See + Hear: stream music at Myspace

Gobotron: Manchester Orchestra Guitarist Unveils Robotic Alter-Ego
ShockHound * January 13, 2010
by Courtney Lear

What does Manchester Orchestra guitarist Robert McDowell do when he's not tearing through songs from his band's acclaimed 2009 release Mean Everything to Nothing? Why, he crafts pop-friendly robot-themed solo albums in his parents' basement, of course!

Next Tuesday, January 19, McDowell will digitally release his solo debut On Your Mark, Get Set... under the moniker Gobotron. The name is a play on the nickname "Robot," which was given to McDowell years ago as a play on words with Robert; that evolved into Robo, Robo Cop, Robotron, Robby Robot, Rorby, Gorby, Gorbatraz and many more before ultimately and finally becoming the mighty Gobotron.

"I had been a bit lazy when we got off tour," says McDowell of the album's genesis. "I wasn't recording or writing at all then, so I went to Guitar Center and got a little MIDI controller and just started messing around. I didn't even really tell anyone I was doing the album until it was done. It was just me alone in my parent's basement."

McDowell's exploratory noodling resulted in just over half an hour of jangling indie-pop with fuzzy vocals and wandering lyrics. "Sonically, I was going for Neutral Milk Hotel," he explains. "Especially with vocals. I didn't want to sing like them, per se, but they have exactly the tone and lo-fi quality I was striving for."

On Your Mark, Get Set... was actually completed almost two years ago, but the whirlwind of Manchester Orchestra's recent success caused McDowell to put his solo efforts on the back burner.

"It wasn't until the [summer of 2009] that I was even able to start mixing Gobotron," he says. "It was nice to be able to work on this solo, because for the past few years everything musically that I was part of was a team of people. I think that's the way it should be, but it's also good to occasionally try approaching things the exact opposite way."

McDowell is a one-man band on On Your Mark, doing all of the writing, playing, recording, and production himself, made possible thanks to the digital age. "The goal...was to put every song into overdrive right from the start," he says. "The writing would begin with a verse, chorus, or just a riff. I'd set up a mic in the middle of the room and build up parts running from one instrument to another. Once I could hear what it was going to sound like, I would write the rest of the song and re-record the entire song. Then when everything was laid out, I started from scratch again and recorded the version that made it on the CD. This is a computer album that could have never been done if it were on tape. It became a science project rather than a band."

Though the album doesn't drop until next week, you can pre-order your digital copy from ShockHound right now for only $6.99. Of course, McDowell's sonic experiment doesn't mean his schedule with Manchester Orchestra is going to slow down. In fact, the band has just added additional dates to their US tour, as outlined below:

02/26: House of Blues Orlando, FL
02/27: Freebird Live Jacksonville Beach, FL
02/28: Revolution Ft. Lauderdale, FL
03/02: House of Blues Houston, TX
03/03: Emo's Austin, TX
03/04: The Palladium Showroom Dallas, TX
03/06: The Marquee Tempe, AZ
03/07: House of Blues San Diego, CA
03/09: Troubadour West Hollywood, CA
03/10: Troubadour West Hollywood, CA
03/12: Hawthorne Theater Portland, OR
03/13: The Showbox at The Market Seattle, WA
03/15: The Knitting Factory Boise, ID
03/19: The Beaumont Club Kansas City, MO
03/20: The Slowdown Omaha, NE
03/21: The Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN
03/23: Metro Chicago, IL
03/24: St. Andrews Hall Detroit, MI
03/25: Mr. Small's Theatre Pittsburgh, PA
03/26: Water Street Music Hall Rochester, NY
03/27: The Mod Club Theatre Toronto, ON
03/29: Northern Lights Clifton Park, NY
03/30: Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA
03/31: Chameleon Lancaster, PA
04/01: Toad's Place New Haven, CT
04/02: The Fillmore New York @ Irving New York, NY
04/03: The Trocadero Philadelphia, PA
04/05: The Recher Theatre Towson, MD
04/06: The NorVa Norfolk, VA
04/07: Cat's Cradle Carrboro, NC
04/08: The Music Farm Charleston, SC
04/09: Jillian's Columbia, SC