Mark Gothard

Artist Information

Biography

Mark Gothard admits he has been around the block a few times already.

This native Californian singer-songwriter has lived all across the United States, and everywhere he’s gone he’s taken his guitar and his imagination and created music.

Now, with his fifth full-length album, Mark Gothard has made the best music of a career that is already full of highlights. He has written more than 300 songs over 20 years, some dark, some full of hope, all touched with a melancholy that the greats all manage to conjure.

‘The Poet’ – recorded by award-winning producer Lauren Stalnecker – is in many ways the culmination of a life on the road, searching for the great American song.

Like the best idiosyncratic songwriters since time immemorial, Gothard packs his songs with stories from a rich and varied existence.

He channels the spirit of Neil Young, Bob Dylan and, most of all his great musical hero Tom Waits into the songs on ‘The Poet’. Yet this is not music that apes those that have come before him. Like all the true artists, Gothard is an original.

Just as Woody Guthrie travelled across America looking for stories to set his guitar upon, so has Gothard. He has lived in concrete jungles and country wildernesses, and each has informed a different part of his creativity.

Assisted for the first time by truly top class production, ‘The Poet’ is not only the best album made by the latest great songwriter of his generation, but is sure to be one of the best albums of the year.

This is music for real music lovers. Enjoy it over and over again…

http://www.markgothard.com
http://www.facebook.com/markgothardmusic

Source- Beatwire.com

Instrumentation

Mark Gothard: Guitar and Vocal

Discography

Dead Reckoning (2003 LP)
Poppy Fields and Pearls (2005 LP)
Midnight (2009 LP)
Vault Songs (2010 LP)
The Poet (2011 LP)

Links

• Facebook
• Mark at CDBaby!
• Mark's Website
• MySpace

Audio

• Jesse James
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• Perfectly Imperfect
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• Timbuktu
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• Miles Away
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• Holdin' On
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• Shake
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• Lavender Snow
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• Birthday
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• If Thomas Jefferson Were Here
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• Skies Painted Blue
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• No More Old Milwaukee Light
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• Blaze
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• 3 Mile Climb
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• Dressed In Red
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• 4 Day Rain
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• Lonely Boracho
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• To Heaven We'll Go
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• Those Days
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• Goodnight
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• Down The Line
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• True Romance
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Lyrics

• Jesse James
• Timbuktu
• Miles Away
• Lavender Snow
• Birthday
• If Thomas Jefferson Were Here
• Skies Painted Blue
• No More Old Milwaukee Light
• Those Days
• Blaze
• 3 Mile Climb
• Dressed In Red
• 4 Day Rain
• Lonely Boracho
• Sunny Day
• The Roses On Main Street
• Hero
• To Heaven We'll Go
• Goodnight
• Holdin' On

Video

Down Here

Long As I Can See The Light

Photo Gallery

Press

• Timbuktu - A Deeply Personal Love Song Worth Hearing! [+ Show ]
  

  From Wildy Haskell of Wildy's World music blog: Mark Gothard's "Timbuktu" is a highly symbolic and d...From Wildy Haskell of Wildy's World music blog: Mark Gothard's "Timbuktu" is a highly symbolic and deeply personal love song. The imagery here may not mean a lot to those not "in the know", but there's a simple beauty in his words and in the warm, sweet melody he crafts for them. The gently non-descript arrangement falls somewhere between adult pop and Americana without ever fully defining itself, but the end result is exceedingly pleasant to the ears.

• Vault Songs Review is in! [+ Show ]
  

  Artist: Mark Gothard Album: Vault Songs Review by Melissa Nastasi Vault Songs lets us dive he...Artist: Mark Gothard
  Album: Vault Songs
  Review by Melissa Nastasi
  
  
  Vault Songs lets us dive head first into folk singer/songwriter Mark Gothard’s past. This seems weird, yes, but Gothard has a story to tell of lost friendships and found tapes. Spending his time in California, he is about to branch out to the world and share his songs. With three albums already under his belt, he takes us on a journey of songs that were written in college. Ah, a young musician at work; there is nothing like it, right?
  
  Kicking off the album is the twangy “Cigarettes.” With heavily strummed guitars and an emphasis on country vocals, Gothard will already have you intrigued and wondering what is about to come next. One thing you must remember about this record upon listening is that it is not perfect nor is it meant to be. These songs from Gothard‘s college past are untouched and left in their original form. They are mixed well but not polished as the listener will be able to tell that some of these songs were just demos.
  
  “You,” takes a bit of an unexpected turn, but not in a bad way. The track sits on the border between folk and lo-fi. With pounding drums and guitars making room for soft vocals, this is an unforgettable track. “True Romance” is a sultry song, yet innocent at the same time. The listener will be able to tell this was written in college, and though that is not necessarily a bad thing, it is something that will strike you right off the bat. “Down Here” has the same sort of vibe to it, though also beautifully written. The true beauty lies in the guitar tones. Each and every strum seems to tell a story on it’s own.
  
  “To Heaven We’ll Go” features more amazing guitar work with a plucking guitar sound and whimsical tone. Gothard’s vocals get a bit deeper and scratchier here as if he is trying to find his own voice. This continues through to the next track, “Here We Go,” as his sound changes a bit again and adds some howl. His true voice that he should stick to is found up next on the song, “Baby.” It’s soft, fitting the delicate guitar and tambourine and adding a bit of soul to the record. “Blue Tomatoes” takes a completely different turn and makes things a bit more interesting as Gothard becomes a bit of a folk crooner.
  
  Up next is “Potato,” one of the standout tracks on the record. Despite referencing an actual potato, it is genuinely heartfelt and poetic. He again uses soft vocals to evoke so much emotion, even in this awkward lyrical setting. Closing the album is the instrumental “Blue,” which features an accordion and allows for a peaceful and surprising ending.
  
  Mark Gothard is an amazing talent with a real knack for songwriting. Vault Songs is a piece of work to be proud of, and though it is not perfect, it tells the tale of a promising songwriter on the rise. Listening to Gothard’s previous work, you can tell that he has come a long way, but has always kept true to himself and the music that he creates. Vault Songs is a fantastic listen that will have you craving his studio records. Take a chance on it.
  
  
  Review by Melissa Nastasi
  Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
  
  

• 7/15/08 Neufutur Magazine Review of "Poppy Fields and Pearls" [+ Show ]
  

  “Poppy Fields & Pearls” is the second disc released by Los Angeles’ own Mark Gothard. For being in o...“Poppy Fields & Pearls” is the second disc released by Los Angeles’ own Mark Gothard. For being in one of the largest urban cities in the United State, the fact that “Poppy Fields & Pearls” starts out with a folksy track in “The Skywalker Blues” is interesting. The unique style of Gothard’s vocals provides a little bit of richness to the traditional and typical acoustic guitar that is present. Despite the goofy nature of “The Skywalker Blues” (Star Wars), the fact is that “The Skywalker Blues” is a catchy and compelling song that will stick with listeners for a while after they put down “Poppy Fields & Pearls”.
  
  “The Skywalker Blues’ is followed up by “Ode To Jack”, a slower track that touches upon R.E.M. just as much as it does Johnny Cash and the a post-Ziggy Stardust David Bowie. “Whispered In Your Ear” is a bold step forward for Gothard in that it is the longest track on “Poppy Fields & Pearls”, at a place where ey could gain or lose a tremendous amount of listeners. However, the compelling emotional intensity of the track allows listeners to easily make it through this five and a half minute mini-epic unscathed. In fact, the soft tones of the acoustic during this track may be the reason why listeners are able to make it to the disc’s two bonus tracks, “Blaze” and “300 Miles”. Instead of merely front-loading “Poppy Fields & Pearls” with the strongest tracks, the quality of songs on the latter half of the disc is equivalent to the first half.
  
  This means that a song like “Something To Me” showcases the same type of honesty that first was heard during the opening strains of the disc. The music on “Poppy Fields & Pearls” is simple: there is little more here than an acoustic and a set of vocals. However, where the disc is complex is in Gothard’s ability to arrange the different compositions into things that are decidedly more than their constituent parts. While Gothard has been playing around the Los Angeles area the last few years, it should only be a matter of time before ey is coming up with a nationwide tour. Make sure to pick up a copy of “Poppy Fields & Pearls” to see the magic, the allure of Gothard, and familiarize yourself with these tracks before any tour comes to your town.
  
  Top Tracks: Sleep, Yard Sale
  
  Rating: 8.0/10
  
  

Setlist

Down the Line
Gimme Some Proof
Down Here
Whispered in Your Ear
Yard Sale
San Diego Serenade (Tom Waits)
One of the Angels
Blaze
Birthday
The Skywalker Blues
Smoke
Long As I Can See the Light (Ted Hawkins)

My sets (acoustic) are generally about an hour long.

Basic Requirements

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