by danielle holian
photo courtesy of goldpark
Nashville-based alternative rock trio Goldpark formed in 2019 and are Wes Hunter (lead vocalist), Andrew Smith (lead guitarist), and Kyle Neblett (drummer). Stuck by similarities in musical sensibilities, they began filling in for each other at various gigs around town, and by 2020 they began writing songs for their debut album. They have just released their EP One, and Unclear Magazine caught up with Andrew to discuss all things music.
What sparked the creation of the trio Goldpark?
Andrew: “Wes and I first got connected in 2019. He had another project and I came in to play guitar for some shows with that band. Soon after we started writing songs together, I think we realized there was a new sound we wanted to explore. I called up Kyle, one of my best friends from back home in Memphis, to play drums and it was a perfect fit from day one.”
Who or what are your musical influences?
Andrew: “We're a band that absolutely loves bands. The greats... Travis, The Killers, U2, Coldplay, etc. That music, to us, stands the test of time. Humans in a room or on a stage playing their songs will always be cool to us. Early 2000's British rock pop is a sub-genre we're always inspired by. I think we draw a lot of inspiration from movies too. We're big film nuts, so there have been lots of times where one of us will say something like, ‘Dang, that guitar part feels like a Tom Hanks movie.’ A specific movie may not even be mentioned, but we know what the other person is talking about [laughs].”
Tell us about your brand-new EP One.
Andrew: “One is a collection of songs that mostly came out of the same season of writing and demoing. We worked with a friend and extremely talented producer, Hunter West, for every song except ‘Lose My Youth.’ I think the work we did with him is a great first impression to Goldpark. Very simply: ‘here are some songs that a band wrote and recorded in the studio and had fun doing it.’”
And how has your music evolved since you began?
Andrew: “Despite being a relatively new band I think it's interesting we've already started to evolve [laughs]. The new stuff we are working on feels a lot more band centric than even what's on One. Not too long ago we were showing some friends rough mixes of some new songs and they said, ‘We really like this new era of Goldpark.’ I think it's funny we're not even two years old and we already have an ‘era’ [laughs].”
How has the pandemic helped your creative juices?
Andrew: “The pandemic was tough for so many reasons, obviously. From day one we've said we want Goldpark to be a live show band. We make the record, then we tour the record, rinse and repeat kind of thing. The pandemic didn't allow us to really get behind our instruments together in a room for a very long time, so our attention was really focused on the actual written song. Wes and I were just passing demo sessions back and forth and trying our best to arrange the songs in a way that made sense for a band. Rock ‘n’ roll is a tough thing to nail with just a computer [laughs]. Adding Kyle in the mix during pre-production really helped bring the rock ‘n’ roll atmosphere forward.”
You’re also heading out on tour! How does it feel to be playing live shows again?
Andrew: “We are so stoked to be playing shows. The three of us have played a lot of shows in different bands before the pandemic, but this year is really the first year we've gotten to play as Goldpark for people. It's been amazing. We're just excited to play our songs, be it for 500 people, 50 people, or 15 people.”
And finally, what’s one fun fact about yourself for our readers?
Andrew: “I mentioned before we're big movie geeks. We unanimously agree Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man performance is by far our favorite Spider-Man to ever be on the screen. Also, McDonald's has the best Sprite in the game.”