Gartman
Hello!
Marc here... below are some links to some of my other side projects. I'll keep the main Shows page up to date with gigs from Coyote, Gartband, Little Gray House, what have you.. Please contact me if you have any questions/comments.
| Marc Gartband | The Gallows |
 |
 |
| Myspace | Myspace |
| Coyote | Little Gray House |
 |
 |
| Myspace | Myspace |
Coyote
Coyote ‘Times of Drought’ ⎯ Press Release
Coyote’s seeds were sewn two years ago in the summer of 2006. On the heels of a No Wait Wait tour Marc Gartman (Two Many Banjos) convinced Jerree Small (Southwire) to turn the living room of her Superior, WI home into a makeshift studio. On a long weekend Eric Pollard (Retribution Gospel Choir), Steve Garrington (Low) Marc and Jerree and an assorted cast of others laid down the tracks for an album. These sessions ultimately became Gartman’s ‘You Need My Heart’ record that has yet to see the light of day.
Flash forward to the winter of 2008 and while his fellow banjo player Dave Carroll in TMB (Trampled By Turtles) was off gallivanting across the globe Marc began to experiment with the idea of doing a simpler record. Marc showed Jerree a couple of his new songs; jerree played Marc a couple of her own and they were off and rolling again.
The songs on ‘Times of Drought’ were written quickly and within certain parameters. The material included with this project were only the songs that didn’t fit into either of their other respective bands. Heavily influenced by Gillian Welch’s Time (The Revelator) CD the songs were laid to tape live and as just the duo.
In weekly sessions in her home Marc and Jerree got together in Superior to write and practice the songs they had written in the days prior. Some were from a distant past (Last Night, Ten Folds of Paper) but most were written in the weeks leading up the actual recording session. They taped their rehearsals, came up with new harmonies, figured out which songs worked and which didn’t. Close to 15 were up for consideration but ultimately only 12 were chosen to be included on this debut CD.
Recorded to 2” analog at the mighty Sacred Heart Church with engineer Eric Swanson (Low, Crash Test Dummies) at the board it was all said and done in a single late winter afternoon session. A week later it was mixed and mastered in a couple of evenings with minimal overdubs.
Marc has begun work on a follow up CD, which he hopes to have written before the end of 2008.
‘Times of Drought’ will be released in limited release on April 22, 2008. Track list: Times of Drought • To Keep You • Wise Lorolina • The Good Son • On Golden Heels • A Single You • Last Night • Allowed to Dream • Ten Folds of Paper • Day Trip • Two Birds One Stone • Cellar’s Bare
Contact: Marc Gartman • marcgart@hotmail.com • 218 269-1861
Visit us on Myspace
Marc Gartband
“On The beach at night / the ships go passing by” Marc Gartman (Two Many Banjos, Coyote) sings on the track ‘Back With You’ and with those words a record was born. The bulk of material on ‘Me And My Big Ego’, written in a matter of weeks during the summer of ’08, earmarks a great few months Marc Gartman had out on the beach in Duluth, MN. The CD is an upbeat affair that has as much to do with Duluth and Lake Superior as it does about what was going on in Gartman’s head at the time.
‘Back With You’ was truly the first song written for this CD and it was Rich Mattson (Minnesota Producer of the Year Award) that Gartman had in mind knowing he would bring the song to life. Inspired by Mattson (and most specifically his band Ol’ Yeller and their CD ‘Good Luck’) he went to work filling in the holes that would make up the rest of the album.
Gartman discovered Mark Glen (Flamscheram) through a mutual friend when Two Many Banjos was in search of a potential new bass player. At the time know one really knew who was going to play that role in TMB but he did have a few songs he had written on guitar and would he want to hear those? They got together and it was clear from the start that Mark was a fantastic player and would do the job swimmingly.
They booked an initial session up at Mattson’s Sparta Sound recording studio on the Iron Range thinking Mattson himself would play the drums. He suggested perhaps they should call his friend Derek Rolando (The Tisdales) to play the skins. An hour later he was there and three hours later the first 3/4 of the CD was done. Rolando had never heard the songs before but after a single run through the tape machine was set to record. Impressive indeed.
Motivated by the extraordinary playing of Glenn, Rolando and Mattson, Gartman went back to work to write the final 1/4 of the album. What was once an EP of music was making its way into full-length territory. A month later they were back in the studio again to finish things off. This time Two Many Banjos resident fiddle pro Jillian Lantry was brought in to the mix to round out the band.
Gartman also wondered what Alan Sparhawk (Low, Retribution Gospel Choir) and Mattson, who had never worked together before, would sound like working on a track together. ‘Who Decides’ written with Sparhawk in mind was how that question was answered on this CD. A couple of mixing sessions later (a little steel drum here, a little ebow guitar there) the record was completed.
It should be noted however that there are no plans to play any of this material live. Gartman and Lantry are busy with their TMB project (with Glen occasionally sitting in as well) and Rolando still lives on the range and is busy enough himself as Mattson’s drummer in their new band The Tisdales. ‘Me and My Big Ego’ is simply a snap shop of a great few months out on the beach in northern Minnesota. Perhaps it’s best summed up on the track ’33 is the new 17’; “I pitch a tent in the yard at night / I hear the stars as they tell me goodnight / some lucky kid he did this at ten / but I don’t remember living much then”.
Visit us on Myspace
http://www.myspace.com/marcgartband
The Gallows
The Gallows second CD 'Cross The Bridge' is a children's story with themes, twists and tribulations that adults can enjoy with equal enthusiasm. It tells the tale of two Park Point rabbits bored with their lives on the island and long for new adventures. Hopping along the sand one day they encounter some young rascals who chase after them until they find shelter hiding in a trailer. They fall asleep inside and awake lost and confused on the other side of the bridge.
In the busy streets of Duluth they avoid being captured by humans, fight for their lives against a hawk and long for the simpler days on the beach. Brave rabbit friends attempt to rescue them but only one truly makes it across. Eventually they meet a dog that helps them build a boat to travel back to the Point. On their homeland they impart their adventures for all to hear and celebrate the importance of being together with their friends and family.
The 'Cross The Bridge' CD is a unique journey for the Duluth Community. It is a new musical fable about the cuddly critters that live in our very own northland neighborhood. The Gallows hope to re-release the CD later in the year in a more substantially packaged form and with additional tracks. This will be in conjunction with a children's book that chronicles the rabbit's voyage in pictures and words.
Park Point is well known for its rabbit population "problem" and the turf wars between its residents and shrubbery. Very little is known however about the only two rabbits to escape across the Lift Bridge, survive the wild hills of Duluth and make it home again. Until now...
Each song on the CD is told in first person narrative, ordered sequentially and with a total 14 short stories in all. Vocal and songwriting duties are split between Nathan Starke (Lo-Fi) and Marc Gartman (No Wait Wait). Karl Anderson (The Antmen) on Upright Bass and Joey Flynn on scratchboard round out the quartet. Sara Softich (Yeltzi) guests on fiddle and backing vocals on a handful of tracks.
Visit us on Myspace
Next appearing
Site Links
