That is so 1974 – The Return of Plaid Rock!

Stuck in the ’70s, Colo. (Shred White and Blue) — Mike Horn and I have this dream where we get a 1969 Camaro, convert it to run on vegetable oil, slap some big ass snow tires on it, paint the Shred White and Blue on the hood and go chasing powder this season – non-stop!

It’s kind of our re-imagining of what we figure was one of the absolute highlight eras of ski bumming, with no traffic on I-70, double chairs, long boards, in-bounds faceshots and wet t-shirt contests. Of course we’d have an 8-track, and we’d be playing lots of plaid rock. And not that Nirvana Seattle sound of super fuzzed amps and anguished vocals right from the gut, but more Neil Young and The Band, early Eagles and maybe a sweet scratchy version of the Flying Burrito Brothers singing “Close Up the Honky Tonks.”

And Creedence Clearwater Revival, of course.

My dad loved that stuff. So we loved it. Up and down the mountains my brother and I would be listening to his off-key butchering of “Take it to the Limit,” “Cowgirl in the Sand,” and “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” while we played air guitars and ski boot drums in the back.

He took us to see the Last Waltz when it came out. And we were kind of bored, but we dug it. We just didn’t realize yet what it meant for Robbie Robertson and Neil Young, Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell and Muddy Waters to share a stage like that.

But I hear “Helpless” come on the radio now and I get all fired up. I hear “Peaceful, Easy Feeling,” and I head down memory lane thinking about every chairlift with a girl with a ponytail on it. And “Born to Run” makes me think of moguls, pounding the monster bumps of Prima, Frenchman’s and Palli all wired on Snickers and 7-Up.

And lately I’ve heard a couple bands that make it sound like the whole plaid rock grassy roots of it might be coming back. You know, with a spare honest sound that isn’t over-produced and a couple hungry-eyed Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm-looking guys that can either play you some pretty music or come down off the stage and whoop your ass.

Here are a couple videos of what are some very hopeful signs for plaid rock – starting with one from the Avett Brothers that was actually recorded on the Jackson Hole gondola. Check out writer/film man Jay Sweet’s description of the experience putting it all together for Paste Magazine as well.

From the Northwest, land of hairy trees and deep powder, the hard-rocking boys of Blitzen Trapper singing Wild Mountain Home:

And representing the fast, cold slopes of New York and New England, the Felice Brothers getting urban with Frankie’s Gun

Camaro photo: flickr/brokenrhino