Dawes band members Taylor Goldsmith, right, playing pinball, as his brother, Griffin, does the heavy looking-on. Jon Chu photo

It is always fun and often exciting when you discover a band for the first time … such is the case with the California-based group Dawes.

CONCERT INFO

DAWES
TIME: 7 p.m.
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 23
VENUE: State Theatre
ADDRESS: 609 Congress St.,
Portland
TICKETS: $39.50-$45
PHONE: 207-956-6000
WEBSITE: statetheatreportland.com

I got a heads-up from one of my PR contacts that they would be coming into Maine for a show at the State Theatre in Portland on Nov. 23, she also attached a link to their new album, “Oh Brother.” On the first listening I immediately fired back a request to chat, if a member would be willing, about their band and the music that they create. A phone interview was arranged for Oct. 23 which gave me a bit of time to research their sound, which was accomplished by listening many, many times to that release.

When I called Taylor Goldsmith at his California home I confessed that I had never heard of his group before but that after repeatedly (at least 10 times) getting into the nine songs on their newest release, I consider myself a devoted fan.
A: Oh, wow — that’s cool!

Q: Throughout it there are nods in the songs to artists I’ve worked with and admired over the 50-plus years of music journalism. There’s an Eagles vibe, a Barenaked Ladies vibe, a little Warren Zevon and even some Jimmy Buffett. Honestly, man, there’s the familiarity that grabbed my attention, but there’s also the originality in the depth of lyrics and a wide variety of musical styles — it’s really the full package.
A: That means a lot to hear you say that.

Q: As I said early, this is my first Dawes album — how many do you have out?
A: This is our ninth album — the first one came out in 2009, so we’ve been doing it for 15 years. We were in other bands and side projects before that, but the Dawes put out nine albums in 15 years.

Q: Have you ever performed in Maine before?
A: Yeah, we love it there and we’re happy to be coming back.

Q: Do you play here often?
A: Not as often as we’d like, we’ve definitely done a handful of shows at the State Theatre, I don’t know the exact number, but when Mumford & Sons came up and did that Gentlemen of the Road thing in 2013 they invited us along and that was our first time being up there. That was also when we realized how truly special Maine is, so we’ve always been trying to get back there when we can.

Q: Now “Oh Brother” hasn’t been out all that long.
A: Nope, it came out a week-and-a-half ago.

Q: What kind of feedback have you been getting?
A: It’s been positive. I mean, we’re very lucky with nine albums, we’re by no means the biggest band in the world but our fan base is so trusting and committed. Our relationship with our fans is kind of a love-fest.

Q: If I understand correctly when Dawes started it was a quartet and now it’s a duo … when you’re out on tour, do you have other musicians augmenting the sound?
A: Yeah, it’s going to be a full band, our touring guitar player, Trevor (Menear), he actually played on a few songs on this record. The band also includes my brother, Griffin, as drummer, and after losing the other two members I’m leaning on him more than ever, that’s why we called the album “Oh Brother.”

Q: Because this record is just a week-and-a-half old, I’m sure a question about, “Are you working on something new?” would not be exactly appropriate, but I will ask, “Do you constantly write?”
A: I mean, yeah, I’ve got some new songs and you know how it goes — we finished recording this one in January, February and March, and it’s been on the shelf until that roll out, so in that time I’ve definitely started on the new chunk of music. That’s another thing about the era that we’re living in. I think there is no such thing as releasing music too fast — I would love for that to be every year.

Q: Another aspect of “Oh Brother” is something I alluded to earlier: there is a lot of musical diversity present and as also mentioned early on, there is that core of familiarity but, by the same token, it seems that each of the nine songs is treated as its own entity … I’m not sure if I’m explaining myself well.
A: No, I think I know what you’re saying. I mean, we definitely try to differentiate the songs from each other and yet have them flow together in a way that feels good, but at the same time we try to trust our sensibilities. We rely on that to deliver the cohesion that glues it all together.

Q: How so?
A: Like the way I play guitar, the way I write songs, the way my brother plays drums, that’s going to be the fingerprint that kind of connects all the songs, no matter how different we try to make them, you know?

Q: Yup, I do. With nine albums out, how do you prepare a set list?
A: Well, it’s definitely a balancing act act because if we were to just play our ‘hits,’ I think that would diminish the experience, but I also think if we were to give the deep, heavy cuts that only come out once in a while and if we loaded up the set with those that wouldn’t be the right path, either. And if we were to only focus on whatever most recent, that wouldn’t be the right path — so it’s really just this combination of how do we showcase the album that we just made, how do we definitely put on some songs that we know people will expect to hear.

Q: So what’s the bottom line?
A: We’re definitely going to be celebrating our catalogue. Dipping into all nine albums with at least one song from each, and that’s the way the set list gets laced together. How do you have the songs talk to each other to tell the story of the band? That’s the really cool thing about music, it’s really fun, as songwriter, to get to play with the things that we’ve made, and that’s something that I take a lot of pride in, it’s actually probably one of the most fun components of the whole thing.

Q: Is there anything you’d like me to pass on to the folks reading this article?
A: No, I think we’ve covered it all, and I’m excited to get back to Maine again.

Lucky Clark, a 2018 “Keeping the Blues Alive” Award winner, has spent more than 50 years writing about good music and the people who make it. He can be reached at luckyc@myfairpoint.net if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.