Goldenchild
Bridges
￼
Produced and recorded by
Mark Ephraim

Written by 
Wiley Gaby & Jeffrey Doker

Mixed by 
Adam Sachs at Trout Studios, Brooklyn, February–April, 2015

Mastered by
Phillip Klum Mastering

Arranged by
Goldenchild

All songs recorded in Brooklyn between August 2014 and April 2015, at Excello Recording, VIbromonk Recording Studio, Tree Laboratory, & Mark’s dungeon of sound. Additional engineering by Charles DesChants. 

Brooklyn-based, Florida-born songwriters Wiley Gaby & Jeffrey Doker set out to carve a space where their seemingly disparate influences could meet, mingle, and ultimately blur genre lines to create beautiful new music. Influenced by classic country storytelling, melancholy pop melodies, and pretty things, the duo formed Goldenchild in the spring of 2014, and will release their debut album, Bridges, this fall.

With a handful of original tunes ready to record, Doker & Gaby tapped rock producer/engineer Mark Ephraim, whose previous credits include work with The New Pornographers, Ed Vallance, & Au Revoir Simone, to name a few. Ephraim’s darker production paired with the songwriters’ country-influenced melodies yielded a haunting, evocative, and more rock-tinged sound.

Joined by a stellar roster of guest players such as Parker Kindred (Antony & The Johnsons, Joan As Policewoman, Jeff Buckley) on drums, Jon Rauhouse (Neko Case) & Ed Kurz (Tatter & Rags) on pedal steel, Caleb Lindskoog (The Silver State, Magmana) on electric guitar, and many others, Ephraim and Goldenchild’s core personnel—Gaby, Doker, guitarist Jeff Mensch, vocalist Kerry Flanagan, and multi-instrumentalist James Power—recorded Bridges throughout north Brooklyn between 2014 and 2015. 

On their debut album, Goldenchild merges elements of classic country and ambient soundscapes with a respectable hint of pop sensibility. The result is “gorgeous, cosmic country” that NYC’s Next magazine calls “damn beautiful.”

www.goldenchildband.com

Copyright 2015 W. Gaby & J. Doker

Bridges

CHANGE YOUR MIND
Words & Music by Wiley Gaby (BMI)
Produced by Mark Ephraim

Caleb Lindskoog - Electric Guitar
Dennis Lichtman - Violin
James Power	 - Banjo
Jeffrey Doker - Bass
Jeff Mensch - Electric Guitar
Jon Rauhouse - Pedal Steel
Kerry Flanagan - Vocals
Parker Kindred - Drums
Rubin Kodheli - Cello
Wiley Gaby - Vocals, Piano, Acoustic Guitar

Cheap wine and Winstons 
Weave a magic spell on the easy
And that smile sure doesn’t hurt
You don’t wanna hurt me
Don’t wanna tell me no lies
Oh if I could do one thing tonight, it’d be to change your mind

I must be crazy
Not to ride off into the sunset
And you must not want me
Or I’d run and hide into the skyline
You don’t wanna hurt me
Don’t wanna tell me no lies
Oh if I could do one thing tonight, it’d be to change your mind
Oh to change your mind

My pride was just within reach
'Til that voice brought me back to your door

You don’t wanna hurt me
Don’t wanna tell me goodbye
Oh if I could do one thing tonight, it’d be to change your mind

Oh you know it’s gonna hurt me
You gotta tell me goodbye
Oh and this morning there’s not a damn thing I can do to make you change your mind
Oh to change your mind


Change Your Mind

FLORIDA ROAD
Words & Music by Wiley Gaby (BMI)
Produced by Mark Ephraim

Dennis LIchtman - Violin
Eric Hoegemeyer - Hammond B-3
James Power	 - Banjo
Jay Foote - Bass
Jeff Lipstein - Drums
Jeff Mensch - Electric Guitar
Jeffrey Doker - Bass
Kerry Flanagan - Vocals
Wiley Gaby - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar

Down a dusty Florida road	
Looking back on years of so much	
Pain and change and love 
Packing up my strength 
So scared to walk away 

Brave enough to fake a smile	
As I watched the falling rain 
Of the driest eyes I've ever seen 
Walking away 

It's a cold, lonely night 
And Chicago's a long way from home 
If I close my eyes 
Well I can still see that dusty, Florida road 
And keep on sanity's side 

Found a way to keep afloat	
When the cold winds came my way	
Oh but a pair of lying eyes 
Never was enough for me 
And I just walked away	

That one-way ticket mighta been my last goodbye

Making plans to leave again	
Like somewhere else is gonna change 	
This dream that's got one foot 
In the grave and a real loose grip on grace	

It's a cold, lonely night
But I'll always have a place to come back home
And if the time ain't right
Well I'll be walking down that dusty, Florida road
So I'll keep on sanity's side 


Florida Road

I JUST WANT TONIGHT
Words & Music by Wiley Gaby (BMI)
Produced by Mark Ephraim

Caleb Lindskoog - Electric Guitar
Ed Kurz - Pedal Steel
Eric Hoegemeyer - Hammond B-3
James Power - Acoustic Guitar
Jeff Mensch - Electric Guitar
Jeffrey Doker - Bass
Mark Ephraim - Drums
Parker Kindred - Drums
Wiley Gaby - Vocals, Synths

I’ve been holding up this bar
For the better part of a day
And I can see we share some weakness
I keep telling myself that’s ok
Don’t get me wrong, ‘cause I ain’t flying solo
But I can’t keep you outta my sight
So if you’re feeling so inclined

Don’t talk; just get me outta here
I just want tonight
I just want tonight
And in the morning, you can leave me alone
You won’t want anymore, I promise you, so
Let’s take our chances on a heartache and just call it a night

I’ve been holding up forever
For the better part of a year
If I can keep everything dancing
I can keep from facing my fears
Sometimes it feels like I’m just flying solo 
Mostly it feels like I’m losing my mind
So if you’re feeling so inclined 

Don’t talk; just get me outta here
I just want tonight
I just want tonight
I’m not trying to make a life of this
I just want tonight
I just want tonight 
And in the morning, you can leave me alone
You won’t want anymore, I promise you, so
Let’s take our chances on a heartache and just call it a night

No, I’m not trying to make a life of this
I just want tonight
I just want tonight
And in the morning, you can leave me alone


I Just Want Tonight

WATER INTO WHISKEY
Words & Music by Wiley Gaby (BMI)
Produced by Mark Ephraim

Caleb Lindskoog - Electric Guitar
Dennis LIchtman - Violin
Eric Hoegemeyer - Hammond B-3
James Power - Acoustic Guitar
Jeff Lipstein - Drums
Jeff Mensch - Electric Guitar
Jeffrey Doker - Bass
Kerry Flanagan - Vocals
Wiley Gaby - Vocals

He turned my water into whiskey, and it made me a believer 
He didn't want to do it, but then I changed his mind
When he baptized me in bourbon, Lord, it quieted my fever
For my sins I need a spirit stronger than wine 

Now the one thing I’ve been runnin’ from just sidled up beside me
Like no time had passed between us, you flashed that wicked smile
But redemption for my broken heart won’t come to you that easy
So I’ll stick with the liquor, son, and keep you off my mind

I never find it worth the comedown, honey 
I never find it worth the comedown, honey
One look in that mirror, and I won’t be in that line 
I never find it worth the comedown, honey
And I won’t be going with you tonight 
I’d rather sell my soul to the devil than put my faith in you 
So give me something that I can believe in 
Something more than a glimpse of heaven with the hell still showing through
‘Cause I’m done with that brand of deceiving
And I won’t be taken this time 

Most times I’m victim of my self-induced trials and tribulations
A self-made Job with a heavy load, a martyr when the sun goes down
But you came along to test my faith, and left me begging for salvation
And I couldn’t hold a candle to the wreck you left behind

I no longer hear your whitewashed fiction with the ears of a stranger 
My worthless physicians tried to warn me all along
No matter how the story starts with you, the ending never changes
You’ll take more than you’ve given, and leave me hanging by a song

I don’t need to feel like I’m king of the world for a second on a Saturday night Just to wake up to the weight of the world dragging me beneath the morning light
Yeah, you can get me high

I never found you worth the comedown, honey
I never found you worth the comedown, honey
One look in that mirror, and I won’t be in that line
I never find it worth the comedown, honey
And I won’t be going with you tonight


Water Into Whiskey

SOUTH OF TALLAHASSEE
Words & Music by Wiley Gaby (BMI)

Caleb Lindskoog - Electric Guitar
Dennis Lichtman - Violin
James Power - Acoustic Guitar
Jeffrey Doker - Bass
Jeff Lipstein - Tambourine
Kerry Flanagan - Vocals
Parker Kindred - Drums
Rubin Kodheli	 - Cello
Wiley Gaby - Vocals, Piano, Wurlitzer

You don’t want me enough to keep me 
I don’t need you enough to stay 
And I’m tired of spinning your plates 
So I must be on my way, and we’re gonna be better off 

I’ve been betting on a boy with a better heart, baby 
But the decks ain’t stacked so fair 
So I’ll give it up to a stranger with a beating heart 
Pretending I don’t care, yeah I’m gonna be better off 

So don’t you hit me up tonight and try to sell me on some pretty things
I could walk away tonight if you’d just tell me it’s just me

When’s it ever gonna feel right? 

On the island of Manhattan, in a phone booth of the north side of Delancey 
Watching everything and everyone I want go slipping quickly past me 
You see, I’m never gonna stand the thought of you, boy, until I got a little less on the line 

So I’ll pack the bags I said I’d never pack 
And that white flag can be my toast 
To the year of avoiding a bloody back 
And keeping enemies real close 
Yeah, I’m gonna be better off

I’ll be on the plane tonight, so don’t you ever try to say to me
I coulda had it if I tried a little harder, I keep trying to disagree 

Oh, I’m coming down, Mama 
But I’m keeping all the sinning, and the trouble, and the bruises from you 

I’m going south of Tallahassee
Where I won’t find myself stumbling in your shadow
Get me past the Georgia line 
Where luxury ain’t just a bedroom window
You see I’m never gonna stand the thought of you, boy, until I got a little less on the line
No, I’m never gonna stand the thought of you until I gotta a little less on the line


Oh I’m going back to the bible tonight
Oh I’ll drown my pride in the bottle tonight
Oh I’m going straight down on these wounded knees tonight 
But I’m alright
Yeah, I’m alright 

But that old Wakulla River just can’t wash away the sins left on my memory
And the devil tends to follow me no matter where my restless soul can send me
You see I’m never gonna stand the thought of you, boy, until I got a little less on the line
No I’m never gonna stand the thought of you until I got a little less on the line

You can turn from your tomorrow
Try to find your way back home
But it won’t be where you left it
Like a lover you’ve outgrown
And you won’t be better off
No I’m never gonna stand the thought of you until I got a little less on the line


South of Tallahassee

BRIDGES
Words & Music by Wiley Gaby (BMI)
Produced by Mark Ephraim

Caleb Lindskoog - Electric Guitar
Dennis Lichtman - Violin
James Power - Acoustic Guitar
Jason Loughlin - Acoustic Guitar
Jeffrey Doker - Bass
Kerry Flanagan - Vocals
Parker Kindred - Drums
Mark Ephraim - Electric Guitar
Rubin Kodheli	 - Cello
Wiley Gaby - Vocals, Piano, Wurlitzer

I don't recall all the names of my lovers
And I can't be sorry for that
But you gotta know you're much more than the others
I'm sorry if I put you last

But I didn't see the gap between us getting wide
And I'm playing catch-up, but I'm still behind 
Tell me it ain't too late to put up a fight
Oh, this time I should have known better 

I spent my life living on bridges 
Biding my time, avoiding decisions 
Suspended between my poor traditions 
Saying, "It's not my time. It's not my time." 
Oh but I'm gonna find a way tonight 
I'm gonna try and make it right 
We're gonna cross it or jump it tonight 
And you're gonna love me
If it's the last thing I do 

I'm used to hedging my bets on a heartache
But that hasn't got me too far
And I've barreled through my reserve of tomorrows
So I'll hitch to this rusty old star

So come on baby, let's hit up the other side
It ain't gonna be perfect, but it'll be alright 
Rip off these kid gloves that are getting too tight 
Yeah this time I'm gonna do better


SEARCHING FOR STRANGERS
Words & Music by Jeffrey Doker (ASCAP)
Produced by Mark Ephraim

Ed Kurz - Pedal Steel
Faye Rex	 - Harmony Vocals
Jeff Mensch - Electric Guitar
James Power - Acoustic Guitar
Jason Loughlin - Acoustic Guitar
Jeffrey Doker - Bass
Parker Kindred - Drums
Teresa Jimenez - Vocals
Wiley Gaby - Vocals

When you told me you would be my friend, I wanted to be your lover
When you said you’d be my lover too, I wanted to be your friend again
Cause when life gives me the love I want, I run to love another
So before you get to know me know that’s how it’s gonna end

I roll from town to town
Watching people realize it’s love they’ve finally found
I ride from sea to sea
Searching for the strangers that my lovers used to be
Searching for the strangers that my lovers used to be

When you give to me that golden band, I'll wrap it round my finger
And I'll say the words before the Lord, but my heart I cannot give to you
‘Cause I want to live, and I want to run ,and I want to be a singer
So before you say you love me, know that's what I'm bound to do

When you sang to me your lonely tune, my heart it sang so sweetly
For it sounded like the hopeless hymn that I've been writing all along
And when you warned me of your fickle heart, I fell for you completely
So before you go and leave me, let me leave you with my song

I roll from town to town
Wondering if I'll realize it's love I've finally found
And I ride from sea to sea
Searching for the strangers that my lovers used to be
Searching for the strangers that my lovers used to be


Searching for Strangers

The title track and lead single from Bridges, the debut LP by Brooklyn-based Goldenchild. Also featuring the song "South of Tallahassee."

Full album available September 22, 2015. 

Copyright 2015 W. Gaby & J. Doker

Goldenchild

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