click on song titles for lyrics

STEPPIN' IN IT : SIMPLE TUNES FOR TROUBLED TIMES ©2008
listen and purchase at fox on a hill
1. The Break Of Day
2. Miss Moline
3. The Steamboat Queen
4. Hittin' On All Six
5. Charles Hatfield's Blues
6. The Long Haul (Freightliner)
7. The Romp
8. Wren's Lullaby
9. The Ghost Of Richard Manuel
10. Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)

"Rare indeed when a collection of songs creates an entire world. Yet that’s exactly what transpires with Steppin’ In It’s "Simple Tunes for Troubled Times." Sonically painting with a pleasant array of old time country swing and blues, this Lansing, Michigan, quartet brilliantly updates a resurging American musical genre. Populating this 11-track collection is an aging riverboat, the ghost of Richard Manuel, innocent love, dreams that are dashed, and the struggle of the common man. It’s a world Woody Guthrie knew about, and sang about. Steppin’ In It conveys the wonder of the American spirit, but also its heartache."
- Fred Kraus, Minor 7th
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SHOUT SISTER SHOUT : STEPPIN' IN IT W/ RACHAEL DAVIS ©2007
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1. Slow Down
2. Shout Sister Shout
3. Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin'
4. No Sale
5. Moonlight In Vermont
6. It's A Sin To Tell A Lie
7. Carolina Moon
8. Miss Otis Regrets
9. Never Missed My Baby
10. God Bless The Child
11. It's Only A Paper Moon
12. Don't Let Your Eyes Go Shopping For Your Heart

"Rachael Davis and the boys from Steppin’ In It found a common love for Jazz music of the 1930’s and ‘40’s after playing concerts as a double-bill. The summer of 2006 found the two Michigan acts working at the same festivals, as classic tunes from Nat King Cole or Sarah Vaughan found their way onto set-lists. By the fall, the quintet was dubbed ‘Shout Sister Shout’ (after the Sister Rosetta Tharpe classic of the same name) and an album was in the works. Combining the timeless rhythm section of Steppin’ In It and Rachael’s velvety vocals, this group “creates a live show that is hot, energetic and brilliant…”
WXPR Radio- Rhinelander, WI
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JOSHUA DAVIS : FOOL ROOSTER ©2005
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1. Delta 88
2. Crowing At The Moon
3. Triple A
4. Morris and Ella
5. Chief Joseph
6. Bessie May
7. All But Six
8. Holy Land
9. Try Me One More Time
10. The Midnight Ghost

After six years and three albums as the primary songwriter and vocalist of the Michigan quartet "Steppin' In It", Joshua Davis has tracked his first solo record Fool Rooster in the spring of 2005. The album is a collection of original compositions, many with longtime collaborator and lyricist Aaron Allen. Recorded entirely live and in a few short days, the songs are placed in a modest setting with little attention to detail, leaving listeners convinced they were written about their own lives.
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STEPPIN IN IT : HIDDEN IN THE LOWLANDS ©2005

 1. Candy Man
 2. Downsville
 3. Vernadines
 4. My Setting Sun
 5. Cherry Tree Lover
 6. Old Friends
 7. Nobody's Sweetheart
 8. Give Me Back My Memories
 9. Guiliani's Blues
10. A Night In Tunisia
11. Tin Can Sullivan
12. Pastures Of Plenty
13. Bound For Glory

Steppin' In It capture the energy of their fierce touring schedule and the diversity of old-time American music with their third independent release, Hidden In The Lowlands. Hailing from Lansing, Michigan -the heart of Factory Town, USA- these young men pound out their own brand of roots combining old-time country, swing and blues, achieving the seemingly impossible task of making the most traditional sounds contemporary. The album features four covers spanning the history of American Roots Music along with nine originals showcasing the strong songwriting talents of singer/songwriter Joshua Davis, who's haunting vocals paint a modern picture of rural and urban Michigan breaking its blue-collar back under troubled times.
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STEPPIN IN IT : LAST WINTER IN THE COPPER COUNTRY ©2004

1. The Butchers Girl
 2. The Perfect Crime
 3. Gold and Silver
 4. Red Haired Boy
 5. Last Winter in the Copper Country
 6. Two Step Les Freres Wilson
 7. Four Little Men
 8. Walt's Waltz
 9. Do Somethin'
10. Trouble in Mind
11. The Lodge
12. Dustbowl Overtures
13. (Boom) Klank
14. Over the Waterfall/Mississippi Sawyer
15. On Down the Line

"Combining originals and traditionals, old-time music with zydeco and blues, Michigan’s acoustic trio Steppin’ In It play some of the liveliest and most rocking acoustic roots music around. On their second release, Last Winter in the Copper Country, they balance hillbilly, Cajun, European folk and blues music with stunning and sensitive musicianship. They also balance the traditionalist’s fine touch of artists like David Rawlings and Doc Watson with the innovative playfulness of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones or Lunasa—they make traditional music contemporary without selling its soul in the process. On the melancholic title tune, the classic "Trouble in Mind" and the reeling "Two Step Les Fréres Wilsón," these guys show an amazing dexterity and range as they cover instrumental duties including guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, accordion, steel guitar, dobro, National guitar and even shortwave radio."
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