Goldthread- Alternative rock/dark pop female-fronted band based in Cleveland, Ohio
Interview conducted on April 3, 2022
By Dan Locke
Goldthread has taken their rock and roll souls together with their honest lyricism and catchy melodies to repair their broken pieces and create dynamic, sweeping music straight from their heart. Influenced by bands such as Pvris, Emarosa, and I the Mighty. Genre-fluid, melodic, and thoughtfully incisive, Goldthread aims to connect with other lost souls to make something beautiful out of the collective mire.
Kaylene Widdoes
Lauren Corridors
What is your upbringing?
We both have a lot of similarities in our upbringing, but also definite differences. Kaylene and I were both raised in really religious households, went to private Christian schools, really involved in church worlds.
My story gets a little more complicated because my parents weren’t together, so I had blended families and step families coming in and out, whereas Kaylene comes from a big family that’s still together.
How did you discover music?
I grew up playing piano, but when I started playing guitar at 12 years old, I think that’s when I started really developing a passion for it.
How did you start to write music?
When the ‘emo’ phase hit everyone, I would joke around and write bad emo poetry, kinda poke fun at the culture…but then I realized, I actually really liked writing! It became something serious for me, and an outlet I started to turn more and more to. Those cheesy emo poems became lyrics, and I started writing songs.
How did you get your bands name?
There’s this really beautiful Japanese art called kintsugi – it means to repair with gold. The idea is to take pieces of broken pottery and piece them back together with gold at the cracks. What it represents is this really lovely concept that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken. We really loved that idea and wanted a name that represented those gold threads.
Describe your music.
It’s really hard to try to find the right “genre box” to put us in, because we have so many different influences. We like to think it’s if someone took a really ambient, beautiful melodic post-rock song and mixed it with the heaviness and intensity of a band like Bring Me The Horizon. But we try to let every song have its own voice, its own character. All that put together, “dark pop” or “alt rock” is usually what we try to use as a descriptor.
What was your first performance at like?
Every performance is nerve wracking for us! Kaylene and I are both introverts. I think the first performance was just a bundle of anxiety.
Royalties never appear like magic. Royalties are only sent to you through work undertaken by a PRO to ensure that their members are getting paid. If you’re not yet signed up to a Performing Right Organization like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, you may not be receiving all the royalties you deserve.
Do you belong to any to songwriters’ organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP ?
Yep! BMI!
What makes a good songwriter?
It’s so hard to nail down exactly what makes a good songwriter. What’s most important to me is authenticity. I don’t want to hear the same clichés over and over – I want your voice, your particular take on a situation, your actual feelings. But I also think it’s important to be clever, be witty, be catchy. Nothing beats a good hook over a chorus. A good songwriter can take both of those ideals and blend them together to create something that’s catchy and authentic.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
Oh man, it’s been a long time since my first song! I think the very first thing I did was an acoustic instrumental, I called it Convalescent, and I recorded it on a crappy point and shoot camera.
What is the process of writing your music?
Every song is a little different, but I think the general formula that we’ve found for us – usually I’ll start with a lyric idea, maybe a verse or a chorus, and then take it to Kaylene with a vague idea for the vibe of the song. From there we try to build a melody and an instrumental that would make sense for what we’re trying to convey.
Tell me about the creation of the video Tiffany Skylight?
The video was such an amazing experience to film! We knew that we wanted to follow the Tiffany skylight stained glass imagery, and when we got permission to film in Chicago, there was no way we could pass it up.
How was it to film the video in Chicago under the world’s largest Tiffany stained glass domed skylight?
It was such a crazy surreal visual! You can stand directly under the dome and it literally fills your entire field of vision.
How did you find Mercedes Arn- Horn as a director to show your vision of the song?
We have known Mercedes for a few years now, and over the pandemic she got super involved in film and just picked it up so quick. She has an AMAZING eye for cinema and photography, and loved the concept of the song. We knew that we wanted her vision for the video when filming.
Tell me about your debut EP “Dear Icarus” which was released last year?
Dear Icarus is a loose concept album based on the myth of Icarus, who infamously flew too close to the sun with wax wings that melted and sent him crashing back to the ground. We were really drawn to the myth and the idea of a cycle of death and rebirth. The ending track, Phoenix, drives home the cycle starting again and rising from ashes.
What is your favorite track on your album?
My favorite will probably always be Legacy. It was so empowering to be able to tell some of my story through a cathartic and heavy song.
What are your feeling about streaming music?
There are pros and cons to streaming, but I think it’s an overall win to be able to have access to so many talented musicians.
Digital vs. vinyl?
I’ll always love analog. Tube amps, pedals, there’s just something about the analog method that gets the perfect sound. But digital is way easier haha
If “Video Killed the Radio Star” do you think that the Covid-19 virus has killed live music? Do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
Covid WRECKED the music industry. I hope it didn’t kill live music. I think people still really need that space to come together and watch a show. Lord knows I do. It’s been really amazing seeing shows start to come back.
Do you think that Covid-19 has been a plus to an artist career?
Not at all – but the great thing about musicians is our ability to find purpose in chaos. Artists are so good at being able to find the voice to an experience. I think about how good some of the music that was written during the pandemic is and I can’t wait to hear more.
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
Ooh man, quarantine was a rough time on everyone. I went through a really dark time personally, but it was also a great opportunity to get into therapy and start working on some of the problems I was burying under “normal life.” When Covid took away “normal,” it forced me to take a look in the mirror and start trying to undo some of the damage I’d done. I also played a lot of Animal Crossing. haha
How do you stay healthy during the lockdown?
I’d love to lie and say we did, but we honestly worked out less and ordered more take out! haha
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
I’ve got that kind of ADHD personality that will pick up a new hobby, get SUPER into it for a few weeks, then never touch it again – so during quarantine, I tried journaling, I tried to teach myself how to drum, I got back into video games – anything to keep my mind and hands busy for a while.
Recently the virus has come back with the Delta outbreak, then you Omicron, which as cause many people in the industry to worry about the future of live music.
How would you like live shows to be held and still keep you and fans safe.
As long as everyone is keeping up with the science, getting their vaccine boosters, and being smart about cancelling/rescheduling if a spike occurs, I feel comfortable. I want everyone to be safe, and I also want music to have its home again. The more we figure out how to balance those two needs, the better.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means thinks like playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
Pay to play is still a real problem, especially for smaller bands, but I think the root problem is that money is still being valued over artistry. A band’s success shouldn’t be measured by their profit.
The show Star Trek introduced people to the holodeck: an immersive, realistic 3D holographic projection of a complete environment that you could interact with.
Today holograms are already being used in a variety of way, such as medical systems, education, art, security and defense
Performers like Tupac, Michael Jackson, Roy Orbison, Frank Zappa, Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse, Buddy Holly, Ronnie James Dio, Marylin Monroe, and Whitney Houston have done it already. The band ABBA just announced that they will be doing a comeback together after nearly 40 years as holograms on their next tour. With ABBA it was with the help of George Lucas .
If the cost was down to the point you could do it also, would you be willing to do Holographic concerts in our living room?
Haha, yeah! I’d never fully replace the concert experience, but I’d be down to play a show in my pajamas in my living room.
In the past if a musician stop doing music they find a new career. For example David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants.. If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?
That’s interesting that you bring up voiceover work – that is my secret dream job, I think it would be amazing to be a voice actor and get to play a bunch of crazy characters. Other than that, I think I’d want to work somehow with music, maybe for a company that makes pedals or guitars or something that still has a tie to creativity.
What is your happy place?
Honestly? I’m such a homebody, I’d have to say my couch.
