Celebrating the past, looking to the future with the Copper Mountain Band

The Copper Mountain Band has been a local fan favorite since forming in 2007. Last year, 2014, saw the release of a new album, a line-up change and a major tour run for the band. And according to lead vocalist Jacque Jolene, “We aren't done yet … The best is yet to come!”

The band has high hopes and plenty in store for fans in 2015, beginning with two back-to-back show sets in Whitefish this January. Copper Mountain Band is scheduled to play Jan. 2-3 and Jan. 23-24 at the Great Northern, with a high-energy show sure to help anyone beat the midwinter slump.

“Our stage show is something we pride ourselves on,” Jolene said. “We don't just stand there and play.”

The band's already strong stage presence got a boost in 2014 with the addition of lead guitarist and Kalispell native CJ Krager. At 21 years old, Krager is not only the newest band member but also the youngest. Krager had just moved to Seattle to try to make a name for himself in music when he was approached by Copper Mountain Band. He packed up and moved back, joining the group's official lineup in March 2014.

“He's a local Kalispell boy,” Jolene said. “He's young, but so talented. He's just such a fit for us.”

Krager agreed that it's been an easy transition and an exciting year.

“I'm really stoked about everything,” Krager said. “[This year] was crazy, and I'm excited for whatever's next.”

LAST YEAR was big for the band off stage as well, with the release of their third album, “Country Comin' Out in Me,” recorded in Nashville's Watershed Recording Studio and produced by Shayne Hill (who is also lead guitarist for Sawyer Brown).

Israel David, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist on guitar, saxophone, harmonica and mandolin, said that having the chance to record is one of his favorite things as a musician. Being able to bring this album to life in Nashville just made the experience that much sweeter.

“Recording really pushed me vocally,” David said. “That experience really influenced me. And in Nashville, the fried chicken is good everywhere.”

“Country Comin' Out in Me” features seven new songs and three re-recorded tracks. The band's song selections, both in the studio and live, span a wide variety of genres and themes. Drummer Johnny Betts said the biggest criteria when choosing material to play was that it has to be “something we can make come alive.”

“When we play covers, [the music] kind of morphs and changes and becomes our own,” Betts said. “That's important. We have to be able to connect with the music. And the fans have to connect with it, too.”

Other 2014 highlights for the Copper Mountain Band included sharing the stage with Outshyne at the annual Miles City Bucking Horse Sale in May; opening for Diamond Rio at the Center for Asbestos Related Disease Foundation's Big Sky Bash in Libby in July; playing at the Pendleton Roundup in Pendleton, Oregon, in September; and opening for John Michael Montgomery at Denver's Grizzly Rose in October.

“We have an adventure every weekend,” David said.

THE BAND'S touring schedule is looking just as busy for 2015, with shows already booked through September, including a weekend of performances in France. But the band members said they wouldn't have it any other way.

“We love playing music and love playing with each other,” Betts said.

“We're just doing what we love to do,” Jolene added. “It's still exciting after eight years. It doesn't get old.”

“Except when you've been behind the wheel for 12 hours with 12 more to go, then you start questioning your life choices a little bit,” joked bass player Nate Norman.

In addition to touring, Copper Mountain Band is working on some new original material. Jolene said that doing more recording in 2015 isn't out of the question, but it will all depend on how the songs come together.

“It's a time where there's a lot of inspiration right now,” Jolene said. “Once we have enough (to record it), we'll release it.”

David said he has several new songs in the works right now, but they “aren't ready for human consumption.”

The band approaches new original music just as they do most other things in life — together. Where one member might write the first lyrics or melodies, all of them eventually add a personal touch.

“Our lives are with the band,” Norman said. “Whether it’s through tragedy or when someone’s happy, it affects us all.”

“We are the real deal,” David said. “We're close-knit and we write our life. We're living this music.”

LOCAL FANS will have their chance to see the Copper Mountain Band live tomorrow and Saturday night starting at 9 p.m. at the Great Northern, 27 Central Ave. in Whitefish. The band members said they always look forward to playing, but at the end of the day it's the fans that make it all worth it.

“The fans are the best,” Betts said.

“They're more than fans, they're friends,” Norman added. “They're family.”

“Thank you isn't a big enough word,” Jolene said of the band's supporters. “It doesn't cover it.”

“Don't quit being our fans because we don't have any other friends!” David said.

The Copper Mountain Band has many other appearances already scheduled in the Flathead Valley in 2015. For a full list of tour dates or to purchase their new album, visit www.coppermountainband.com. The band also has an active Facebook page at www.facebook.com/coppermountainband, where they frequently post behind-the-scenes photos, updates and stories from on the road.

Entertainment editor Stefanie Johnson can be reached at 758-4439 or ThisWeek@dailyinterlake.com.