The next time some stranger from the gray depths of Middle America messages you on Facebook with visions of surf, sun and palms in the eyes to say, “Hey! We don’t know each other but I’m moving to San Diego soon and would really appreciate any advice on what to expect,” introduce them to the music of one-man band Jason Torbert, 32, better known as Goddamn Electric Bill.
An echoey hybrid of folk and ambient electronica, Torbert’s music sets the scene for the true Southern California: a faded, scorched bed of dust where two deserts, one of sea and one of stark, cactus-studded sand, collide. It’s an image that shares little in common with the lush, leafy endless summer facade Main Street marketing firms use to sell board shorts to Kansans, but hey, sometimes the truth burns.
Judging by the contemplativeness of his quiet riots, you’d never guess Torbert totes an extended history of playing in punk bands. September brought his third and latest effort, “Topics for Gossip,” released on 99X/10 Records (former Cure keyboardist Roger O’Donnell’s label), but his music has been turning up on shows like “The Real World” and “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” not to mention San Diego Music Award ballots, shortly after it first made its way out of his Ocean Beach studio in 2005.
“I make music that calms my mind, he says. “Put everything else behind and relax, drive to work, eat some pasta, ride a bike in my mellow world.
Describe yourself as a musician in three sentences.
Hyper-focused perfectionist with a messy studio. Lanky guy with way too many instruments and not enough time. Kid at heart.
Now the same story in three words?
Man-child perfectionist.
Tell us the tale of how GDEB got its name.
It wasn’t a well thought out decision and in hindsight I probably wouldn’t have named the project that. I was just brainstorming funny band names with a friend. Most had expletives. Seemed to be the nature of the naming quest. I thought of (way too) many phrases that contain expletives and then moved on to phrases like “Ouch, my toe!” and “Use a turn signal!”
Define “folktronica.”
Acoustic electronica. Add some unplugged instruments to the keyboards and bam.
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(Pick up the Thursday, December 11th, paper for the print version)
