All One Song :: James Jackson Toth on "Thrasher"

Hello and welcome back to season two of All One Song, a Neil Young podcast presented by Aquarium Drunkard Transmissions with your host Tyler Wilcox, a longtime Aquarium Drunkard contributor and Neil Young fanatic. We’re spending some time this spring traveling deep into the Shakey-verse, talking with some great artists about their favorite Neil Young songs. On a recent episode, Brigid Mae Power and Wilcox went deep into Neil’s classic lament “Albuquerque”—both agreeing Neil nailed the stark, lonesome vibe of the American southwest in that song. If you’re going to try to evoke those kinds of landscapes, you don’t need to use a lot of words, right? Right. But also … wrong?  A few years after Neil wrote “Albuquerque,” he found himself on a long road trip from Taos, New Mexico, back to the west coast. And as he rolled through the desert, he wrote “Thrasher.” In contrast to “Albuquerque,” the lyrics of this song are rich and poetic, as images of ancient rivers, timeless gorges, crystal canyons and dinosaurs in shrines all float before the listener’s eyes. “Thrasher” unfolds like a stoned, rapturous daydream as Neil muses on lost friendships, the specter of mortality, and of course, that great Grand Canyon Rescue episode. First appearing on Rust Never Sleeps in 1979, it’s one of Young’s most satisfying songs.  And here to talk with us about “Thrasher” is James Jackson Toth, a terrific songwriter whose career matches Neil in terms of eclectic, exploratory and highly personalized vibes. He’s been a man of many monikers over the years; there are records under his own name, there are records under the ever-morphing Wooden Wand designation; there’s DUNZA, there’s James and the Giants, there’s One Eleven Heavy and more. Whatever you end up checking out, you’re guaranteed to be transported to strange, funny and powerful places. Toth has carved out his own singular niche over the years; like Neil, you can’t put him in one particular box.  And that similarity is no accident! As we talk about in our “Thrasher” ramble, James has a tattoo that asks that all-important question: “What would Neil Young do?” Always a good thing to ponder, whether you’re writing a song or buying groceries.   So! Without further ado, here’s James Jackson Toth on All One Song.