We could not let this week come to a close without making sure we had a feature on another wonderful collaboration between a local brewery and a local band.

As they have in the past, High and Dry is teaming up with Red Mesa, though this one is a little different than past concerts and album release parties. This time around, the band will be holding an auction of some of its own gear, and some donated items, to help raise funds for an upcoming tour.

“I don’t think a band has ever done something like this before,” said Red Mesa’s Brad Frye, who is also now a staff member at High and Dry. “Prior to this, I had to weigh the options whether this was the right thing to do or a good idea. Because we are raising money to help us get on tour. In and of itself, that’s a different kind of approach.

“Post-COVID touring is completely different than anything we’ve ever seen. The number one thing that you’re facing is that rental prices for vehicles are astronomical. A band can immediately go broke renting a van for a few weeks. As we’re hitting the road for 17 days, we got one of the last van rentals that we could. It’s extremely expensive.”

Rather than ask the other members of the band, Roman Barham and Alex Cantwell, to help him float all the costs, Frye came up with the idea of an auction, and High and Dry was all too happy to play host.

The auction will run from 6 to 9 p.m. this Saturday, with Red Mesa performing live. Hannah White will emcee the auction in between the musical sets.

“We’re going to play for free,” Frye said. “We’re going to donate a whole bunch of our own items. We asked people to help, and they were extremely generous and encouraging. They donated or gave us a discount on items that we bought to auction off. We’re going to put on a mother-fucking rock ’n roll auction.

“We’re going to kick this thing off with rounds of auctions in between us playing music. There will be three auction items per round. We are also going to celebration the release of version three of Disharmonious Red IPA. That was sort of an honor of Wino, he so generously collaborated with us for our last album, Path to the Deathless.”

An advance sample of the Disharmonious was outstanding, a beautiful blend of a malty red ale base with some traditional resinous C-hops. The beer will be available in pints and in crowlers.

As for all the auction items, Frye listed off quite a few, including:

• A brand-new Charger HB electric guitar from Reverend Guitars.
• An acoustic guitar by Dean Guitars for anyone looking to start learning how to play.
• Three different guitar pedals, including a Desert Rat pedal that is a collaboration between Desert Records and Fowl Sounds.
• Guitar, bass, and drum lessons from the band members.
• Merch bundles of CDs, T-shirts, stickers, and more from Red Mesa, Desert Records, and Monolith on the Mesa.
• An actual Red Mesa show at the place of your choosing, so long as it is within 200 miles of Albuquerque.
• A signed LP from Wino himself.
• A bottle of wine from TJ Trout, whose show Frye and High and Dry owner/brewer Andrew Kalemba will be appearing on today (Friday) at 5 p.m.

“And, we have a 25 x 11 auction poster that we’re all going to sign — Red Mesa, High and Dry team, and Hannah White,” Frye said. “We’ve got a local dealer who did the frame. We’re going to auction off that as well. It came out amazing.”

There will also be a special raffle for someone to help create the next beer at High and Dry.

Add it all up, and it should be a fun night to help the band, support the brewery, and just enjoy the wonderful symbiosis between local beer and local music.

“It means everything, man,” Frye said. “The support from Andrew and High and Dry in general, is unparalleled for anything I’ve ever experienced, being in music. Also, I’m now an employee here. We’re going to do a performance and raise some money here at High and Dry, and then he’s going to let me take three weeks off and go on tour. Best boss ever! That doesn’t go past me. I’ll never forget that. I feel quite a bit lucky for that. It gets so hard when you get older and try to get on the road. We’re all in our forties. It’s a different ballgame now.”

As someone who is about to turn 45, I feel you there, Brad. A big thanks for the interview and advance pour of Disharmonious.

Everyone else, get on over to High and Dry on Saturday for some excellent tunes, tasty brews, and the chance to bid on some awesome items.

Keep supporting local beer and local music!

— Stoutmeister