Member Since: 10/30/2006
Band Website: toddthibaud.com
Band Members: Sean Staples: Mandolin/Vocals Jabe Beyer: Guitar/Vocals David Westner: Drums, Steve Mayone: Bass
Influences: There are so many but here's a sampling of people who affected me along the way with a few comments here and there: The Beatles (Have you heard of them? O.K., it's almost a cliche now for a songwriter to admit being influenced by The Beatles but they really had an impact on me. I learned a lot about songcraft and melody from their records and still enjoy listening to them today. Especially, "Rubber Soul", "Revolver", "Abbey Road", and the recent "Let it Be - Naked"), Jackson Browne (especially the early records), Elvis Costello, Neil Young, Rod Stewart's "Every Picture Tells A Story" (this is before "Hot Legs" and "If You Think I'm Sexy"...'nuff said), Van Morrison, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Bruce Springsteen (Live Performance 101), early Aerosmith (first four records), Black Sabbath (really the "Paranoid" record. It was just so cool...and really scared my mother), Bob Dylan (pretty much everything but especially "Highway 61 Revisited"), Nick Drake, Richard Thompson, Crowded House, Neil Finn, Steve Earle (When his first record "Guitar Town" came out it changed my musical life and helped give me some direction. This was in the 80's remember and he was combining rock,pop,folk, and country and it sounded great. All of this without a hint of spandex), Lucinda Williams (what a great writer), Gordon Lightfoot ("If You Could Read My Mind", "Sundown"...come on), early James Taylor (helped out with the girls in my college days...), Daniel Lanois (I never hit the road without "Acadie" and "For The Beauty of Wynnona"), Aimee Mann, U2, Johnny Cash (I've always loved Johnny, but I just can't get enough of the "American Recordings" series he did late in his life. They're so incredibly intimate and captivating and they never leave my ipod), The Rolling Stones (again, a potential cliche but for my money "Exile on Main Street" is the best rock record ever made), The Replacements/Paul Westerberg (big fan), Gillian Welch, Graham Parker, EmmyLou Harris (sigh...), John Hiatt, Chris Whitley, John Prine (I was lucky enough to catch him live in London a couple of years ago, and was reminded just how cool this guy is. He's written so many great songs and graciously played many of them that evening, including "Angel From Montgomery". The place was jammed with adoring fans, and there was a lot of love in the room. It was just one of those special shows you experience every now and then), Townes VanZandt, Ry Cooder (check out "Boomers Story"), Tom Waits (where do I even begin?), ....I could go on and I'm sure I'm forgetting some people but you get the picture.
Sounds Like:
Record Label: Blue Rose Records
Type of Label: Indie