While 2022’s ambitious Misadventures of Doomscroller featured a few expansive tunes that broached the 10-minute mark, the group went back-to-basics on ninth album Oh Brother after longtime bassist Wylie Gelber and keyboardist Lee Pardini amicably departed Dawes.
Taylor and his drummer brother Griffin Goldsmith tracked the songs live in a studio shed belonging to co-producer Mike Viola (Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Panic! at the Disco, Jenny Lewis) before regular Dawes collaborator Trevor Menear and the guys also added finishing touches.
The second Oh Brother single “Still Strangers Sometimes” reached the top 30 on the Americana Music Association singles chart.
In recent months, Dawes opened for Brad Paisley in Murphys, Calif. (Taylor appeared on “Same Here,” slated for the country superstar’s next album), Paisley sat in with the band on a special video version of “House Parties,” and Taylor was among Joni Mitchell’s guests during two all-star “Joni Jams” at the Hollywood Bowl.
Dawes has a new original holiday song out. In a press release, Taylor said the contemplative piano-based ballad “Christmas Tree in the Window” is “about the spirit of Christmas making someone decide to be a better person…It’s been easy to get cynical about the holiday season as I’ve gotten older, but there are still moments when a song, a decoration, or a special moment can bring all the magic back. This song is obviously a ridiculous example of that feeling, but hopefully still an experience we can all relate to at its core.”
Outside his Dawes work, Taylor Goldsmith played a major role in creating actress/singer/wife Mandy Moore’s last two solo albums, which is how he first met Viola.
Rock Cellar checked in with Taylor Goldsmith, 39, from Knoxville, Tenn., where a six-piece Dawes lineup kicked off its tour, which included a December run before resuming next April. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Rock Cellar: The band solicited fan requests on its social media for the tour. Is that common?
Taylor Goldsmith: Yeah. It’s fun to see what people ask for in given cities. It’s not like we’re putting an entire set list together based on it. A lot of times, the songs fans want to hear line up with what we tend to be playing anyway. So, it’s fun to throw that out there.
Sometimes, I know the fans, they’ve been to (multiple) shows, we know the song and we make sure we play it on one particular show.
Rock Cellar: For the first time in years, Dawes rehearsed for a tour. That isn’t something you normally do before hitting the road?
Taylor Goldsmith: No.
Rock Cellar: How do you typically get ready for playing concerts?
Taylor Goldsmith: We would always be like, ‘Here’s what we’re thinking,’ and we would just show up prepared. This time, it was, ‘Let’s actually get together and mark out a few things to be ready.’ I’ve always been confident in how the first shows unfolded. We add new ideas as it goes on and have longer sound checks. This time, it was, ‘Let’s actually get together beforehand and really lock some stuff in.
Rock Cellar: How has the Dawes live dynamic changed with newer players over the last few years?
Taylor Goldsmith: It’s been really strong. We have guys that are learning the material and bringing their own thing to it. I think that’s something that I've always really admired about a lot of live music - whether it’s Dylan, Joni (Mitchell), Neil Young, The Stones with Mick Taylor, Ron Wood or Brian Jones – there are all these eras of players, and the idea of catching them with certain people in tow is so cool.
Obviously, it’s also cool when you choose the same four guys for your entire career. A lot of bands that I love, like Dire Straits, Wilco or The Cure, have had several iterations as the years go on. I like to think for fans that can be exciting too.
Rock Cellar: Since you started recording Oh Brother with just you and Griffin, did you find there were different creative opportunities with fewer people in the studio?
Taylor Goldsmith: Yeah. It really put us and the song in the spotlight. It was amazing having Lee and Wiley in the room (before), but it changes the shape of the sound when it’s just us. There’s no one else to represent and I mean that in the best way.
With ‘Mister Los Angeles,’ we finished the song and there’s not a single keyboard on it. Other songs have more keyboard representation. It was case by case and nice to zoom in on certain flavors and qualities.
Because of the way I play guitar and Griffin plays drums, I feel like our identity is in place and so solid. I don't think people would hear this and think it sounds like a different band. That’s something I’m really proud of – the fact that our essence transcends a personnel lineup.
Rock Cellar: In another interview, you said Griffin’s drums were the most important instrument on this album. Is that because there was more room to breathe sonically this time around and the rhythm came to the forefront?
Taylor Goldsmith: Absolutely. When we recorded each song, I would be singing and playing it. I would do some guitar flourishes, but a lot of that would be after the fact. On ‘King of the Never-Wills’ and ‘Surprise,’ I was so focused on capturing a vocal that I didn't really stray too far from the rhythm guitar part. It gave Griffin the opportunity to fill every hole in a very reactive way. He had a first run of the song where everything else is out of his way. Then everything is placed around that. In that sense, I've joked that I feel like he’s the lead guitar player on the album and I'm really psyched about that.
Rock Cellar: On percolating character study “The Game,” I was immediately struck by the clanging drum bits that reminded me of mid-1990s U2.
Taylor Goldsmith: Yeah. It’s cool to hear you say U2 because it’s so clearly like a folk song - the progression and the melody. But I was thinking about U2 when we recorded that. I was listening to a lot of Achtung Baby.
The way that Griffin's snare drum rings out, how there’s an octave in the vocal and the bass comes in and then disappears - there are some hallmarks of U2 that I wasn’t even really thinking about fully. Obviously, we don’t want any hat tips to be too aggressive. I do take pride in that acknowledgement.
Rock Cellar: Do the vocal harmony blend that only siblings can achieve together help Dawes stand apart from the pack?
Taylor Goldsmith: Absolutely. Our criteria for what are good and right for the songs is locked in. We’re both looking for the same things from a song and as players, even if we don't know how to articulate it. I think in that sense, it's always given us a real clear vision. It’s very rare for him to love the way something sounds and for me to hate it. Typically, if one of us is inspired by something, then for the same reasons, the other one’s going to be too.
Rock Cellar: On upbeat, whimsical tunes such as “House Parties” and “Mister Los Angeles,” you really let humor shine through in the lyrics.
Taylor Goldsmith: When I look at my heroes - Roger Miller, Warren Zevon, Randy Newman, Loudon Wainwright – they’re very funny. But when I look at folks playing arenas, the humor doesn’t play as big of a role. People like Bruce Springsteen or Tom Petty. I’ve definitely been at odds with them and the way I want to go.
I think where I land is ‘This is just who I am.’ It seems like the more I embrace what comes out of me and who I am naturally, the truer the songs feel to people.
Rock Cellar: Does living near Hollywood give you an endless supply of ways to poke fun at L.A. culture as you do on “Mister Los Angeles,” with its insistent groove and Counting Crows vibe?
Taylor Goldsmith: Totally. There were verses to that song that didn’t even make the record. I will say that when you’re related or really close friends with someone, those people that you love are typically the ones that you don't mind teasing. I feel the same way about L.A. I have a lot of pride and love for L.A.
Rock Cellar: How was the experience making the video for that song where Conan O'Brien portrays an eccentric talent manager? Was the video shoot nonstop laughter?
Taylor Goldsmith: Nonstop. He's what everyone assumes. He’s always on. He’s always charming. He’s always kind. When I asked him to do it, I said, ‘I get that this is a little bit out of your league, so please feel no pressure. I know you’re busy.’ He said, ‘No, I want to help. I'm in. Let’s do it.’
Then he got really involved with creative emails with our director. There was a lot of back and forth, and he was just so committed. It meant the world to me because he just didn’t have to go as hard as he did. He fully invested in it. He had to stay a little later than anyone anticipated, and he was happy to be there. It was just so amazing.
Rock Cellar: This past July, Dawes served as backup musicians for Conan O’Brien & Real Musicians at the Newport Folk Festival, where Jack White, Nick Lowe, Nathaniel Rateliff, and others guested. People don’t realize Conan can really play guitar and collects them too.
Taylor Goldsmith: He’s a cool guitar player and has a clear sensibility. He really vibes with rockabilly, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, early rock and roll. That is his stuff, that’s how he plays, and that’s what he drifts towards. It’s really great to see someone who’s so invested in their sound.
Rock Cellar: Over the years, you’ve backed several rock legends on stage and recorded with them too. Did you take anything away from performances with people like Robbie Robertson, John Fogerty and Jackson Browne and apply it to how you interact with an audience?
Taylor Goldsmith: Totally. The stuff you can glean from moments like that are typically the simplest, most obvious things. What is true nonetheless for me is really recognizing that the power of all these artists, the commonality is just this pretty ferocious level of confidence.
It’s never about technical prowess. It’s never the craziest vocal range. It’s always understanding your superpowers and constantly going back to those with a full level of confidence. Robbie, John Fogerty - they weren't the best guitar players, but they had such a sense of themselves.
And they were willing to go back to that each time, and it makes for such an amazing experience. I feel like so many other guitar players fall into this category of: ‘I'll try to sound like this guy. I'll try to do that if that's what’s needed. Or ‘if you need it to be this tone, I can be that.’ Whereas those guys are like, ‘I do one thing; I'm me.’ And I feel like that’s typically what I like about any musician that I fall in love with.
Rock Cellar: Dawes spent quite a bit of time on stage with Phil Lesh, including over the summer at Terrapin Crossroads Presents: Sunday Daydream Vol. 4 in San Rafael, Calif. Since Phil died in October, I was wondering what those experiences were like. Did you grow up as a Grateful Dead fan?
Taylor Goldsmith: [Pauses] I was a fan by the time of my early 20s. Then I was obsessive like anybody. Being with him was a real eye opener as to what it could look like to be committed to creativity above all else. There was no, ‘Let’s make sure we do this hit’ or ‘Let’s make sure we do this song.’ It was, ‘We’ll just get in and out quick, and then get on to the next one.’ It was always like, ‘How do we experience the fullness of each other, of the night, of the audience, of the material, and let it present itself to us, rather than us force it to submit to what we expect?’
By doing so, it always ended up being so euphoric. People love to associate that band and music with drugs. I've never done those drugs, really. And yet I still found myself getting to find and reach these heights because of where Phil would take us. I played with him seven or eight times and it just happened every time we played with him.
Upcoming Tour Dates:
APRIL 2025
9 – Woodstock, NY – Bearsville Theatre *
10 – Ridgefield, CT – Ridgefield Playhouse *
11 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore Philadelphia *
12 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre *
13 – Princeton, NJ – Matthews Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center
16 – Davenport, IA – Capitol Theatre *
17 – Madison, WI – The Majestic *
18 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue *
19 – Columbia, MO – The Blue Note *
21 – Des Moines, IA – Hoyt Sherman Place *
23 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre *
25 – Kalispell, MT – Wachholz College Center *
26 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre *
27 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall *
MAY 2025
8-10 РSan Jos̩ del Cabo, Mexico РViva El Gonzo ^
* w/ Special Guests Winnetka Bowling League
† Christmas in LA w/ Dawes & Friends
^ Festival Appearance
My interview originally ran at rockcellarmagazine,com.
Dawes photo by Jon Chu.
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