Returning to Mississippi, the couple hooked up with drummer Matt Brennan and began writing and performing live. After a self-titled album -- recorded for about $1,000 -- issued on the band's own label, Four Barrel Records, Blue Mountain was signed to indie label Roadrunner, and in 1995 released Dog Days, an album cut mostly live in the studio with new drummer Frank Coutch and producer Eric Roscoe Ambel. Reprising a number of songs from the first release, Dog Days ran the gamut of the group's influences, incorporating everything from country hoedowns to gentle acoustic numbers to a cover of the Skip James jam "Special Rider Blues."
In 1997, Blue Mountain returned with the superb Homegrown; Tales of a Traveler followed two years later and Roots was issued in early 2001. Celebrating ten years together, the band released the live retrospective Tonight It's Now or Never in 2002. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi