“Any biographical information is irrelevant, I mean, who cares where I’m from or what high school I went to anyway?” – Ben Minnotte (pronounced minn-knot)Ben’s intimate, lo-fi 2004 EP “West of Elderbush Gulch” (issued that May), was meant to (but didn’t) establish him as a new voice in music. The EP featured a slice of psychedelic alt-rock (Turn Around), an on-the-road hotel room saga (Lightning Never Strikes Twice – appropriately recorded in a hotel room), and a trio of folky instrumentals, most notably the truly unique celtic/bluegrass hybrid of “The Burial At Elderbush Gulch” and the hand-drum littered folk-rock of “The Battle At Elderbush Gulch” (which draws it’s name from the 1913 D.W. Griffith two-reeler of the same name).

But, unhappy with the sound and at times shaky one-man band performances, the EP was withdrawn from sale within a couple of weeks. The only things recorded in the following 18 months would be a long succession of home guitar/piano demos, spawning the brief, chaotic guitar-only instrumental, “Souls For Sale (Circus Fire Scene)”.In late January of this year, with little money, Ben set out to make the start of what would become his first official full album. The basic band tracks for “Greetings From Elderbush Gulch” were recorded in a furious, one-day session in the basement of an art gallery. In April, Ben took what he had completed to a studio in Denver to unleash an avalanche of overdubs and to attempt to make the most of the unfavorable conditions of the art gallery session into a unique, but still listenable, whole album.

Among the highlights of the album are the folk-rock tunes, “Settling The Score” and “Come Hell or High Water”. Also, the blues (or blooze) jam, “Mean Woman Blooze” and an ode to the experience of watching a slasher flick (The Horror Movie Song).As an added bonus to the new album, Ben has opted to include the contents of the “West of Elderbush Gulch” EP as bonus tracks (we think he’s desperate).

“Greetings From Elderbush Gulch” is available now. It is sold at Twist & Shout, Angelo’s CD’s (Aurora Location), Independent Records (Denver Location) and online at cdbaby.com. You can check out Ben’s website at MySpace for music videos, downloads and additional news.