“‘Peace Like a River’ is a product of knowing I was going to have an all star band in the room and just wanting to record one of my favorite songs,” said Kevin Lee Florence about this Paul Simon cover from his debut album, Given, whose players include bassist Jon Button (Sheryl Crow, Robben Ford), drummer James McAlister (Sufjan Stevens, Bill Frisell), and guitarist Danny Donnelly.
Garth Hudson of The Band, Kevin’s personal hero, is featured on two of the album’s tracks, including this one. “I had made a call to a buddy who knew Garth Hudson,” said Florence, who hails from Folsom, California, and now makes his home in Portland, Oregon. “He sent me a text a little later saying Garth might be interested in playing on a track. That’s all we needed to hear. We recorded it with a big, big solo section and sent it off to him…and man did he deliver. He filled that sucker up!”
“To me, The Band is it,” said Florence. “They are my Beatles, my Stones. Everyone knows Garth was the musical genius of the group and also has a very unique personality…he delivered there as well. It was a blast going back and forth with him and Marge (Garth’s wife and manager). They sleep on a backwards schedule and live a seemingly totally in the moment life. In the end it was everything you wanted from that kind of experience.”
Given comes out August 19 on the local indie label Fluff & Gravy Records.
