Wild Child by The Spoken X

As his own skills developed, thanks in part to his studying bass guitar and music theory in college, he realized that writing and performing music was what he had always wanted to do. And he hasn’t looked back since, keeping his eyes on the road ahead, his hands on his guitar, and his foot on the distortion pedals. Peter has played with several prominent bands throughout his career, from a Phil Lynnott tribute gig with all of the original members of Thin Lizzy to his most recent gigs with Dirty Fuzz, a four-piece rock combo based in London. He has toured extensively throughout the United Kingdom and Europe, and recently he has added production skills to his musical repertoire, which allowed him to take charge of the knobs when it came time to create the Spoken X’s debut, Wild Child.

Ted Golder began playing guitar and writing songs, poems, and stories while traveling the world in his teenage years. He first realized he wanted to be on a stage when attending his first rock concert, featuring the sights and sounds of the Grateful Dead. Whether studying the sitar in India, literature at the University of Oregon, comparative religion at the University of Chicago, or getting involved in theatre and working his way up through various minor roles to take the lead in a production of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” Ted has always harbored a fascination with the power of words. Recently, several of his poems have been featured in publications such as the Fishtrap Writing Anthology. Today, he continues to perform his poetry and folk/rock songs in a wide range of venues, including the Willamette Folk Festival and a recent art exhibition opening in Barcelona. But the Spoken X is where rock and roll gives him a chance to fully express the power of his lyrics.

So what happens when these guys combine their musical powers? Well, anything can happen, and the songwriting process can change from day to day. “Some songs were instrumentals first and Ted put his vocals on the track,” explains Peter. “Some songs I had written the music and sang the chorus and Ted put the vocals over the verse. Other tracks I put the music behind Ted’s poetry.” The result is somehow rocking and energetic, yet thought-provoking and textured. The music itself shows off influences that range from rock to blues to beyond, while the lyrics take on a variety of subjects. “I believe that good lyrics come from listening to great lyrics,” says Ted. “I draw from the classics…Greek tragedy, Shakespeare, Bob Dylan, Jim Carroll, and so on. I digest high literature and then bring it down to the street level and talk about real, concrete, modern things. I can always tell the difference between a street poet who has imbibed great stuff and those who haven’t. Then there are those stuffy types who have read great stuff but who have no connection to life. It has to be made relevant to modern life. The words have to be lived.”

Right now, the guys just want the results of their combined efforts to be heard by as many people as possible, to give their unique style of music a chance to spread its wings. They admit that getting their songs heard is the biggest challenge of being part of a relatively new project such as the Spoken X, but they have faith in their creations and they believe commercial success and artistic integrity can be achieved at the same time. “One without the other seems incomplete to me,” says Ted. “The words, the music, and the art cannot be compromised.”

For more information, visit www.thespokenx.com.

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