Band Spotlight: The Golden Sounds

Listening to The Golden Sounds makes you feel like you're on a magic carpet ride. Todd Evans' voice is calm yet moving, gently urging you on a contemplative musical journey. Along the road you'll encounter good doses of intriguing lyrics, gorgeous melodies and nicely placed cello accompaniments. If you only listen to one song, make sure it's "Whistles and Windchimes" because it's extremely impressive and the melody will linger with you throughout the day.

Todd was kind enough to share some insights with Think Virtue! about the inspiration behind his music, some of his favorite bands and his aspiration to compose some original material for films.

1. How do you strive for creativity and originality in your music?

That question is one I ask myself, and maybe that is what pushes me through. There's not a formula except for striving to get the feeling out of the music that I had in my head. Usually I know that I have accomplished that when the song or music gives me feelings I even didn't intend. It has a life of its own.

2. When did you start wearing lights for your performances? And what do they symbolize?

I pretty much wear them every time I play. First, it takes me out of my element, and second I think it takes the audience out of their element for a brief moment so they can hear the songs differently. Regardless of what the song is about, I want the music to bring some sort of light into people's eyes. So hey, if the music doesn't do it...maybe the coat of lights will.

3. Could you talk about the inspiration behind "Whistles and Windchimes"? And why was it so important for you to share this song with the world?

This is the first time I have ever officially answered this question, because the song itself does have a life of its own and does tend to grow into the mood of whatever the listener is at the moment. Originally, this was a very sarcastic song. After 9-11 our government started releasing all of those yellow and orange alerts to help us know if we were safe or not. I honestly couldn't believe that we all were falling for that false sense of security. If anything, it made you more anxious. We looked at the screen and listened to the radio and were like, "uh oh, orange alert...oh, wait...yellow...that's good." It was just a bunch of "whistles and windchimes" going off trying to make sure we calm our fears in the midst of the same threats we have always had. So like I said, very sarcastic. There are images in the song of bombs and missiles going off while we are nicely in bed almost singing us to sleep cause we are ignoring the threat because we "feel" safe. We blissfully watch everything go up in flames...cause hey..."it's all happy now with whistles and windchimes."

While that is the main inspiration, it also does touch on a lot of relationship issues and looking back at warning signs and realizing we should have listened to them. And it can be a very uplifting song, cause there is a part of us that has our own "Whistles and Windchimes"...not warnings...but beautiful sounds that pull us through difficult times. So a combination of a lot of things. Wow...that was a long answer. Sorry.

4. What music do you listen to when you're in an introspective mood?

The Golden Sounds! The Golden Sounds!...all right not really. I don't like listening to my voice that much. So I have a lot of stuff I listen to in those moments like...Neutral Milk Hotel, James, Sigur Ros, London Suede, Iron and Wine, The Violet Burning, Aphex Twin, Autechre...uh...well I could keep on with the list...but let's just say a little of everything.

5. What do you hope fans get from listening to The Golden Sounds?

My hope is that people find hope. Not every song is hopeful in its content, but it relates to painful moments and happy moments. I think having music that matches things that goes on in your life brings hope. It will let you cry with it or let you feel good with it. But the point is that no one is alone.

6. Would you be interested in scoring soundtracks for some independent films?

Absolutely. Some of The Golden Sounds songs are being looked at for some TV shows but I would love to write specifically for something...that would be very interesting.

7. Anything else that you'd like to add?

I would like to add 4+4 because it equals 8...and I like the number 8.
I like 7 too...but 4+4 does not equal 7.

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For more information on The Golden Sounds you can visit their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/thegoldensounds or www.thegoldensounds.com