Meet Goldwater

 Who is this Goldwater?

A personal note about the band Goldwater.  In the years that I've lived in and been an active musician in Northampton, Massachusetts, one man's music has been constantly a part of my life.  Thane Thomsen's band The Figments (which also features Trace Meek, Matthew Zapruder, and our very own Brian Marchese) likely hold the record for the band I've seen live the most (rivaled only maybe by Spouse).  The Figments, early-on, provided the soundtrack to my life in this town.  Thane's songwriting influenced me greatly over the years, in fact, his songs shut me down for a little while and pushed me into a rut of writer's block.  His lyrical content and easy way with rich words, made me feel like my songs were just dumb.  I've gotten over that, but I still listen to Figments records regularly and I hang on every word and every crazy twisted phrase.

Thane also put out an incredibly poignant album called Rehab Massachusetts, which takes a sobering journey through the twelve step program.  It doesn't fall on cliches or manipulate the listener with schmaltz or preaching.  The songs just simply tell a story.  I recommend it for late autumn drives through wooded areas.  I guess that's just because that's where I was the first time I heard it.  I was driving through the Shutesbury, MA area of route 202.  If you can remember where you were the first time you heard a record, chances are that the record is pretty great.

When members of the Figments found themselves on opposite ends of the country, the albums started arriving slower than before.  Thane has a never-ending well of great material, so he began a new project as an outlet for some of it.  This is Goldwater.  Thane plucked its members from various other acts that he admired.  The band behind Thane in Goldwater is Scott Hall, Matt Cullen, Brian Marchese, and me, Henning Ohlenbusch.

We got together at Slaughterhouse Studios one snowy day last winter and with Mark Allan Miller behind the recording console, we recorded live drums, bass, keyboards, and two guitars.  We all set up and played together in one room (with Brian behind some glass).  Later, a few other parts were over-dubbed, but most of the music that you hear on this record was recorded during that wintery session where we were all together.  I think you can hear it in the playing. 

Sometime later Thane and I worked out a whole mess of harmonies and recorded my singing parts at Rub Wrongways Records.  Thane's process is thoughtful and thorough and detailed.  He's a bit of a perfectionist, but a perfectionist who delights on developing accidental or inspired moments.  The album came out officially in the fall of 2010.  We added it to the Rub Wrongways catalog not long  after and now here it is, folks.

You can order a copy here at Rub Wrongways and we'll pay for shipping and send it out to you first class right away.  It's only $7.00.  If you prefer digital copies you can stream the thing for free here or download it in multiple different formats from mp3 to .wav files.

I hope you love it.