Here's the first video for Deschutes River Recordings, a series of local musicians performing songs about rivers while actually on the river. It's put together by Deschutes Brewery to benefit the Deschutes River Conservancy, and the recording is available on Bandcamp for download on a name-your-price basis.

This first Deschutes River Recording comes from Fruit Bats' Eric D. Johnson, and he's in full-on Elton mode, with oversized specs and a swanky Rhodes at his fingertips. He's doing a very altered take on the Byrds' lovely "Ballad of Easy Rider," written by Roger McGuinn and Bob Dylan. (How different is it? Check the original here.) Johnson offers a great version, made all the more atmospheric by the background sounds of the Deschutes river and passing birds, not to mention one very aggravated-sounding squirrel. At least two more videos from the series are on the way, with Eric Earley from Blitzen Trapper and Laura Gibson to make contributions. Learn more and give—this is kind of a marvelous collision of entities, from local music to Oregon beer to nature conservancy.