Video Premiere: Remington Ridge “Cheyenne”

Check out the emotive debut single from country-roots trio Remington Ridge.  ‘Cheyenne’  features the smooth vocal talents of Bill Thornbury, whose voice is perfect for country and winds its way through an absorbing melodic journey.  The song hangs on an engaging, shuffling rhythm with Dan Kehler’s warm and pulsing upright bass at its heart.  Dalisay Johnson delivers joyous fiddle, captivating us with sweeping and soaring notes.  The five-time fiddle champion of California bookends ‘Cheyenne’ with her talented playing, which is particularly impressive as the song draws to a close.  The three band members display great musicianship throughout, blending Western Swing with Americana and bluegrass influences to create confident, fluent debut.

Lead singer and songwriter Bill Thornbury says of the song: “‘Cheyenne’ is a meditation on my time away from home and family, on the road with the Sons of San Joaquin and on location for Hollywood movies. Alongside my talented bandmates in Remington Ridge, Dan Kehler on bass and Dalisay Johnson on fiddle, we are excited that the world gets to hear our debut single in our new music video for ‘Cheyenne’. We are especially thrilled to be working with longtime friends David Hartman and Don Coscarelli who created the video.”

Remington Ridge is an off-shoot of another well-known country group: The Sons of the San Joaquin, who were inducted into the Western Music Association Hall of Fame in 2006.  However, lead singer and songwriter Bill Thornbury is not just known for his music.  As an actor, he will always be associated with the Phantasm horror franchise, beginning with the original film released in 1979.  Over the years, he developed firm friendships with other members of the ‘Phantasm Phamily’, as they are known by fans, including director Don Coscarelli and actors A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister and Angus Scrimm.  One of the most popular moments in the classic film was when a young Thornbury had the chance to perform a country ballad on-screen, one of his own compositions called ‘Sittin’ Here at Midnight’, which was an early example of his musical talents – check it out here.

The video for ‘Cheyenne’ is an excellent piece of film-making, created by Emmy Award-nominated director David Hartman (‘Transformers: Prime’, ‘Transformers: Robots in Disguise’) and filmmaker Don Coscarelli (‘Phantasm’, ‘Beastmaster’, ‘Bubba Ho-tep’).  Footage of the band playing – and taking such delight in the performance – is interspersed with cinematic views of the protagonist driving home from the rodeo.  Hartman had directed Thornbury in the final installment of the ‘Phantasm’ series, 2016’s ‘Phantasm: Ravager’ and was an obvious choice to direct the band’s first video.  The result is a finely-written country song that showcases Thornbury’s clear, pure vocal.  Enjoy.