Chris Higdon loves music because of the way it can communicate ideas and feelings. "There are some people that can't express themselves to others by talking — music can break down barriers," Higdon said during a telephone interview on the road, somewhere between Cincinnati and Chicago.
Higdon's band Elliott — featuring vocalist/guitarist Higdon, drummer/sampler Kevin Ratterman, bassist Jason Skaggs and guitarist Benny Clark — has just released its new album "Song in the Air," which Higdon said was originally planned as an extended-play disc, rather than a whole album. "We were feeling good about what was happening. We had our songs chosen and were having a positive time in the studio. Then we were asked if it was possible to make a full-length album.
"The band fleshed out skeleton arrangements of a few more songs and hooked them up with the others that were finished. We had been working on the album for more than a year at that time. And my only major concern was to make the album as cohesive as possible. I think we did just that. I would rather listen to the album from start to finish, rather than single out a track here and another there."
The use of samples and strings enhanced the album, something that is a little harder to bring to the live show, said Higdon. "Still, we make sure the main elements are in our live gigs. Kevin has a console with his drums that play the samples when we need them. But we also don't want our live sets to mirror what's on the album. We don't re-create our songs. They might be the same songs, but we take them in a different direction and hope they translate from disc to stage."
Higdon thrives on that creative process. "The most rewarding thing about being in Elliott is setting a goal, working towards it and seeing it pay off. The payoff isn't all about money. It's seeing how the audience connects with the music, and it doesn't matter if the audience sees something totally different in the song than what I had in mind when I wrote it."
If you go
What: Elliott
Where: Club Xscape, 115 S. West Temple
When: 7 p.m. tonight
How much: $9
Phone: 467-8499 or
1-800-888-8499
E-MAIL: scott@desnews.com