Charlottesville, VA-based band Gold Connections--led by songwriter, guitarist and lyricist Will Marsh--has signed to Fat Possum and will release their self-titled debut EP on March 31. The EP is now available for pre-order.
Gold Connections' debut EP was home-recorded in the spring of 2014 in Williamsburg, VA, and features production, engineering and mixing by Will Toledo (Car Seat Headrest). It comprises the band's five earliest original songs written by Marsh while he was an undergrad of the College of William & Mary in Virginia. It was there that Marsh met Toledo; Marsh a freshman, Toledo a sophomore. Though Toledo won't be a member going forward, he also plays drums, electric guitar, bass, and backing vocals throughout the EP. Fat Possum will release Gold Connections' debut album later this year.
Toledo says, "When Will Marsh strolled into his first WCWM meeting with his solo EP tucked under his sleeve, like I had done the year before, I knew I'd found a worthy competitor. I asked him to play guitar in Car Seat Headrest. He deigned to for a time, then formed Gold Connections instead. I walked in on their first practice and started playing drums. He told me I could play with them at the show, then Car Seat Headrest's drummer moved away, so I came back and drummed with them again. I also recorded an album for them. I thought it was good but Will didn't like it, so I started working on songs with rock riffs like Gold Connections did that I could play on my own, and eventually put them on my album Teens of Denial. Two years later, I phoned his manager and pleaded for Will to release the master tapes to the college album. Instead he suggested I remix the best tracks for a debut Gold Connections EP, so I did.”
Marsh adds, " I met Will at a show. My solo act was harmonica and acoustic guitar, troubled fingerpicking, original tunes and Dylan covers. Then a rock band hauled their gear on stage. That night they asked me to play rhythm guitar for one show, and I agreed to go electric. What they pitched as a ‘collective’ was actually Car Seat Headrest. Will and I soon recognized that I was both too wild for rhythm guitar and equally stubborn as a songwriter. I had to take my newfound ruckus somewhere else, so I formed Gold Connections. … When [Car Seat Headrest’s drummer] left town I handed Will the sticks. But he didn't just drum: Toledo was determined to produce the project. We tracked during finals in my moldy basement, and by mid-summer Will proclaimed the mixes ready for public consumption. I wanted to sound more like the Stones than Guided By Voices. My new drummer who wished to play so bad moved to Seattle. Going into my last Fall semester, William and Mary's library was far more promising than its rock scene. A year later, when I graduated and fell out of the academic illusion, I got back to my first dream. And I dig the new mixes!"
Feature photo by PJ Sykes
For more information, visit goldconnectionsmusic.com.
