … it is such a process, but it’s really rewarding and fun to hear yourself on the radio,” Elledge laughed. “Hopefully we’re all around Jackson long enough to make another album and tour it. We’ve been really well received in Jackson, but it’s a small town. I’m anxious to see how we are received outside of here.”Elk Attack CD Release, 10 p.m., Saturday at Eleanor’s. $5. CDs will be sold for $10. Second Born will be released this Friday via Bandcamp and iTunes.