Bow Thayer

Founded in 1990, the Seven League Boots included Bow Thayer, Bobby Sullivan, bassist Richard Feins, and drummer and vocalist Mike Press.[1] The group hailed from Hingham, Massachusetts and formed in Boston. In 1990 and 1991, they pressed multiple singles to 7” vinyl before releasing their first and only LP, 12 Songs, on Constant Change.[2] The group toured for three years, sharing the stage with bands including Fugazi, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Redd Kross, The Buck Pets, The Lemonheads, Buffalo Tom, and Beck. They also were known to influence Rage Against the Machine, and Pearl Jam was an opener in its early days.[3][4] The group disbanded in the mid-1990s but played a reunion show at the Tweed River Music Festival in 2012.

Following 7 League Boots, Thayer formed the band Elbow. Elbow was composed of Thayer on guitar, banjo and vocals, bassist and vocalist Jeremy Moses Curtis and drummer Michael Press. The group released 3 records and frequented both the Boston and New York circuits. The band’s sound was characteristic of the minimalist approach of the electric blues overhaul and was based around slide guitar and a trash-can drumset. During the same period of time, Thayer was also a part of Jethro, playing banjo and singing lead vocals. Also in the band were frequent collaborator Jeremy Moses Curtis on acoustic guitar, Danielle Demarse on bass and vocals and Sean Staples on mandolin. The group combined Thayer’s pop-structured songs with the aesthetic of bluegrass. Both groups eventually moved to Vermont.[5]

Thayer returned to the Boston area frequently to play with The Benders. With Thayer, guitarist Jabe Beyer, and bassist Nolan McKelvey as the chief songwriters, the group also included Sean Staples on mandolin, and Tim Kelly on dobro. The Benders were a classic bluegrass outfit and built a following locally. The Benders were known for their original and unique take on string band music while using a traditional recording style, where the five players arranged in an arc around two microphones when recording. The debut self-titled record was released in 2001, followed by The Benders II in 2002, and the studio recording Mountain Radio in 2003. The latter two releases were on Pig Pile Records.[6]

After his work with The Benders, Bow Thayer formed his solo project, Bow Thayer and Perfect Trainwreck. The group included Thayer on guitar, banjo and lead vocals, James Rohr on piano and organ, Jeff Berlin on drums, Steve Mayone on guitar (later replaced by Chris McGandy on pedal steel) and Jeremy Moses Curtis on bass and vocals. The group recorded three studio albums and one live album. The group’s self-titled debut was released March 1, 2008, at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY, engineered by Grammy-award winning Justin Guip.[7] Bottom Of The Sky was released November 12, 2010, and was also recorded at Levon Helm Studios and co-produced, engineered and mixed by Justin Guip. In November 2010, the group had the opportunity to play as the backing band for “Imagine There’s No Hunger” at the Hard Rock Café Hollywood, benefiting Why Hunger. Featured performances included Edgar Winter, Dave Stewart, Booker T. Jones and Ringo Starr.[8] In April 2012, Bow Thayer and Perfect Trainwreck won Boston’s Rock’n’Roll Rumble at T.T. the Bear's Place in Cambridge. Their third studio album, Eden, was released on March 5, 2013, and was well received both locally[9] and nationally.[10]American Songwriter praised the record, saying “In a different era, Bow Thayer and Perfect Trainwreck would have some well-deserved gold records on their walls.” Prior to the release of Eden, Thayer and Perfect Trainwreck performed the record to the sold-out Chandler Music Hall in Randolph, VT on January 19, 2013. On Earth Day, April 22, 2014, Eden: Live at the Chandler was released as the group’s fourth full length and first live album. The album represents both the first live performance of Eden and one of the group’s last performances.

While recording in Boston in 2005, Thayer mentioned offhand the desire to bring a Levon Helm-inspired feel to his current recording. Session engineer/guitar player Dave Rizzuti had just worked with Helm, and introduced the two. They connected instantly upon meeting and in the studio, and began recording together.[11][12] Thayer’s record Spend It All (featuring Levon Helm) was released November 1, 2006, and features the successful single [13][14] Bow Thayer and Perfect Trainwreck performed at seven of Helm’s Midnight Ramble’s,[15] including the 100th Ramble on July 5, 2008.[16]

Other solo recordings by Bow Thayer include The Driftwood Periodicals Vol I released May 1, 2004, and Vol II released October 1, 2008, Maintenance for Mood Swings released September 1, 2006, and Shooting Arrows At The Moon released November 1, 2009. Hindsight, released August 7, 2012, is a compilation of Bow’s work from Elbow, Jethro, The Benders and The Perfect Trainwreck.

In 2014, Thayer released a new album of progressive mountain music written and performed entirely using his acoustic and electric Bojotar instruments. Sundowser, featuring guest performances by Marco Benevento and Tracy Bonham, was described by American Song Writer as "Think of a jam between Dave Matthews, Frank Zappa and The Band – with a cameo from Bela Fleck – and you almost get the effect: virtuosic complexities from a remarkable instrumentalist."[17] In 2016, with his drummer Jeff Berlin recovering from a series of strokes, Bow released The Source and the Servant, a collection of traditional folk and delta blues songs that were inspired, performed by and/or written by Dock Boggs and Mississippi Fred McDowell.