Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Live one-takes

“Artwork will be done by a local artist after listening to the album"

The Liquorsmiths have the three Bs — banjo, beards, and bass
The Liquorsmiths have the three Bs — banjo, beards, and bass

“Six musicians who had not heard the songs, nor played together, all agreed to join me in the studio, sight and sound unheard, with the intent on producing live one-take recordings, in the moment,” says singer-guitarist Andrew Thams of folk trio the Liquorsmiths. “We had two videographers, in addition to the sound engineer, participate as well, and they captured the whole thing.”

The experimental sessions, which took place at local Chaos Recorders with Christopher Hoffee, were mostly acoustic and included reworked versions of old Liquorsmiths songs, as well as new compositions. “Ultimately, we simply wanted to record a moment and explore where the music goes. That sounds cliché but, on the other hand, there has been so much improvisation built into our sets over the years that I would miss it if it were not there.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Thams is working on the studio tapes and overseeing the editing of video footage from the sessions. Videographers Ulices Del Toro and Carlos Luna filmed the music being performed by Thams and Hoffee along with guests such as Sam Bybee, David Ryan Norgren, Giancarlo Fonseca, and Nickolas Anagnoston. The first video released, for "All My Friends Are Fighters," features everyone putting down their instruments to simply do a cold sing-a-long of the lyrics, which open with a local-centric wink:

Video:

The Liquorsmiths, "All My Friends Are Fighters"

Live acoustic one-take studio performance

Live acoustic one-take studio performance

All my friends are fighters, they're fighting for the cause

In a city made for lovers, there in lies the flaw

So we stand out front of smokey bars, with tattoos on our arms

We keep in mind the ones we hold, as we watch the passing cars

Thams expects the multimedia project to be available sometime around October. “This release comes at the end of a rough and rather busy year in the lives of each member,” says Thams. “I’ve faced some rather debilitating medical issues, jobs have changed, Ryan [Fischer, pianist-percussionist] got married, love and family… life really has a way of pressing your face on the glass. Gets tough to be creative and make time to be creative here and there.”

He says they tend to save cover artwork for last, although not because sleeve graphics are an afterthought. “Artwork will be done by a local artist after listening to the album. This is something of a tradition for us, artwork as a result of the artist’s impression of the music.”

The release will be supported with plenty of gigs, as some of the band’s favorite — and strangest — moments happen on stage.

“Once upon a time, we performed at the park behind Petco Park at the end of a baseball game,” says Thams. “Once we reached about mid-set, all of a sudden there were fireballs shooting into the air, a light show started, and a club-bass style beat boomed throughout the park and there was people running toward the park. Then, out of smoke and lasers emerged Nelly and his crew, white Band-Aid under his eye and all. He performed a secret show for about 20 minutes right in front of us. Then, just as he came, he was gone… so we started up again.”

“Now, we can say that we both opened and closed for Nelly.”

Past Event

The Liquorsmiths

  • Sunday, September 9, 2018, 9 p.m.
  • Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Avenue, San Diego

The Liquorsmiths appear Sunday, September 9, at the Sycamore Den.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tuna within 3-day range Back in the Counts

Mind the rockfish regulations
The Liquorsmiths have the three Bs — banjo, beards, and bass
The Liquorsmiths have the three Bs — banjo, beards, and bass

“Six musicians who had not heard the songs, nor played together, all agreed to join me in the studio, sight and sound unheard, with the intent on producing live one-take recordings, in the moment,” says singer-guitarist Andrew Thams of folk trio the Liquorsmiths. “We had two videographers, in addition to the sound engineer, participate as well, and they captured the whole thing.”

The experimental sessions, which took place at local Chaos Recorders with Christopher Hoffee, were mostly acoustic and included reworked versions of old Liquorsmiths songs, as well as new compositions. “Ultimately, we simply wanted to record a moment and explore where the music goes. That sounds cliché but, on the other hand, there has been so much improvisation built into our sets over the years that I would miss it if it were not there.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Thams is working on the studio tapes and overseeing the editing of video footage from the sessions. Videographers Ulices Del Toro and Carlos Luna filmed the music being performed by Thams and Hoffee along with guests such as Sam Bybee, David Ryan Norgren, Giancarlo Fonseca, and Nickolas Anagnoston. The first video released, for "All My Friends Are Fighters," features everyone putting down their instruments to simply do a cold sing-a-long of the lyrics, which open with a local-centric wink:

Video:

The Liquorsmiths, "All My Friends Are Fighters"

Live acoustic one-take studio performance

Live acoustic one-take studio performance

All my friends are fighters, they're fighting for the cause

In a city made for lovers, there in lies the flaw

So we stand out front of smokey bars, with tattoos on our arms

We keep in mind the ones we hold, as we watch the passing cars

Thams expects the multimedia project to be available sometime around October. “This release comes at the end of a rough and rather busy year in the lives of each member,” says Thams. “I’ve faced some rather debilitating medical issues, jobs have changed, Ryan [Fischer, pianist-percussionist] got married, love and family… life really has a way of pressing your face on the glass. Gets tough to be creative and make time to be creative here and there.”

He says they tend to save cover artwork for last, although not because sleeve graphics are an afterthought. “Artwork will be done by a local artist after listening to the album. This is something of a tradition for us, artwork as a result of the artist’s impression of the music.”

The release will be supported with plenty of gigs, as some of the band’s favorite — and strangest — moments happen on stage.

“Once upon a time, we performed at the park behind Petco Park at the end of a baseball game,” says Thams. “Once we reached about mid-set, all of a sudden there were fireballs shooting into the air, a light show started, and a club-bass style beat boomed throughout the park and there was people running toward the park. Then, out of smoke and lasers emerged Nelly and his crew, white Band-Aid under his eye and all. He performed a secret show for about 20 minutes right in front of us. Then, just as he came, he was gone… so we started up again.”

“Now, we can say that we both opened and closed for Nelly.”

Past Event

The Liquorsmiths

  • Sunday, September 9, 2018, 9 p.m.
  • Sycamore Den, 3391 Adams Avenue, San Diego

The Liquorsmiths appear Sunday, September 9, at the Sycamore Den.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

East Village Tree Lighting & Holiday Market, Holiday Gondola Cruise

Events November 30-December 4, 2024
Next Article

Barrio Logan’s very good Dogg

Chicano comfort food proves plenty spicy
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader