The Mahogany Throttle began life on a boat, when David White was introduced to Brent Budsberg. Named after a line in an old railroad magazine, the two participated in a 9 piece ensemble that included reeds, cello, and keyboards. Owing to the logistics of practicing in a 9 piece band, Budsberg and White continued to play together while that incarnation of the group faded into the background.
Seeking a drummer, Budsberg and White placed an ad for a drummer "who plays like the waves at Big Sur." John Gleisner did not answer that ad. Meanwhile, Budsberg and White played a sidewalk show at the late One Nation Gallery.
After a chance meeting at the Fuel cafe, Gleisner and White got together in Gleisner's basement to jam. For the record, the first riff they played was the outro from Led Zeppelin's "Out on the Tiles". That was on a Sunday.
The following Tuesday, Budsberg was introduced to Gleisner, and the first Mahogany Throttle practice was underway. They practiced again that Thursday, and played their first gig on Friday, October 15th, 1999. The first song written was "The Brimley Chronicles", which later became "Four Paws". Also written during this first week were the riffs for "Spur of the Monument", "The Fine Curve of Hammers", and "How Long Can You Tread Water?", as well as a song called "Stilts (as in you walk on them)".
The trio recorded their first CD, Push Forward for Speed, in September of 2000, in one day in a space called the loveloft, which was essentially an attic. The group used Curtis Technology mics and preamps, with Bill Curtis engineering.
The follow-up to that effort, Traverse, was recorded vertically over a period of three weeks in May of 2002, and was released September 25th, 2003 on Soutrane records.
David White, John Gleisner, Brent Budsberg
photo by nicole szalewski
Linneman's, New Year's Eve, 2001
photo by stephanie nicole white
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