Billy Clockel and Larry Brittain, pictures above, founded Brewflies with Jeff Schmich in 1994 as an acoustic bluegrass trio, but there’s been some musical excursions and band expansions since then. For example the first release in 2008 ‘On The Fly,’ saw the band experimenting with a newgrass sound and integrated more folk-rock, jazz, and Latin-Caribbean tilts. Their current release ‘Rain Down Mercy‘ is their pandemic album and includes covers of iconic songs that speak to the times. ‘Anything Is Possible’ was written by Michael Veitch and comes from his participation in the PBS Songs of Survivor project which paired songwriters with Holocaust survivors. The song tells the story of a young boy’s escape after witnessing the rounding up of Jewish people into concentration camps.
Larry Brittain says of the choice, “We included the song because of its relevance now, too; it points to the possibility in our time that a microbe could bring a ‘sophisticated’ techno-scientific society and economy to its knees (a stark reminder that NOTHING is impossible)…and yet–actually overcoming that threat IS also, it turns out, a real possibility.”
The song features Kirsti Gholson on lead vocals and background harmonies, Billy Clockel on bass, Larry Brittain on acoustic & electric guitars, Gary Oleyar on violin, and Dan Hickey on drums.