Cal Kehoe may not be on your radar just yet, but with well-respected musicians like Trey Anastasio/Phish collaborator Tom Marshall singing his praises and contributing to his new music, it behooves all discerning music fans to start paying closer attention to the Connecticut-based guitarist/vocalist/songwriter. As Cal explains, “Tom and I met at Madison Square Garden at a Phish show in 2009. We began talking about music, favorite guitar players, favorite Phish songs…I stayed in touch with him and we became friends. Last year, I was playing a VIP side stage in Hartford, CT where Phish was performing, and Tom came to see my band. He was impressed enough with my guitar work and vocals that he offered to work with me on some original compositions.”
Watch The Official Video For Guitarist Cal Kehoe And Phish Lyricist Tom Marshall’s New Tune “Limbo”
Continues Kehoe, “I wrote music for 5 or 6 different songs, until one finally resonated with Tom. That song became “Limbo”, which was loosely based on the Netflix series, Stranger Things. During our collaboration, Tom sent me an unfinished demo he had written with Anthony Krizan and Sherman Ewing. Part of Tom’s process is that others independently create music or lyrics and then combine the separate ideas for the finished song. Based on that collaborative process, I began to add ideas and work together on the demo he sent and that song evolved into the final product: ‘Marilyn’.
From there, with the song completed, Kehoe and Marshall went down to Krizan’s New Jersey studio to begin laying vocals and guitar. Both Tom and his daughter, Anna Marshall, contributed backing vocals to the recording, with Rob Allen on drums, Crispin Cioe on sax, Kit Karlson on keys and, as the video for the song whimsically notes (in a nod to The Beatles’ “Glass Onion“), “Paul” acting as “The Walrus”.
The recording for the track was completed at Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, CT with Greg Giorgio (mixing, production for The National, Trey Anastasio, Kurt Vile). The story of the process can also be heard in Episode 27 on Tom’s podcast Under the Scales.
Today, Live For Live Music is happy to debut the video for “Marilyn”, a black-and-white dreamscape visual that plays off properties of light and features an ensemble of ballet dancers. It marks the second in a series of collaborative efforts between Kehoe, Marshall, and Krizan. As Cal explains, “The secret to the song is the multitude of hidden references inside the lyrics. Once I understood them, the song took on a completely different meaning.”
Watch the exclusive debut of Cal Kehoe’s “Marilyn” featuring Tom Marshall and more:
In July of this year, Tom, Anthony and Cal performed a Phish after-show at the Iridium in New York City under the name “The Amfibian All-Stars”, Marshall’s first Phish after-show in 10 years. As Kehoe notes, “We are always exploring the possibility of reuniting the Amfibian All-Stars in the coming months and I will also be doing some solo touring and some full band shows in the upcoming year.”
As Cal notes excitedly, “I look forward to the upcoming release of a third song written by Tom Marshall, Anthony Krizan and myself within the next few weeks.” Keep your eyes peeled for more new music from Kehoe coming soon.
For more information about Cal Kehoe, head to his website.
[Single Art – B.D. White]