Galynne Goodwill and MarkOnDrums

Galynne Goodwill and MarkOnDrums live at Nakashima's in Green Bay, WI

By TJ
October 23, 2009
With the cold and rain and less light in our day I'm sure we have all been longing for something warm and comforting, and while the setting sun is trying to drag our eyelids with it, we are still not ready to retire our minds to the moon. Last night I crept in to Nakashima of Green Bay to warm up to Galynne and MarkOnDrums. Now I know what you're thinking, Nakashima's bar is not really all that known for being a warm hideout with its deep sea décor and that giant squid on the ceiling over the bar that serves endless amounts of great sushi, but great musicians have the ability to change the atmosphere and tonight it was like a warm ocean current came through the place. Galynne and Mark's music has this radiant warm quality and it is due in part to Galynne's vocals. She has a smooth delivery and rich tonal range. The songs that she writes are descriptive and narrative lyrically, and are tales of her personal experiences along with emotional outtakes that she reflects on and offers the wisdom from what she has learned. Her acoustic guitar is rhythmic, rarely breaking from the chords that hold the songs together. You can tell when she performs the original songs that she is reliving the moments in her mind and not simply playing the songs.

If it were not for Mark's drums I might have drifted off into daydream land, but the grooves that he laid down really kept this music grounded and interesting. I especially liked Mark's ability to find all these little syncopations in Galynne's acoustic rhythm that had him using every square inch of his four piece Ayotte drum kit. Most of the music had a real nice flow to it, mostly staying near a medium tempo range and the Nakashima patron's energy level stayed relaxed and fun into the night. Galynne and Mark have been more than busy playing gigs all over the state this summer and they are loving every minute of it because they get to toss in a few cover tunes that are as unpredictable as they are cool. I would have never expected a White Stripes or a Coldplay tune out of these two. Galynne and Mark's musical style is like a hybrid of singer songwriter folk rock but there are also some smooth elements that can mingle with pop/alternative. Either way you get a big acoustic sound in a small package that finds home on some of the smallest stages in some of the coolest places. As a duo I would not be surprised to see guest musicians and collaborations with local artists in the very near future. A great example of this is on their CD "Every Little Part" recorded and produced by local legendary producer Justin Perkins at the infamous Smart Studios in Madison, WI. Check out the video from the performance last night and listen to the song "Lovers of Wisdom"available for free download on their website www.galynne.com

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