Underwater Detection Method
While Greg Lisher is a familiar face to most fans of made-in-California alternative rock (thanks to his work with Camper Van Beethoven and Monks of Doom), his new LP for Independent Project Records, UNDERWATER DETECTION METHOD, sees Greg moving in a totally new direction. While not his first solo record, CVB and MOD fans likely will be surprised by the music on his new album. It has all the feeling of discovering a new artist for the first time.
“While many fans of Camper Van Beethoven and Monks of Doom know me strictly as a guitar player in an ‘alternative’ band, I purposely stepped outside my comfort zone making Underwater Detection Method,” said Greg Lisher. “I wanted to explore a completely different aspect of music that I love. This album might surprise a few people.”
After completing the guitar-based solo album Songs from the Imperial Garden (a collection of instrumentals brimming with acoustic intimacy that he would release in 2020), Lisher thought it was time for something different. UNDERWATER DETECTION METHOD sees Greg for the first time writing songs using keyboards and exploring a new world of synthesized sounds. Always a lover of keyboards and synths, and of the more experimental excursions of favorite artists such as Brian Eno, Greg took the plunge and made the decision to finally release a solo album that was anything but guitar-centric.
Buy/Listen to Underwater Detection Method
Songs From The Imperial Garden (2020)
I’m pleased to announce the upcoming release of my my new solo record, “Songs From The Imperial Garden”, a sixteen track instrumental record produced by my Monks of Doom bandmate David Immergluck.
In addition to myself on guitar, mandolin and keyboards, this record also features a group of eclectic musicians including Michael Jerome (Richard Thompson, Better Than Ezra) on drums, Jon Flaugher on upright bass, Tim Weed and Michael Star on violins and Eric Rigler on assorted wind instruments.
In addition to producing, David Immergluck plays bass, pedal steel, lap steel, glockenspiel, mandolin, keyboards and guitar. “Songs From The Imperial Garden” comes out July 10, 2020 and is available to purchase through my Bandcamp page.
Interviews & Reviews
- Echoes Podcast: Camper Van Beethoven’s Greg Lisher
- The Big Takeover review of Songs From The Imperial Garden
- Echoes October 2020 Top 25
https://echoes.org/2020/11/05/echoes-podcast-camper-van-beethovens-greg-lisher/
Gregory Allen Lisher – Songs from the Imperial Garden (greglisher.com)
2 August 2020
by Jeff Elbel
Camper Van Beethoven always did their part to uphold their hometown’s motto to “keep Santa Cruz weird.” CVB’s lead guitarist Greg Lisher extends that courtesy and more to instrumental guitar music with his latest solo effort. There’s something delightfully askew about tracks including the multi-segmented entries for “Spider Season” and the pensive tumble of “Memories of a Childhood Actor.” Lisher’s considerable craft as an arranger and sensitivity as a fingerstyle player are also on display during songs like the melancholy and cinematic ambiance of “The Tourist.”
“From the Canyon to the Sea” is winsome and calming, like a much-needed weekend drive to the oceanside. With its guttural bass and jagged rhythm, the off-kilter “Chinese Form” approaches a fusion of Camper with Zappa and middle-era King Crimson. “Dance of the Shrews” branches into Celtic music as Lisher’s acoustic guitar joins bodhran, pennywhistle, and uillean pipes.
CVB bandmate and Counting Crows veteran David Immerglück joins Lisher on many songs, including the understated but unsettled “The Exterminating Angel” and the Middle Eastern flair of “Passage Through Baghdad.” “Swamp Water Stomp” is infused with celebratory twang and a sprightly solo from violinist Michael Starr. Immerglück’s fretless bass swoops and glides through Lisher’s twilight textures during “The Science of Sleep.” Lisher approaches the baroque folk of “Yesterday’s Flowers” alone, with an elegant arrangement for classical guitar.
With varying levels of savvy interplay, plenty of evocative melodies, and styles drawn from around the globe, Lisher’s imaginative writing and guitar playing tell a range of stories without the need for words. They don’t all have to be weird. Many of them are simply beautiful.