Biography
Imagine Neil Young grew up in the 90s... Madison, WI based guitarist-singer/songwriter, Marsden, combines influences of Jerry Cantrell, John Frusciante, Ian Thornley, and David Gilmore, to create a modern take on alt/grunge rock with indie vibes. Using layers of guitars and effects, he weaves a sonic tapestry of ear candy.
Marsden's newest single, “Got The Time” released 11/30/23, is a powerfully dynamic indie rock ballad with a beautifully melancholic melody, emotional guitars, and vocals that will make you want to ugly cry yourself to sleep. Got the time reflects on when you must take a separate path from ones you love. It reminisces on the energy, hope, and dreams that go into relationships. It's about being grateful for special times that were shared while reconciling with saying goodbye. It's about taking the time to heal even when it's much longer than you want it to be. Got The Time is by far Marsden's most vulnerable and revealing release yet that truly shows the heart he puts into his songs.
Marsden's sophomore album, "Tune It Out", has been a labor of love, blood, sweat, and tears for over two and a half years, was released on November 17th, 2022 to rave review such as: “a brand new album, that is quite frankly, filled with bangers. The tracks will make you dance, make you feel, make you express, and most importantly will make you fall in love.” - Charles Edward (Daily Music Roll). Tune It Out is for those searching for a foothold in a world that spins faster each day, “Tune It Out” is an album for reflection on life, learning, and growth. This dynamic, deep, and emotionally charged rock record has the angst you remember from the grunge era with modern stylings and stories. Despite seemingly endless hurdles, Marsden's bottomless passion powered through the arduous writing, recording, and mixing process to step into his own sound as well as level up creatively and professionally on this record.
A Wisconsin native, Marsden first garnered attention in 2016 as one of the top 3 finalists in Madison's 105.5 MMM "Project M" Singer Songwriter Competition with his intricate guitar playing, powerful vocals, and passionate performances. Over the next year, Marsden took this momentum and created his debut outer space concept album, “Gravity”.
Described as “a beautifully dark adventure away from earth”, the creation of “Gravity”, was a carefully thought out and executed process. Marsden's goal with creating this concept album was to use guitar tones, song moods, selective vocabulary, and emotional delivery in the form of spacey acoustic rock songs to tell a story arc of an adventure through the stars. In need of cash flow, Marsden managed to successfully crowd-fund the album through an Indiegogo campaign for the necessary production costs to do justice to his vision of Gravity. A professional audio engineer for over 10 years, Marsden did much of the recording and producing himself but chose to hire talented mix and master engineers to take “Gravity” to a higher level. “Gravity” was released in August 2017 with an excellent reception to its concept. Mike Huberty of Maximum Ink writes, “Plenty of technical skill, a great sense of melody, and most importantly a surplus of heart… Listening to the whole thing in a sitting, there’s no question that Marsden’s Gravity is a clear statement of mood and genre.” Rick Tvedt of Local Sounds says, “Marsden’s music is for the thoughtful listener, has an artistic integrity, and is expertly crafted, exploring existential topics that are laced with love, loss, and uncertainty.”
Wanting to have a platform to meet, perform with, and showcase local solo artists, Marsden in the past had hosted quarterly singer songwriter nights at intimate venues in Madison, WI. He’s also been an active participant in local singer songwriter circle events where he enjoys the intimate attentive atmosphere and the camaraderie between writers. Marsden believes that music is meant to connect people to one another and to themselves, and he strives to use his own (sometimes very personal) experiences to tell stories that the listener can truly connect with on their own level.
Long before his solo career Marsden had many diverse musical experiences, playing a variety of genres in multiple bands and one-off acts. Oldies and 90s pop radio primed Marsden’s interest in music at age 6. However playing the trumpet in the 5th grade was the first time he fell in love with being a musician, and he became thoroughly involved in anything band-related. At the beginning of his teenage years, Marsden picked up playing the guitar and started his first garage band, Blue Furnace. Their strange classic rock/jam/nü metal sound morphed into a funk metal band called Wall Of Funk where Marsden first got excited about band management and the music business. Over the next six years, he carried the band through 100 live shows, a full length album and an EP, seven Christmas songs, and tribute shows as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Deftones. During this time, Marsden also established himself in the local music scene by joining the popular party punk/ska band, 4 Aspirin Morning, and playing in several pop-up custom cover set wedding bands and an Offspring tribute band.
In addition to his solo work, Marsden also currently plays guitar in the Nashville based indie pop/rock band, The Cancellations. Throughout 2024 he plans to release several singles leading up to a 5-6 song EP. The second single release, “Keepsake”, will be coming in spring '24 with regional tour dates to follow!