The Record Exchange (1105 W. Idaho St.) is honored to host the SFM-Steve Fulton Music “Eponym” Album Release Party at 6pm First Thursday, Oct. 6. “Eponym” will be available for purchase at the party. As always, this Record Exchange in-store event is free and all ages.

Though “Eponym” is the first new album in 11 years from the Idaho musician and producer, Fulton has hardly been dormant; rather, he’s spent that time working on hundreds of records for other artists, helping build Visual Arts Collective and expand his Audio Lab recording studio, and producing live music events around the state. In his “spare time,” he amassed 40 original songs.

Following a successful Indiegogo campaign in the spring, Fulton got to work putting the songs to tape. The resulting double album showcases two sides of his musical persona — full-band funky rock on one half and stripped-down Americana on the other. A single-LP vinyl version of “Eponym” featuring select tracks, many of them alternate versions and mixes, will be released later in the year.

With so much material and so many styles in play, the “Eponym” sessions developed their own ebb and flow — some songs came together in one take, others over several days. Often, the end result looked much different from the initial vision.

“There are four versions of every song,” Fulton says, “the one in your head, the one you play by yourself, the one you record and the one you play with a combo of other musicians. It is rare any two sound the same.”

Though individual tracks were recorded separately for several songs, others — particularly on the rock side of the album — called for a full-band live setup in the studio.

“When there are two or three things going on in your headphones, it is just easier to hear things, but when you want that epic sound you really need to have the live combo play at the same time to get the energy you are looking for,” says Fulton.

He also found energy outside the studio that he brought back to the sessions. Shortly after recording commenced, Fulton crossed the country performing songs from “Eponym” with Boise musician Sean Hatton (New Transit). Then, upon returning to Idaho, he attended a weeklong songwriting retreat in Stanley that birthed three new songs, all of which found their way onto “Eponym.”

Back in the studio, Fulton was equally inspired by the musicians participating in the sessions, an A-list of Idaho talent including Tim Willis, Scot Alexander (from Dishwalla), Dave Goff, Scott Lindbloom, Dan Costello, Leta Neustaedter, Christine Thomas, Rob Hill, Lucas Ventura, Lindsey Hunt, Tim Hammes, Shon Sanders, Randy Meenach, Bernie Reilly, Louis McFarland, Curt Wardhaugh, Rochelle Smith and Blaze & Kelly.

“What they lend to the tracks is just incredible,” he says. “For instance, I never had pedal steel on a record, and Randy just takes it into another world. Their approach changed the songs at times, and almost always for the better.”

ABOUT SFM-STEVE FULTON MUSIC

Steve Fulton is a singer-songwriter, producer and recording engineer who performs as SFM-Steve Fulton Music. Fulton is a household name in his hometown of Boise, where he also owns and operates one of the state’s finest recording studios, Audio Lab. Fulton was a founding member, lead singer and guitarist of House of Hoi Polloi, which over 13 years recorded five albums and toured extensively throughout the Northwest. 

Fulton has performed all over the country, touring with his band and as a solo artist. Fulton first performed his solo material live when he opened for Tori Amos in front of 3,000 people at the Idaho Center. Since then, he has released two solo albums on his Uncommon Records label, “Shock Remission” and “Said & Heard.”

Fulton is also passionate about making his community a better place. In addition to performing for a variety of benefit concerts over the years, he serves as mentor to a wide array of local musicians and engineers, provides job-shadowing opportunities and internships, and gets involved in many youth-oriented projects, including Boise Rock School and Community Youth Connection.

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