NORWICH – Brian Golden is back in town from Syracuse for a visit, which means the return of local band The Voodoo Mystics. Golden says, “It's time to chase those winter blues away.” The Voodoo Mystics will be bringing their unique, bluesy sound to Rita's Tavern on 15 Lackawanna Ave. in Norwich tonight, Jan. 17, from 9 p.m. to midnight.
Golden, the former editor of The Evening Sun, moved from Norwich to Syracuse to chase his long-time dream of becoming a full-time musician with the band, Master Thieves, as a lead guitarist and contributing vocalist.
“It was in my blood,” says Golden of becoming a full-time musician. “My father, Gary Golden, who passed away six years ago this Sunday, was a bassist for a popular New York 70's band, Ivanshroud. My stepfather, Steve Cornelius – who married my mom when I was three – also happens to be a fantastic electric guitar player.”
Golden said he was raised on Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton and the “old blues guys” like B.B. King. “At heart I am a blue's guitar player. Stevie Ray Vaughn is a major influence as well.”
It was the summer of 1991 and Golden was 14 years old when he learned to play guitar and began polishing his vocal skills. “When my friends were out playing football or doing other sports and activities, I was at home eight hours a day woodshedding on the guitar.”
When Golden was 16 years old he formed his first band with his father on bass and his best friend of 20 years and lifetime bandmate, Eric Tozer, on drums. Tozer is also the drummer for Master Thieves, which is the fourth band Golden and Tozer have been in together.
“That is one of the things I am most proud of, that we have stayed friends and have always been making music together. It is still just as fun today as it was 20 years ago. We have a telepathic connection,” says Golden.
Tozer and Golden's first jam session together turned into an accidental performance, because they were playing behind a curtain in the school auditorium, where there were unknowingly nearly 100 students in study hall for the day. The pair realized they had an audience when they heard an eruption of applause from behind the curtain after they finished playing.
Golden credits Tozer, his father and his mother, Marsha Cornelius – who worked her way through school in a shoe factory to become the Dean of Morrisville State College's Norwich Campus – as his inspiration to finally pursue music full-time.
“It's something you have to pursue, because it doesn't just happen. You have to have the confidence in yourself to put your music out there. You can't just sit around thinking you deserve it and say it should have happened already. It's easy to let ego cloud your judgement,” says Golden.
Since Golden left Norwich, he says he has been playing to put dinner on the table. He also says there is something to the starving artist stereotype, but he “wouldn't trade what he does for anything in the world.”
“My relationship with the guitar is a spiritual relationship, and I wouldn't have that relationship if it wasn't for my bandmates, friends and family. I am extremely thankful to the people who have supported me through the good and the bad. The 17-year-old me had ego, and the 37-year-old me has let that go with age and experience,” says Golden.
He also says you cannot do the blues without living it. Losing his father was a very dark period in his life, because his father was more of a best friend. They had played music and worked for a carpet business together for fifteen years. They even built a house together.
