Artist: Chicago Farmer
Album: Flyover Country
Label: Self-released
Release Date: 2.7.2020
Flyover Country marks a turning point for Chicago Farmer (aka Cody Diekhoff), who may have signaled the end of his one-man band solo approach with last year’s double live album, Quarter Past Midnight, having taken that modern day, man-with-guitar Woody Guthrie act as far he as could. Nonetheless, he proves here that his novelist’s gift of building a suspenseful story to a surprising conclusion can be rendered in a band setting too. And, he linked up with one of roots music’s best bands, The Band of Heathens, to help him make the switch. He’s already fond of the move, exclaiming that “I think it’s my best work so far and definitely the one that I put the most into.”
His trademark appeal is his ability to sing about the regular person, the working person, in a relatable way. The titles alone speak to this – “$13 Beers,” “Collars,” and “Dirtiest Uniforms” for example. Getting a band behind him was, in his words, “putting his poetry into motion.” He had some touring gigs opening for The Band of Heathens and upon getting to know them, learned that they had their own studio in Austin, had backed other artists like Margo Price and Reed Foehl, and has sympathetic ears of Heathens co-leaders Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist, who became co-producers. Diekhoff’s longtime collaborator Chris Harden served as engineer and mixer, adding harmonies on two tracks as did Heather Horton on three. Except for just a few overdubs, Chicago Framer’s voice was recorded completely live with The Heathens driving behind him.
Fans of his live shows will likely recognize his talking-blues tribute to hardworking heroes, a baseball player and a teacher in “Dirtiest Uniforms;’’ or the singalong that extolls the virtues of live music shows with cheap beer over corporate arena shows with expensive “$13 Beers” –“So I left after a song, I got out of there fast, I saw a guy on the corner with a guitar so I asked/Is there any place around here where they’ll treat ya right?/He said that Robbie Fulks is playing Fitzgerald’s tonight.”
The title track is an ode to people of the heartland. Even the opening “Indiana Line,” a country rave-up, is like a Midwest version of a Springsteen desperate drive down the road to redemption. Roots fans know that The Band of Heathens are gifted musicians so it’s not surprising to hear slide guitar licks, keyboard runs, and jangling guitars throughout. He takes the one cover, “Ramblin’ Man” from Hank Williams, to an explosive conclusion. “Collars” is a tribute to small-town folks, inspired by a soldier who didn’t come home from Iraq. “Deer in the Sky,” promotes the merits of flying over driving, where one can drink beer and not worry about hitting a deer. “Mother Nature’s Daughter” is ostensibly an environmental protest song, but could just as easily be a rowdy anthem as could the humorous “All in One Place,” about making money (or not) in the music biz. The epic “The Village Revisited” begins as a kind of gospel tune fueled by the harmonies of Harden and Horton, seems to break out into a raging party by its conclusion.
No doubt, Chicago Farmer has a serious outlook, but he wants listeners to have fun listening to these tales, spike with humor in places and this time around, bolstered by a terrific band. When you next see him live, he will be in the company of a band, not these guys, but one he calls the Fieldnotes. Check his tour schedule, drink cheap beer, and have fun.
—Jim Hynes
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