Packed under arm from the attic is a live ammo box filled with and rootsy Americana and Folk riffs. Splattered with acoustic barley and hops, stuck with creosote and electric-eyed bourbon, the Smokehouse Gamblers welcome in the sweetness of the Northern California Pines, all the while, casing the neighborhood for good vittles and beer.

Holed up in the western hills of Sonoma County, Calif., the Smokehouse Gamblers emerged in 2005 as a three piece . Pulled away from the ag lands of the Central Valley and the outback of Australia, Ted Baggett (lead vocals, guitars, keys) punched cattle and checked fences while strumming along to the night sounds of crickets and cane toads. Matt ‘O Shea (bass) spends his time on the production line of (what was then) a solid little microbrewery, while Jim Jacobs (drums) travels from coast to coast, marketing brews for the same little – Lagunitas Brewing Company. Three albums in, the boys found Dustin Smart (lead guitar and Ferrier), Frank Pellkofer (mandolin and CEO) and Kevin Lynch (percussion.) Smokehouse Gambler’s latest album “Derailed by Nature” (2012) was recorded in Caspar, Calif., produced by Calvin Turnbull (Kim Ritchey, Sheryl Crow, Leon Russell, Booker T., Melisa Etheridge, Gene Parsons, Bill Bottrell) and offers eclectic elements of Rock, Bluegrass, Folk and Twang.

The title “Derailed by Nature” derives from the times, standing alone at the edge of the high dive, looking forward, looking back. Whether in the vast California desert, the plains of West Texas or the Rockies in Colorado, we all tend to derail given the physical nature of gravity at the abrupt moment you leap… just ask the Buffalo.