Artist: The Artisan Thieves
New Release: Shadow Of A Great Divide
Genre: Americana Rock, Alt Country, Folk Rock, Progressive/Alt Rock
Sounds like: : Jason Isbell, Reckless Kelly, Tom Petty, Eddie Vedder, Johnny Cash, Niel Young, Soundgarden, The Jayhawks, Turnpike Troubadors, Son Volt, Ray Wylie Hubbard
Located in: : Salt Lake City, Utah
This song is about the lengths and depths of despair some people are driven to by such things as the societal/ cultural emphasis that is placed upon money and material wealth. The Great Divide, to me, is that definitive line between want and need, have and have not. There are so many influences in this song, so many sounds. We wanted something dark and brooding, but that could still be warm and pleasing to the ear.
I think the combination of Smittys eery guitar work and the guys on percussion are what truly drive this song home. It reminds me alot of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The track means alot to me, not in so much as I have been to those depths, but in that, I have lived with and around those who have, so there is an element of up close and personal experience. I’d surmise that this song makes a relative impact to any listener who has seen or experienced truly being poor, not just as a result of financial shortcomings, but as a result of the cascade effect caused them. To me, the song just says, “I don’t have an answer. I just feel this.”
I spend a great deal of time on the road, so I see some of the seedy underbellies and off the beaten path places and faces of this country. Everything from entire, upper mid-west steel towns, now shuttered, to abandoned coal mining settlements in Appalachia. Places like, once thriving, little fuel stops on Route 66 to the lower, west side warehouse district, in Ogden, Utah. These are the places that not many folks talk about or remember as existing as anything other than what they are now. Forgotten. Forgotten too, are the remnants, the stragglers. Those left behind or who have stayed simply out of desperation or lost hope. This song is those faces and those places. There, in the Shadow Of A Great Divide.
Right now our focus is in rehearsal and preparation for the upcoming year. Our goal is two-fold. First, we aim to share this music and make it accessible to anyone and everyone who will listen. Second, we just want to get out and play, share this noise. We know it’s worthy of being heard and we know there are a substantial amount of listeners who can and will relate to these stories and sounds.
Social Media:
Social Media:
@theartisanthieves Insta
@TheArtisanThieves Facebook
@ArtisanThief Twitter
