“ Christmas in a Cabin” and“ Scotch Pine” and traditional carols done up Brown county style.“ A Brown County Christmas” was so popular that Slats came out with another holiday album just in time for Christmas 2001. It was aptly titled“ A Brown County Christmas II” and continues in the same vein as the first one.
In 2003“ Lies and Love Songs” was released. It celebrates places like“ Gnaw Bone” and“ Possum Trot” and delves into little slices of the history of the county. There is a song about a visit from some of the John Dillinger gang to Bean Blossom in“ Taters, Maters and a Snub-nosed 38.” And in“ But is it Art, Onya LaTour” we get a glimpse of a woman waging an uphill battle to bring the good news of“ modern” art to Brown County.
Slats Klug courtesy photo
“ Sweet Magnolia”, the 2004 album, continues the tradition of songs about real people who populated the county and left a legacy of staunch individuality that still resonates here. Slats is at his best writing about the people who have lived here like Alice Weaver in his song“ Alice’ s Shop is Bugged.” And in the song“ Finley and His Dog” we get the story or Finley Long, a man who carried on a life-long love affair with nature.
There is a special aura here, in the hills and hollers, that has been drawing folks for generations. Artists and Photographers have tried to capture it on canvas and paper. Writers and poets still strive to express it. And for the last 15 years Slats Klug has created a portrait of the county in music that captures the true essence of this unique locale.
When you visit Brown County and want to take back home a sense of the place, you can buy some art or post cards or take some
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Nov./ Dec. 2014 • Our Brown County 25