Music Box: Michael Batdorf - Pickin’ admidst the storm

By Aaron Davis (for JHWeekly.com)Jackson Hole, Wyoming - “Pushing in the Dirt” is a genuine, pertinent opener to Michael G. Batdorf’s sixth solo album, Weather May Come. The Repeated phrase “I don’t think I could do it any other way,” and the refrain, “Well, I’m pushing in the dirt / Like I been pushing back my hurt / And now I’m pushing, like I need to feel today,” provide big picture insight into a career that has been both prolific and progressive. If words and chords were dirt and songs were the harvest, Batdorf would be the highest producing (organic) song farmer in the Teton region.As a fan and fellow songwriter, I’ve been following his career for about seven years – just prior to the forming of One Ton Pig. A mysteriously focused, underground soul, Batdorf has telescopic insight for lyrical storytelling combined with surgical musical chops, and an alt-country voice of his own. His writing shuns formulaic trends. Production aesthetics thrive on flow rather than being tied to a metronome – a characteristic that he is insistent upon, and which led to differences when recording with One Ton Pig.After receiving a Bachelor of Science in music recording from Middle Tennessee State University, Batdorf moved to Teton Valley (he now calls Wilson home), and released a series of four albums that consisted of pre-conceived titles. Zooming out on the album titles – When the Mountain Calls (2005), Just a Word (2006), Remains (2007), and Love Just Love (2008) – it reads, “When the Mountain Calls, Just a Word Remains, Love Just Love.” Soon after, in 2009, he earned Honorable Mention in the Billboard 16th Annual World Song Contest and was a finalist in Write For Kids Song Contest.If recording a new solo album while performing three to four times a week wasn’t already the monumental task of 2012, One Ton Pig also put out its debut studio release this summer – totaling 20 new original songs recorded by Batdorf (so far) in 2012.“One of the things that I’m proudest about for [Weather May Come] is that it’s all local – Kelly Halpin did the artwork, Michelle McCormick did the graphic design, all local players with the exception of Eric Thorin and Ross Martin, Blue Bunch did the studio photography, my buddy Seth Turner re-designed the Web site,” Batdorf said. “I believe in supporting local artists and that’s just a continuum of this album.”Batdorf’s all-star cast of a band for the CD release show will include his partner Katie Davis (backing vocals), Winship (mandolin/ bazouki), John Degroot (guitar), Ted Wells (pedal steel/ banjo), and One Ton Pig band mates Tim Farris (mandolin), Matt Herron (fiddle), and Andy Calder (bass). Wilson Schoolhouse will be setup as a “listening venue” and the audience should pay mind to volume during the actual performance.“People are always trying to pin down the weather, ya know,” Batdorf rapped about the title Weather May Come. “One thing is guaranteed – it’s going to come. Who knows when it’s going to be? Are you going to spend your whole life worrying about what’s coming down the pipe or are you gonna enjoy life? Just keep pickin’ amidst the storm, and livin’ life, moving forward; not dwelling on what kind of tragic shit could happen.”Michael G. Batdorf CD Release and DVD shoot, 6 p.m., Saturday at Wilson Schoolhouse in Wilson. Doors open at 5 p.m. Free, all-ages, and BYOB. MichaelGBatdorf.com.