Savannah singer, guitar slinger and honky tonker Anders Thomsen shares 'Seven Songs'
For over a decade, singer-songwriter and guitarist Anders Thomsen has been an exciting and regular presence on Savannah stages.
Decked out in cowboy hat and duds, Anders combines the bluesy, live-in vocals and dynamite guitar chops of Chicago bluesmen with honky-tonk country swing, and rock n’ roll swagger.
Besides his usual trio, Thomsen was a long-time member of the popular country band, Damon & the Shitkickers. He has also played in a myriad of other bands like The Ex-Husbands, who had two albums break the top ten in Americana charts, and the classic garage-rock band, The Woolies. He has played with several rock n’ roll, blues, and country legends like Chuck Berry, Sylvain Sylvain, Martha Beeves, Billy Joe Shaver, and Dale Watson.
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Thomsen’s friends, the country duo The Waymores, recently included a cover of one of Thomsen’s songs on their “Stone Sessions” album. Thomsen was flattered and inspired to record and release a handful of his own songs.
“They just put an album out in April on Chicken Ranch Records, and they included one of my songs on it,” said Thomsen. “I thought, ‘Well, if they like it it must be pretty good, for somebody to use their valuable album space to put one of my songs on it.’ So I did this album and the first song, ‘I Don’t Like the Liquor’ is the song they covered as a duet.”
Thomsen’s latest album, “Seven Songs” (2022 Slow Ass Records), is a brisk but addictive collection of original country and blues songs that show off his guitar prowess and catchy songwriting.
Thomsen grew up in Michigan and began playing guitar when he was 12. By the time he was 14, he was already playing in bands.
“When I started playing I really got into the blues,” said Thomsen. “For some reason I was just taken with it. I studied up on the Chicago blues and the delta blues during a time when you really couldn't get hold of the records much if you were a teenager and didn’t have a job or a car. At the same time it's hard to ignore Van Halen on the radio everywhere, Iron Maiden, and all that stuff that was going on at the same time. But the first thing I really honed in on was the blues.”
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Despite his country singer styling of cowboys hat and boots, Thomsen doesn’t see much distinction between the blues, country, and rock n’ roll he enjoys playing.
“I kind of let it be itself,” said of the new album. “I let it be what’s been happening with Rachael [Shaner of Lulu the Giant] on stage, who was playing with me at the time. In the past I maybe tried to write in a more ‘country’ style and I wasn’t feeling it, so I let it be what it was.”
“To me there’s not a whole lot of difference between blues and country. If you listen to Hank Williams, it’s blues. If you add pedal steel to it, it’s more country. Fiddle, it’s even more country. But I don’t really make a huge distinction. And all of my favorite music is music that you can’t tell what kind of music it is. You couldn’t say and you wouldn’t want to.”
Savannah is lucky that Thomsen is even making music. Thomsen met his wife, Sarah Wood-Thomsen, when he was in the Ex-Husbands and she was running the old Velvet Elvis bar. After living in London, Australia, and Nashville, Thomsen and his family decided to move back to Savannah in 2009.
Up until then, Thomsen had gone 10 years without picking up his guitar.
“From 2001 to 2011, I played two gigs, and I got fired from one of them,” explained Thomsen. “Then we moved here and I started playing with Damon and the Shitkickers.
“That was really nice for me to be able to get back into it. I mean, I knew all the songs already because they played the same covers my old band played. I just had to get the physical aspect of playing guitar back. It goes away after ten years, and it takes a while to get it back.”
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“I think it helped me in a way. It cleared my head and maybe I just remembered the good things and forgot the bad things. I’m sure I’d recommend it to anybody, but I think it was a good thing. It was definitely good at that time in my life, and the right thing to do. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Even though “Seven Songs” only just came out, Thomsen is already thinking about the next record. “I almost consider this one a demo,” Thomsen said humbly. “It’s very simple. Just to see what people would say. We recorded it in three hours.”
Thomsen recorded the album at Reverend Bro Diddley’s studio with Chris Fullerton on drums and Rachael Shaner on lovely backup vocals and bass. Blake Tallent of Sarah Shook and the Disarmers mixed and mastered “Seven Songs” and provided a heavily distorted, nasty guitar solo that scrubs some of the sweetness off of the ballad “Show Some Mercy.”
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“He sent me one version of that song with an electric piano and it sounds too pretty,” recalled Thomsen. “The same day he sent back the version we used and I was very impressed.”
Thomsen is excited to have people hear “Seven Songs” and looks forward to maybe adding more detail to the next record. However, he still wants to keep is short, sweet, and sounding like him.
“You can overdo things so easily, and people seem to like what we do live, so why don’t I give them some of that,” said Thomsen. “On the other hand, it’s nice to hear some pedal steel guitar sometimes. I don’t like to go on and on, and I don’t like songs that go on and on. I think two and half minutes is good.”
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Thomsen certainly has plenty of songs in his pocket and constantly writes new material. Hopefully, he will continue to pen catchy, crowd pleasers like “I Don’t Like the Liquor.”
“Chris the drummer said, ‘What’s that song that sounds like a nursery rhyme and mentions all the drugs?,” Thomsen said with a laugh. “People really like that one.’.”
“Seven Songs” is available on streaming platforms and upcoming shows can be found on bookanders.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah GA music: Anders Thomsen debuts new album Seven Songs
