[INTERVIEW] California Rock Acts Andrew Thomases & Brightshine Sit Down for a One on One with Each Other

Today conscious rocker Andrew Thomases and Peter Sawyer, frontman of the improvisational rock band Brightshine—both talented acts based in California—sit down with each other to talk all about their recent projects. Check out the full interview below!

Andrew Thomases: I really enjoyed your songs on Brightshine’s latest album “The Wire” as well as your prior album “Shadows In The Sky.” Each listener comes to new music with a different ear, but I hear influences from Pink Floyd, Bob Seger, The Grateful Dead, and Toad The Wet Sprocket. What artists are your major influences and why?

Peter Sawyer: I have a really wide range of influences that I draw from. As a vocalist I’m a huge fan of Michael Stipe, David Gilmour and Bruce Springsteen; their voices seem to fit the way I want to sing, and singing along with them makes me a better singer because they all really connect the emotions being expressed in the lyric to the listener. As a guitarist, I’m heavily influenced by Mark Knopfler, David Gilmour and Jerry Garcia as well as Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Each of those players has had a huge impact on the way I hear music and structure solos and accompanying parts.

Peter Sawyer: I really enjoyed checking out your recordings and videos. Tell me about your writing process. Do you write all the music yourself or do you collaborate?

Andrew Thomases: It is just me. I write all my songs myself and play all of the instruments myself (although I don’t have a drum kit, so the drums are all software-based). In some ways, it is a bit nerve-wracking because I don’t have anyone with whom I can bounce ideas around, and the first time anyone hears a track is when my sound engineer prepares to do the mix. I did collaborate with a female singer for vocals on my recent track “Funkin’ Blame Game.” The amazing Anne Bennett lent her voice to the track, and I think we really complement each other.

Andrew Thomases: Your track “Arrow In The Dark” blew me away. What was the inspiration for the lyrics of that song?

Peter Sawyer: I took as my beginning point the struggle we all sometimes face in trying to reconcile our inner world with the outer world. I think this struggle intensified for me during the pandemic as I was living mostly inside my head with my only contact with the outside world being via social media and Zoom. “Arrow In the Dark” was an attempt to examine that struggle and find a way forward.

Peter Sawyer: I really like the direct call to action approach in “You Have One Job To Do.” It just says what it means. What is your lyric writing process like? Do you spend a lot of time editing your lyrics to get everything so succinct and on message?

Andrew Thomases: I came to songwriting with the intent of creating what I call “conscious rock.” I want my songs to have meaning and to provide a message. In essence, I want to impart some of the wisdom I have gained in my 50+ years to my audience. Thus, my songs are about doing the right thing, saving the environment, being wary of perfectionism, the hazards of playing the blame game, and the like. I do spend a lot of time to get the lyrics just right to convey my message. They are a bit “on the nose,” so my goal in the future is to add a bit more subtlety to my lyrics. I wrote “You Have One Job To Do” shortly after I lost my younger brother to cancer in 2020. He was always looking out for others and trying to pay it forward, so this track, in particular, is a tribute to him and his philosophy. I just wish more people in the world would follow that philosophy.

Andrew Thomases: You have talked about your recording process, and how you don’t do a lot of overdubbing. How does that give Brightshine its unique sound? What are your preferred production techniques?

Peter Sawyer: There is absolutely nothing like a band that is really locked in and listening to one another and creating in the moment. So much recorded music is people stacking tracks on top of one another, playing to machines, etc. (some of my favorite albums were made like this) that I envision Brightshine as offering an alternative to that approach. There is something electric in a track that’s cut live that I think the listener can feel and react to that makes it special. Myself and our drummer Celso are both really into engineering, mixing etc. When we are creating the music we are also envisioning how it should sound on the recording. This really helps us in capturing sounds that do the recording justice. We all set up in a room where we can see each other. The amps are all isolated and I’m singing behind plexiglas so there’s no leakage and we capture everything live right into pro tools. Before we hit the digital realm everything is going through really nice analog preamps. When I’m mixing, I mix back into analog gear so the final product has gone through a lot of tubes and transistors. That stuff makes it sound like Rock and Roll!

Peter Sawyer: How do songs come to you? Do most of your tunes start with a guitar riff or do you ever start with a beat or lyrics?

Andrew Thomases: I have played bass guitar my whole life, and I only took up guitar during the pandemic. So, most of my songs start with a bass lick or a driving bass line. I then layer guitars on top and lay down a drum beat that fits the song. From there, I add other instruments and additional guitar lines. I often have an inkling as to the theme or message for the song, but I rarely have lyrics written until the basic structure and sound of the song is complete. I then write lyrics and build a melody on top of the music. Lately, I have been trying to expand my melody-writing to be a bit more creative and less wedded to the underlying chord progressions.

Andrew Thomases: What inspired you to become a songwriter and recording artist?

Peter Sawyer: Once I started to learn guitar songs just started coming out of me. I choose to follow that impulse and build my life around writing and playing my music and I’ve never looked back!

Peter Sawyer: A related question: I’m hearing a lot of ‘90s and early 2000s alt rock influence in “You Have One Job To Do.” What are some of your favorite bands from that period and how have they influenced this tune?

Andrew Thomases: Well, as a child of the ‘70s, a college kid in the ‘80s, and a grad student in the ‘90s, I have a ton of influences from those decades. I have loved music throughout my life, and I was even a college DJ in the ‘80s, so my music influences include a plethora of genres and styles. For “You Have One Job To Do,” I wanted a bit of a reggae sound, but with some driving power chords and bass lines. Some bands that probably influenced that track include Sublime and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Other tracks have a classic rock influence, while even others have an ‘80s synth sound.

Andrew Thomases: Are you a Bay Area native? If not, what was your path to landing in the Bay Area?

Peter Sawyer: I grew up in Atlanta, went to college in Nashville and lived in New Mexico and Wyoming in my early 20s. I moved to SF when I was 24; it seems like I’m here pretty permanently at this point. :)

Peter Sawyer: You said that you have been a music fan for 40-plus years. I’m hearing a lot of Cure influence on the track “Cure Me.” I assume the title is meant to be a homage to the band? Tell me about your journey with this song in terms of creating it and so beautifully weaving The Cure influence through it

Andrew Thomases: I love The Cure! One of my favorite bands from the ‘80s and ‘90s, and I just saw them again a few years ago. Yes, “Cure Me” is an homage to the band. There are lots of references to Cure songs throughout, and the music was meant to take the listener back to the early ‘90s. I wrote the track in the heart of the pandemic and before the 2020 election. I was getting sick of how our leaders and the news outlets were trying to divide the country, and the song expresses my frustration at the state of the country. So, in the song, I ask if anyone can cure me of the insanity. Unfortunately, it seems to me that we are not fully cured yet.

Andrew Thomases: So, on a lighter note, what do you do outside of making and recording music? Any fun hobbies?

Peter Sawyer: I have kids so I love to spend time with them. Love to hike and cook and hang with my extended family whenever possible. I’m an avid reader and love to talk with folks about their ideas and dreams.

Peter Sawyer: As another lighter note, I really like the animation on your videos. Assuming you aren’t doing it yourself, how did you arrive at using animation as your main video medium rather than live action? Does the animation artist get creative with the videos or so you script it out for them?

Andrew Thomases: I am certainly not doing those myself. For each music video, I have asked the creative folks at The A&R Agency in Austin, TX, to work with me to bring my songs to life. We brainstorm together on how to create a story or theme to convey the message of my songs. They create a storyboard based on those discussions, which I then approve. They then work their magic, and, voila, we have an entertaining music video that matches the theme of my song.

Andrew Thomases: Where is the best place for someone to follow you?

Peter Sawyer: Our linktree has links to everything, Website, socials, streaming etc.

Peter Sawyer: How about you? For those listeners who would like to check out your music and videos, where is the best place they could look?

Andrew Thomases: My main hub for my music is my website at www.andrewthomases.com. There you can stream my music and videos for free, sign up for newsletters, and find my latest announcements. Thanks for listening!

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