Storming through undergad in the late 90’s I spent a number of nights at now defunct clubs and venues throughout Milwaukee watching Freshwater Collins do their thing. Those nights would meander into the wee hours of the morning at someone’s house, an after party I believe we called it. Sooner or later Chris Vos would show up, a guitar would magically appear and for the course of who knows how long, usually till the sun came up, he would play - most of the time using a bic lighter or beer bottle as a slide. Times long ago, but time cherished and remembered fondly. Chris still fronts Freshwater Collins who continue to leave their stamp on venues throughout the state and now, up and down the California coast and beyond.

It was sometime after I graduated and moved away that I made my unannounced and last-minute return to Milwaukee and randomly and crossed paths with Chris again, playing a weekly residency at the Jazz Estate with his side project The Erotic Adventures of the Static Chicken - improve jazz at its finest and grittiest. In between sets, and as snow descended as it only can in Wisconsin, Chris asked my friend Josh if we could borrow his car. Expecting a wild joyride, instead, he produced a CD-R with one track on it. “I met you on a Monday/And by that next Sunday/I knew I couldn’t be with you girl/That whole week long/I wrote about ten songs/Thinking bout the way you made me feel/I can’t help that, you affect me that way.” Before I could pick my jaw from the floorboard the horns crashed in. It was as if my longtime friend had channeled a present day Sam Cooke or Otis Redding. That was four years ago, we’ve never talked about it since, but I never forgot that moment.

A welcomed surprise showed up in the mail some months ago. It was the debut self-titled record from Nees and Vos, combining Chris Vos on guitar and vocals with Andrew Neesly on the keys and horns. To my surprise, the song I’d heard in that white Chevy Lumina so many winters before wound up being the song “Pretty Girl” on the record, and I wound up being a happy man. A solid jaunt throughout, even taking a stab at covering “Ain’t No Sunshine,” my only complaint is that it’s too short!

Enjoy the tune below:

Myspace: Nees and Vos
MP3: Nees and Vos - Pretty Girl