MARSH

Music has always kind of been Marsh’s thing. Never one to leave things half done or miss an opportunity, he used a trumpet scholarship to Baylor as the catalyst to become a voice major. A shift that has earned him the appreciation of fans the world over and was only the beginning of Marsh the musician.
Song writing came hard wired in Marsh’s DNA. In 2001 he formed the band Soular with Jared Ashcraft and Ian Byrd. International success and publishing on their startlingly honest songs was the result. From band geek in Dallas, TX to rock and roll front man, Marsh’s musical dialogue has become fluent over time. It’s only the dialect that changes.
Marsh’s experience and success have prepared him for jumping off the cliff into the open air of going solo. Even if he’s not ready, he’s doing it anyway. In an interview with Tori Chesney, Marsh confesses, “I’ve been through a lot in life over the past few years, good, bad and ugly and I know that writing for this record was very therapeutic in lots of ways. I know it’s always a spiritual process to write and record music, but this was like a healing record for me and was probably the most vulnerable I’ve ever felt at many levels.”
The record Marsh is referring to is Side A. The first in a series of short EPs that will be released at a rate of about 1 or 2 per year for however long people are willing to listen. Soular fans will hear the ambient mood they love about the band but Marsh intends to give them something else as well. From that same interview with Chesney Marsh says, “There is quite a bit more diversity as far as styles are concerned in the songs we have written, and these go together to tell a chapter of the story…Vocally, I wrote in some different places, just to be different than what felt comfortable. I think there’s a bit more range melodically and vocally. This record, tempo-wise, is on the moderate to slow end of things, so it’s not going to be your club dance-mix dream. I kind of didn’t care and did what the songs called for without worrying too much about having a certain number of songs in this or that tempo. That was really freeing, as was the entire process.”
Speaking of process…While Marsh didn’t have the proven safety zone of writing with Jared and Ian, who he still counts as his closest friends and musical mates, he was by no means working without a net. This time his collaboration hits closer to home: as in actually in his home, with his wife, Rachel Marie. Although Marsh is an unashamed Beatles fan, Rachel is no Yoko Ono. Accomplished in her own right as a violinist, Rachel lent her ear for melody as skill with the pen to Marsh’s solo act. Performing with him both live and on the record, Rachel plays the part of rock to his roll. Toss in the production super powers of Neil Robins and songs were not just created, they were born.
Side A will be quickly followed by Side B, which is already in the can, so to speak. But don’t be fooled. Side B is not the leftovers. It’s just another part of Marsh.



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