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Jason Myles Goss
A diamond in the rough. . . his talent and appeal are undeniable. If you arent convinced of this yet, just wait until you catch him live or one of his fans catches up with you." -Insite Magazine (Boston, MA) -
"Goss is a thinking person's songwriter. He puts out these thoughts in a voice that's fragile one moment and like a wounded bird falling from the sky the next." - Valley Advocate (Western, MA) -
Pirate ships, rail yards, skee ball machines, black berry brandy, & the Coney Island boardwalk—these are just some of the sights, sounds, & smells found in the dimly lit thoroughfares of Dreamland, a live EP and the latest effort by Jason Myles Goss.
Whereas his last full-length album, Another Ghost, found him rummaging through black-and-white photographs and singing about the uncertainties of the future, Dreamland offers 5 new songs (as well as 2 live versions of songs from Another Ghost) that are more fantastical, vivid, and bare-bones in their delivery.
“When I moved from Cambridge, MA, to Brooklyn, NY, I began writing incessantly, scribbling things in a notepad without regard to where they would end up. The landscapes of the songs were becoming more distinctive, the characters more idiosyncratic and colorful. I was having fun piecing everything together, without worrying as much how these stories related to me directly.”
As the title suggests, these songs evoke a feeling of somewhere else—the ballroom of a seaside hotel, a bus station in Meridian, Mississippi, or a dingy car on the Coney Island Wonder Wheel. They are a departure from the more introspective, diary-oriented songwriting of some of his previous work. These personal perspectives are not absent in these songs, however, they are often woven in through the characters themselves.
“Dreamland is a stepping-stone to a future album; these are not polished studio tracks, there are no smoke and mirrors, but the feeling is right. Throughout you can hear the bar staff washing glasses, shouts from the crowd braving the late hour; I can’t think of a better place for these songs to live.”
Dreamland was recorded live at midnight in Cambridge, MA, on August 2, 2008, at the Lizard Lounge with the exception of “Mother To The Moon,” the final track, which was recorded live at Boston’s WERS 88.9 FM. Dreamland also features Zack Hickman (Josh Ritter, Lori Mckenna, Jake Armerding) on upright bass and backing vocals and Austin Nevins (Josh Ritter, Anais Mitchell, Jess Klein) on electric guitar and lap steel. Dreamland has continued to receive critical acclaim earning Jason spots at premier venues such as Club Passim (MA), the Tin Angel (PA), the Living Room (NYC), & the Stone Church (NH), to name a few. Jason has opened for Lori Mckenna, Ellis Paul, Peter Mulvey, Martha Wainwright, & Anais Mitchell. He currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
