Hearing Brad Creel & the Reel Deel is like listening to a John Prine album while Merle Haggard is in the kitchen singing along, Gram Parsons is out on the front porch strumming the chords, and bigfoot is dancing in the front yard. In 2008, Portland singer-songwriter Brad Creel released “Reveeled,” a collection of smart and funny acoustic folk tunes. The CD features an A list of Portland studio musicians including Bela Balogh (3 Leg Torso) and Darol Anger (David Grisman, Yonder Mountain) on fiddle. Following that successful release, Brad Creel & the Reel Deel was born and over the next three years the band hosted a monthly “American Night” at the McMenamin’s White Eagle. During this time, Brad penned a number of tunes telling stories about love, broken relationships, and his personal journey to sobriety. With the Reel Deel performing this material, the group created what can only be described as a unique country sound called “Lava Lamp Country”. These songs showcase Brad’s singular ability to translate life’s more difficult moments into laugh-out-loud humor. “Lava Lamp Country” is a term describing Portland’s burgeoning country music scene, where the music brings back memories of the late 60’s country; a free spirited, amusing, and emotionally fluid sound. In the spring of 2010 Brad recorded the full length CD, “Probably Not”. Special guests included studio musicians Chris Funk, Chris Kokesh, and Thad Beckman. If “Reeveled” was Creel’s drinking CD, then “Probably Not” would be considered his recovery CD, where he puts the fun into getting sober. Brad and the band have recently finished recording their new album, “Time and the Road”, at the Rock & Roll Bed & Breakfast on Sauvie Island on the outskirts of Portland. Sean Flora (The Shins, Black Keys, Cake), producer, engineer, and owner of the R&R B&B has created a musical oasis in a large house on the island, where bands can stay for days on end and record. “Time and the Road” features Reel Deel veteran country rock drummer and songwriter Bob Hawkins, jazz/swing guitarist Ben Haynor, and mulit-instrmentalist Ben Grosscup on bass. The new songs will depict the Oregon landscape as a backdrop to stories of struggle, love, hope, and laughter. The album also includes an all-star lineup of Portland musicians including Lincoln Crockett, Paul Brainard, Peter Schwimmer, David Lipkind, and the Decemberists’ Jenny Conlee-Drizos. From the hilarious new song “Saratoga”, describing the events of Brad’s first Grateful Dead Show (where he lost his shoe) to the dark and romantic “Whispering Pines”, you will laugh, cry, and smile when it’s all over.