Pajiba Music
Dreaming of a Sold Gold Gift / Felicia
Music | January 12, 2009 | Comments (8)
It was New Years Eve 2007 at The Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We had come to see Mark Mallman, a local hard rocking bad-ass, but were pleasantly surprised by a band named Solid Gold. Those are the best kind of shows — being unexpectedly gifted by a band you’ve heard very little about. Personally, it ranks right up there with getting free gifts of booze and food. My needs are simple, and they were met and exceeded that night.
Solid Gold, a synth/dance/smooth/groovy band for all intents and purposes, was started by three friends in Madison, Wisconsin in the fall of 2001. The band’s creator left and the two remaining members, Zack Coulter and Matt Locher, decided to continue on their own. They picked up third member, Adam Hurlburt, in 2004 and Solid Gold has materialized into somewhat of a local Minneapolis sensation.
Don’t get it twisted though. Even though Solid Gold is based in Minneapolis for now, they “don’t consider themselves a Minneapolis band,” according to Locher. Comparisons to other Minneapolis bands that have hit big nationally such as Tapes ‘N Tapes, who nationally debuted on David Letterman in 2006, don’t hold much meaning to them. Known to put their own personal stamp on their product, such as making their own album art and getting their hands dirty behind the scenes of their live shows, seems to mean more to them.
Solid Gold released an EP titled Who You Gonna Run To earlier this year, and October 17 brought the release of their first full length album, Bodies of Water. It’s been a long road to the release of Bodies of Water, from appearances at SXSW, Lollapalooza’s Last Band Standing, and multiple club shows in the U.S. and Europe. “There are many reasons the album took so long,” said Locher via our e-mail chat. “We have scrapped two full albums in the past six years. We’ve released a couple EPs. It took us a long time to make something we were proud of, with people we respect. We went through a lot of bullshit to get to that point.”
The labor of love that Bodies of Water became is like the ultimate haze induced dance party. “The songs ended up choosing themselves,” said Coulter. My personal experience listening to Bodies of Water is kind of hard to explain. Have you ever had a dream where you’re floating on a dark storm cloud, eating rainbow mini marshmallows, being chased by a unicorn? And then the unicorn catches up to you and asks if you want to partake in an ultimate sexy dance party? No, I wasn’t tripping on acid — but the experience was spectacular, considering I love unicorns, mini marshmallows and dance parties. Speaking of dreamy, “Synchronize” is one of Locher’s favorite tracks on the album for just that reason.
Solid Gold’s success is not measured by fame and fortune, but rather great music that they can stand behind 100%. “We have never, by no stretch of the most wild imagination, been stable. I think that works in our favor,” said Coulter. Instability is a factor that is working for them for now, putting out an album that in my eyes is one of the best of 2008. The near future holds releasing a 7” in the UK and touring there in February. Who knows, maybe soon not only Minneapolis, but the whole world will be covered in Solid Gold and everyone can dream about rolling with unicorns and passing on the gift of new music.
So happy belated holidays! Here’s a gift of Solid Gold goodness, “Synchronize,” mentioned above, “Get Over It,” the current radio single, and “Bible Thumper,” all from Bodies of Water.
Felicia is a winter loathing Minnesotan who is an office drone by day and a ninja blogger by night. You can find her bitching, complaining and getting in trouble at My Boring Life.
Comments
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at January 12, 2009 1:15 PM
Sorry, buuuuuuut you can't have "Solid Gold" without solid gold.... DANCERS!