Multi-instrumentalist Bow Thayer might well define the modern day Renaissance man; an artist whose work exemplifies his past influences and present day state of mind in equal doses.
As a songwriter Thayer is remarkably adept at extracting ideas from the music and the world around him while weaving those emanations into something that is entirely his own. Much in the spirit of Beck Hansen, Thayer is a chameleon of sorts, able to fit comfortably into any number of genres.
Sundowser, his latest and most fully realized effort, ranges wonderfully from blues rock to something a bit akin to old-time, back over to Southern swamp country, and straight ahead to a bit of power pop. Among its dozen tracks are themes ranging from interpersonal examination to interpersonal struggles, to historical geo-political storytelling. And at its best all three might be found within the same song or verse.
In addition to the superb and deeply layered songwriting, the musicianship – played by a core group of Thayer’s inner circle, including friends Marco Benevento on piano, and violinist/pianist Tracy Bonham – is nothing short of brilliant. I could go on and on singing the praises of Sundowser but I’ll instead allow Thayer to offer his own reflections, since who knows the creation better than the creator?
James Cassara: Let me first say I listen to a ridiculous amount of music, probably 150 albums a year. Sundowser would be in my top five. I’m pretty much in love with this record!
Bow Thayer: So glad you dig it. There is a lot of music to take in on this one and I appreciate you taking the time to digest it…. Something that’s kind of rare in today’s listening audience.
JC: Having only seen you perform once, an intimate solo acoustic show here in Asheville, I was frankly stunned by the complexity and depth of Sundowser. You clearly know your way around a studio and understand the nuance of making an album rather than a collection of songs. Can you talk a bit about the process that went into assembling Sundowser? I hear it as a sound collage — a construction of ideas arriving at some common point.
BT: I have worn many hats over the years and explored various musical styles, everything from Bluegrass to punk rock, old time, reggae, prog-rock, country blues, to whatever. And of course I have been influenced by everything I have heard since I was a child. I think Sundowser is a culmination of all those different explorations. I think the instrument I am playing had a big part of shaping the sound.
In creating an instrument that is essentially a blend of other instruments it is inevitable that musical styles will mesh. You can say the Airline Bojotar is the common point.
JC: I have the sense with Sundowser that there is a LOT going on, as if you had so much material the challenge was in whittling it down to a manageable length. Were there leftover songs or fragments that didn’t make the cut? How much influence did the musicians involved have in shaping the material?
BT: Yes, there were several songs that did not make it on the record. Not because they are bad songs or the production did not come out good enough. They were songs that we could not fit with the flow of the record and we did not want to make the record too long. It’s funny because the songs that were left off are probably the most “catchy” or “accessible” ones. We do plan on releasing them soon; my drummer Jeff Berlin and co-producer and engineer Justin Guip had a very large part of these decisions.
JC: I want to talk about some of the individual songs. Had I first heard “Horus” on the radio I would have assumed it was a lost Allman Brothers song with some unknown vocalist. I mean, there’s some serious jamming going on!
BT: The song “Horus” was worked on the most, all the jamming was arrived at through some scrutiny during the rehearsal stage. We wanted to make all those time changes seamless, and I think that song harkens back to my hard rock days in the nineties.
JC: Interesting in that “Drug Lust”, which is my favorite song on the album, and “Lympus” which I must confess to being the one song that doesn’t work for me, deal with similar issues. Both examine how hard it is to keep the darkness at bay; thematically they seem closely linked but stylistically they are worlds apart. How much does the subject matter influence the music you write for it?
BT: The subject matter influences the music quite a bit. “Drug Lust” was written as sort of a pop number because opiate addiction has become such a mainstream problem. Junkies are not just the dudes sleeping in the park but housewives and professionals and working class people, many of them introduced to drugs by their doctors.
Then there is the whole idea of treating drug addiction with other drugs and Big Pharm. and all that…. The problem is so complicated and there are many levels of hypocrisy, you could dedicate a whole album to the matter. So I guess packaging this epidemic in a tight pop song is all I could do to shed light on the subject. There are other songs on the record that swing deeper into some of the sources of this epidemic, just in more subtle ways.
“Lympus” is very much dealing with drug addiction. It is a true story of a meth-lab, prostitution ring that went very wrong in a backwoods trailer park near where I live. I wrote this as a classic murder ballad in the vein of “Lil Sadie” or “Pretty Polly” or even ‘Poor Ellen Smith.” This song is as brutal as any of those and I think the “big band sound” puts a modern twist on it. I personified some of the characters to give it a mythic vibe as well as not put a personal face on those involved. It is a small world up here in Vermont.
JC: Seeing it in a broader sense, do you typically begin with lyrics, or music? Or is there no one way?
BT: There is no one way. I try and stay open to anyway the songs comes to me.
JC: Walk us through some of the recording process. Was Sundowser recorded in a continuous period, or was it spliced together from sessions stretched over an extended time? Did you go in with a dozen songs and keep going until they were completed?
BT: Sundowser was written and recorded in the studio I built on my property…. The building itself was literally carved from the hemlock trees that grew where the studio now sits. I even timber-framed it the traditional way, with mortis and Tenon. All the windows and doors and even the walls ( S.I.P.S) were salvaged. I had absolutely zero money to get this going so it took a long time, something like 13 years. So you can say that is how long it took to make the record.
Anyway I was able to get a loan to put solar panels on it so I am completely solar powered and that is one reason for the album’s name. As for the songs they were all brought to the table during a transitional time band wise. I was seeking out local dudes to play with, so there were some folks who came and went as these songs were worked on. The recording was done here in three or four days and we did a little overdubbing at Justin’s place in New York and mixed it there as well.
We kept the whole thing as live as we could. I play better during basics than I do in an overdubbing situation, so there are some flubs here and there.
JC: Which I think help enliven the record!
BT: Absolutely, but that was the vibe and feel that we were going for.
JC: Let’s switch gears a bit. Talk about the upcoming show with Dave Desmelik and Pierce Edens. I know you’ve shared a stage with Dave (that’s when we met) but how did this particular show come about?
BT: I have immense respect for Desmo and I love his songs. Any chance I get to play a show with him I will take it, and if I am anywhere near Asheville my first phone call is to the Desmelik house. I met him through mutual friends and Benders bass man Nolan Mckelvey, and we were kindred spirits from the get go. Coincidentally, I saw Pierce when he played a tiny little joint near my house…. I bought his record and really dug it…. I had no idea he and Dave were friends. So I am really looking forward to playing this show with these guys.
JC: What about the show’s format? I assume you won’t be bringing a full band, so will you and the others back one another up?
BT: Well, I was going to bring the full band, that was the idea, but unfortunately my drummer Jeff suffered a series of strokes over the summer and is still in recovery. Replacing him or finding a sub is not even an option at this point. I am traveling with Alex Abraham on upright bass and my organist J.D. Tolstoi, so we have stripped things back a bit. I am hoping we can ALL do some playing together at the Grey Eagle show.
JC: I appreciate your time in answering these questions. Is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to add?
BT: Maybe just mention that Marco Benevento and Tracy Bonham make appearances on this record.
If You Go: Dave Desmelik, Pierce Edens + Bow Thayer, Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 8 p.m., 7 p.m. doors. $7 adv.; $10 day of show. All ages. Standing room only. The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave., Asheville. (828) 232-5800.