Bow Thayer
Central Vermont tunesmith hits his stride
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Central Vermont songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bow Thayer plays a couple of upcoming shows in the area. Thayer, center, is pictured with Montpelier fiddler Patrick Ross, left, and Chelsea guitarist Kristina Stykos, right, who will join him on Feb. 6 in Montpelier. PHOTO BY CHARLIE JORDAN |
Toolbox
By TOM HUNTINGTON Arts Correspondent - Published: January 29, 2010
A central Vermont resident for a dozen years now – smack dab in the middle of the state in the Windsor County village of Gaysville (part of Stockbridge) – Bow Thayer, the Massachusetts-born banjo and guitar player, 43, has quietly emerged to become one of the state's best songwriters, and one who seems to get better with every release.
Case in point: his quiet little gem of an album, "Shooting Arrows at the Moon," released in November and one of last year's best Vermont releases. The "unforeseen project," as Thayer refers to it in the album's liner notes, was recorded spur-of-the-moment at Chelsea singer-songwriter Kristina Stykos' off-the-grid studio.
A campfire-friendly collection of stripped-down Thayer tunes recorded live and impromptu, the album delivers a pleasing glimpse into Thayer's serious songwriting skills and the magic of spontaneous performance when in the right hands.
"She said, 'You want to record something?' I was, like, 'Yeah, throw up some microphones,'" said Thayer in a phone interview on Monday. "I got a couple new songs, I got some old songs. And I just sat down and started singing and playing, and she captured it."
Stykos added her own magic touch, both instrumentally (on guitar and mandolin) and vocally, recording live with Thayer on some tunes and adding her parts later on others.
"That recording is me going through the songs for the very first time," said Thayer. "I kind of had an idea (of what I was going to do). I just went over there and played. She really insisted that we keep things simple, and I'm glad we did."
Thayer and Stykos then brought in Canaan-born fiddle phenom Patrick Ross, who gorgeously enhances most of the tunes on the album.
"In one evening, he just latched right on to it and blew those fiddle parts out like he'd been playing all these songs for months," said Thayer. "But he'd never heard them at all. He's just such a talented player."
"It was just so easy," said Thayer of the recording. "There was no hang-up about making a record or tweaking it to make it sound really good. It just came out."
Despair has rarely sounded as good as it does on the stunning title track, a wistful tune "about being overwhelmed," said Thayer. "I'm full of all kinds of despair, probably. That comes out."
Another instant classic is "The Tango Rose," a compelling narrative inspired by a northern Arizona bar called the Spirit Room. "That was just this fun little song for me to write about this tragic couple," explained Thayer.
Perhaps most impressive is "Harpoon Song," a spare, melancholy tune with rich, pointed lyrics that "came out in one sitting," said Thayer. "It was just a stream of consciousness thing. It's like, where does this come from? I still really don't know. That's a pretty intense piece."
Also classic is "Catskill Stone," a dusty kicker about the storied barn/studio in Woodstock, N.Y., that's owned by living legend Levon Helm, best known for his tenure as drummer and vocalist in rock group The Band. Thayer and his relatively new roots-rock group, Perfect Trainwreck, recorded their solid 2008 debut album there, and have performed at Helm's renowned "Midnight Rambles."
"It's such a special place," said Thayer. "I can't say enough good things about it."
Thayer and Perfect Trainwreck recently revisited the Levon Helm Studio, where they finished recording the tracks for a follow-up album, tentatively titled "Buffalo Joe." Though the songs have not yet been mastered, Thayer is excited about the results – due in large part to the studio skills of Grammy-winning Helm producer Justin Guip.
"He just nailed it, sonically," said Thayer about Guip. "We feel that the quality of the recording easily translates to radio. We think it's good enough to compete with any other music that's out there right now."
The group will perform much of the new material on Saturday at the Chandler Music Hall. The concert is a benefit for Chandler's ambitious renovation and expansion project, for which Thayer offered his services.
"Catskill Stone" is one of three "Shooting Arrows" tunes – along with the mesmerizing "Dawning" and "Suicide Kings" — that will get a full-band treatment live and on the new Perfect Trainwreck album.
The rock 'n' roll versions are a lot different," said Thayer. "So it should be kind of interesting for people to hear the songs in their infancy, and then hear how they translate to a whole-band production."