Lehle P-Split Iii Signal Splitter
- Stereo split, summing, double DI box and problem solver
- Hum-free and lossless splitting and isolating
- Two high-impedance LEHLE TRANSFORMER HZ
- Phase and ground switch per channel
- Suitable for unbalanced or balanced signals
- Passive ā doesnāt need power
The LEHLE P-SPLIT STEREO combines passive intelligent splitting with the highest possible signal fidelity in a double pack.
The classic solution for splitting, eliminating hum, balancing and reamplification in recording applications, now appears in a doubled version and this time adds the passive summing of signals.
Two LEHLE TRANSFORMER HZ are working at the heart of the LEHLE P-SPLIT STEREO, galvanically isolating the particular ISO outputs from each other, eliminating any possibility of ground loops and hum.
For the first time in the bandās history, the Dawes lineup for Oh Brother consisted of just Griffin and Taylor Goldsmith (left and right).
Goldsmithās lyrics spoke to me the loudest, with lines like āWell, you can judge the whole world on the sparkle that you think it lacks / Yes, you can stare into the abyss, but itās starinā right backā (a casual Nietzsche paraphrase); and āOh, the snowfall this time of year / Itās not what Birmingham is used to / I get the feeling that I brought it here / And now Iām taking it away.ā The way his words painted a portrait of the sincere, sentimental man behind them, along with his cozy, unassuming guitar work and the bandās four-part harmonies, had me hooked.
Nothing Is Wrong and Stories Donāt End came next, and I happily gobbled up more folksy fodder in tracks like āIf I Wanted,ā āMost People,ā and āFrom a Window Seat.ā But 2015ās All Your Favorite Bands, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Folk Albumschart, didnāt land with me, and by the time 2016ās Weāre All Gonna Die was released, it was clear that Goldsmith had shifted thematically in his writing. A friend drew a thoughtful Warren Zevon comparison to the single, āWhen the Tequila Runs Outāāa commentary on vapid, conceited, American-socialite party cultureābut it still didnāt really do it for me. I fell off the Dawes train a bit, and became somewhat oblivious to their three full-lengths that followed.
Oh Brotheris Goldsmithās latest addition to the Dawes songbook, and Iām grateful to say that itās brought me back. After having done some catching up, Iād posit that itās the second work in the third act, or fall season, of his songwritingāwhere 2022ās Misadventures of Doomscrollercracked open the door, Oh Brother swings it wide. And it doesnāt have much more than Dawesā meat and potatoes, per se, in common with acts one or two. Some moodiness has stayedāas well as societal disgruntlement and the arrangement elements that first had me intoxicated. But then thereās the 7/4 section in the middle of āFront Row Seatā; the gently unwinding, quiet, intimate jazz-club feel of āSurprise!ā; the experimentally percussive, soft-spoken āEnough Alreadyā; and the unexpected, dare I say, Danny Elfman-esque harmonic twists and turns in the closing track, āHilarity Ensues.ā
The main engine behind Dawes, the Goldsmith brothers are both native āAngelinos,ā having been born and raised in the L.A. area. Taylor is still proud to call the city his home.
Photo by Jon Chu
āI have this working hypothesis that who you are as a songwriter through the years is pretty close to who you are in a dinner conversation,ā Goldsmith tells me in an interview, as I ask him about that thematic shift. āWhen I was 23, if I was invited to dinner with grownups [laughs], or just friends or whatever, and they say, āHow you doinā, Taylor?ā I probably wouldnāt think twice to be like, āIām not that good. Thereās this girl, and ā¦ I donāt know where things are atācan I share this with you? Is that okay?ā I would just go in in a way thatās fairly indiscreet! And Iām grateful to that version of me, especially as a writer, because thatās what I wanted to hear, so thatās what I was making at the time.
āBut then as I got older, it became, āOh, maybe thatās not an appropriate way to answer the question of how Iām doing.ā Or, āMaybe Iāve spent enough years thinking about me! What does it feel like to turn the lens around?āā he continues, naming Elvis Costello and Paul Simon as inspirations along the way through that self-evolution. āAlso, trying to be mindful ofāI had strengths then that I donāt have now, but I have strengths now that I didnāt have then. And now itās time to celebrate those. Even in just a physical way, like hearing Frank Zappa talking about how his agility as a guitar player was waning as he got older. Itās like, that just means that you showcase different aspects of your skills.
āI am a changing person. It would be weird if I was still writing the same way I was when I was 23. There would probably be some weird implications there as to who Iād be becoming as a human [laughs].ā
Taylor Goldsmith considers Oh Brother, the ninth full-length in Dawesā catalog, to be the beginning of a new phase of Dawes, containing some of his most unfiltered, unedited songwriting.
Since its inception, the engine behind Dawes has been the brothers Goldsmith, with Taylor on guitar and vocals and Griffin on drums and sometimes vocal harmonies. But theyāve always had consistent backup. For the first several years, that was Wylie Gelber on bass and Tay Strathairn on keyboards. On Weāre All Gonna Die, Lee Pardini replaced Strathairn and has been with the band since. Oh Brother, however, marks the departure of Gelber and Pardini.
āWe were like, āWow, this is an intense time; this is a vulnerable time,āā remarks Goldsmith, who says that their parting was supportive and loving, but still rocked him and Griffin. āYou get a glimpse of your vulnerability in a way that you havenāt felt in a long time when things are just up and running. For a second there, weāre like, āWeāre getting a little rattledāhow do we survive this?āā
They decided to pair up with producer Mike Viola, a close family friend, who has also worked with Mandy MooreāTaylorās spouseāalong with Panic! At the Disco, Andrew Bird, and Jenny Lewis. ā[We knew that] he understands all of the parameters of that raw state. And, you know, I always show Mike my songs, so he was aware of what we had cookinā,ā says Goldsmith.
Griffin stayed behind the kit, but Taylor took over on bass and keys, the latter of which he has more experience with than heās displayed on past releases. āWeāve made records where itās very tempting to appeal to your strengths, where itās like, āOh, I know how to do this, Iām just gonna nail it,āā he says. āThen thereās records that we make where we really push ourselves into territories where we arenāt comfortable. That contributed to [Misadventures of Doomscroller] feeling like a living, breathing thingāvery reactive, very urgent, very aware. We were paying very close attention. And I would say the same goes for this.ā
That new terrain, says Goldsmith, āforced us to react to each other and react to the music in new ways, and all of a sudden, weāre exploring new corners of what we do. Iām really excited in that sense, because itās like this is the first album of a new phase.ā
āThat forced us to react to each other and react to the music in new ways, and all of a sudden, weāre exploring new corners of what we do.ā
In proper folk (or even folk-rock) tradition, the music of Dawes isnāt exactly riddled with guitar solos, but thatās not to say that Goldsmith doesnāt show off his chops when the timing is right. Just listen to the languid, fluent lick on āSurprise!ā, the shamelessly prog-inspired riff in the bridge of āFront Row Seat,ā and the tactful, articulate line that threads through āEnough Already.ā Goldsmith has a strong, individual sense of phrasing, where his improvised melodies can be just as biting as his catalogās occasional lyrical jabs at presumably toxic ex-girlfriends, and just as melancholy as his self-reflective metaphors, all the while without drawing too much attention to himself over the song.
Of course, most of our conversation revolves around songwriting, as thatās the craft thatās the truest and closest to his identity. āThereās an openness, a goofinessāI even struggle to say it now, butāan earnestness that goes along with who I am, not only as a writer but as a person,ā Goldsmith elaborates. āAnd I think itās important that those two things reflect one another. āCause when you meet someone and they donāt, I get a little bit weirded out, like, āWhat have I been listening to? Are you lying to me?āā he says with a smile.
Taylor Goldsmith's Gear
Pictured here performing live in 2014, Taylor Goldsmith has been the primary songwriter for all of Dawes' records, beginning with 2009ās North Hills.
Photo by Tim Bugbee/Tinnitus Photography
Guitars
- FenderĀ Telecaster
- Gibson ES-345
- Radocaster (made by Wylie Gelber)
Amps
- ā64 Fender Deluxe
- Matchless Laurel Canyon
Effects
- 29 Pedals EUNA
- Jackson Audio Bloom
- Ibanez Tube Screamer with Keeley mod
- Vintage Boss Chorus
- Vintage Boss VB-2 Vibrato
- Strymon Flint
- Strymon El Capistan
Strings
- Ernie Ball .010s
In Goldsmithās songwriting process, he explains that heās learned to lean away from the inclination towards perfectionism. Paraphrasing something he heard Father John Misty share about Leonard Cohen, he says, āPeople think youāre cultivating these songs, or, āI wouldnāt deign to write something thatās beneath me,ā but the reality is, āIām a rat, and Iāll take whatever I can possibly get, and then Iāll just try to get the best of it.ā
āEver since Misadventures of Doomscroller,ā he adds, āIāve enjoyed this quality of, rather than try to be a minimalist, I want to be a maximalist. I want to see how much a song can handle.ā For the songs on Oh Brother, that meant that he decided to continue adding āmore observations within the universeā of āSurprise!ā, ultimately writing six verses. A similar approach to āKing of the Never-Wills,ā a ballad about a character suffering from alcoholism, resulted in four verses.
āThe economy of songwriting that weāre all taught would buck that,ā says Goldsmith. āIt would insist that I only keep the very best and shed something that isnāt as good. But Iām not going to think economically. Iām not going to think, āIs this self-indulgent?ā
Goldsmithās songwriting has shifted thematically over the years, from more personal, introspective expression to more social commentary and, at times, even satire, in songs like Weāre All Gonna Dieās āWhen the Tequila Runs Out.ā
Photo by Mike White
āI donāt abide that term being applied to music. Because if thereās a concern about self-indulgence, then youād have to dismiss all of jazz. All of it. Youād have to dismiss so many of my most favorite songs. Because in a weird way, I feel like thatās the whole pointāself-indulgence. And then obviously relating to someone else, to another human being.ā (He elaborates that, if Bob Dylan had trimmed back any of the verses on āDesolation Row,ā it would have deprived him of the unique experience it creates for him when he listens to it.)
One of the joys of speaking with Goldsmith is just listening to his thought processes. When I ask him a question, he seems compelled to share every backstory to every detail thatās going through his head, in an effort to both do his insights justice and to generously provide me with the most complete answer. That makes him a bit verbose, but not in a bad way, because he never rambles. There is an endpoint to his thoughts. When heās done, however, it takes me a second to realize that itās then my turn to speak.
To his point on artistic self-indulgence, I offer that thereās no need for artists to feel āickyā about self-promotionāthat to promote your art is to celebrate it, and to create a shared experience with your audience.
āI hear what youāre saying loud and clear; I couldnāt agree more,ā Goldsmith replies. āBut I also try to be mindful of this when Iām writing, like if Iām going to drag you through the mud of, āShe left today, sheās not coming back, Iām a piece of shit, whatās wrong with me, the endā.... That might be relatable, that might evoke a response, but I donāt know if thatās necessarily helpful ā¦ other than dragging someone else through the shit with me.
āIn a weird way, I feel like thatās the whole pointāself-indulgence. And then obviously relating to someone else, to another human being.ā
āSo, if Iām going to share, I want there to be something to offer, something that feels like: āHereās a path thatās helped me through this, or hereās an observation that has changed how I see this particular experience.ā Itās so hard to delineate between the two, but I feel like there is a difference.ā
Naming the opening track āMister Los Angeles,ā āKing of the Never-Wills,ā and even the title track to his 2015 chart-topper, āAll Your Favorite Bands,ā he remarks, āI wouldnāt call these songs ācool.ā Like, when I hear what cool music is, I wouldnāt put those songs next to them [laughs]. But maybe this record was my strongest dose of just letting me be me, and recognizing what that essence is rather than trying to force out certain aspects of who I am, and force in certain aspects of what Iām not. I think a big part of writing these songs was just self-acceptance,ā he concludes, laughing, āand just a whole lot of fishing.ā
YouTube It
Led by Goldsmith, Dawes infuses more rock power into their folk sound live at the Los Angeles Ace Hotel in 2023.