Rome Widenhouse is the guitarist/singer/songwriter of Asheville band Thresher. Thresher has just released their first EP as a quartet, called Equinox. We featured their song “Velcro”, which was from their EP before that, on our #40 podcast.

My favorite musical instrument or item that I purchased recently is:

A Supro Hampton Guitar. For years I’ve played on whatever equipment I could afford (usually $200 Pawn shop guitars). I found myself frustrated because I was constantly fighting my equipment. Early in 2018 I finally decided I would make an investment in a really good piece of gear. I played almost every guitar on the wall at Guitar center, and this one really sounded the best. I felt an enormous amount of guilt for spending what was essentially a month rent on myself, but I’ve come to really appreciate the investment every time I play it.

It’s a very lot of guitars

The musical instrument or item that I really really want is:

A 60’s Fender Jazzmaster. Kevin Shields, Thurston moor and Adam Franklin are all artists I admire who used the Jazz-master to create these enormous walls of sound. Also they look pretty awesome.

The artist who has influenced me most is:

In 2011 a local group called Elkmont Place. I was at an impressionable age and was staring to write my own songs. Watching them was when I realized that songs can have a narrative arc and can end in places nothing like where they began. This is one of the tenants that i really try to push in my own work. This is a quality by no means unique to this group, but thats when that epiphany reached me.

Something I wish I’d known before joining a band:

You have to love making music for the experience alone.

I live in Asheville, NC. I’m actually an Asheville native.

The general vibe of this city is

Polarizing. There is a huge divide between those who live and work in Asheville and those who come to visit. This applies to music culture and food.

My favorite local band (aside from my own):

Im really excited about Rye.

I collect:

I Make my own mixtapes… on cassette. I’ve been doing this since highschool, and have built up my collection from then. Each tape is for a particular mood. I’ve become pretty obsessive compulsive about this collection, agonizing over track order and the perfect transition. This isn’t an effort to be hip or anything, I play em in the car or while i work. It’s a labor of love just for myself and I come by it genuinely.

When people look back on our culture in a hundred years, they’ll say:

“0100110101001011001101”. We’ll all have uploaded our conciseness to instagram by then probably.

My favorite thing to watch on tv is:

“Whose line is it anyway?” I enjoy low commitment dumb tv. I find the recent trend of serialized ongoing narrative in the Netflix/ HBO era of “Television” (it’s all online  for cryin out loud), to be exhausting. When I watch tv i want to think about nothing not be caught up in some kind of impulsive binge. I have my cassettes for that…

Editor’s note: The eponymous band Butthole, featured on our #15 podcast, has a song that’s all about how much they love Wayne Brady. Check it out.

In my fridge you’ll always find:

New Belgium beer. I made a pact with myself not to drink lite beer ever again.

The last music I downloaded was:

The English Beat. I’d never heard it until I found this mixtape of my dads a few weeks ago. It’s a kind of music I feel has been utterly lost to time, and will never truly have a resurgence. Ska gets a bad rap but the English beat is pretty Fantastic and I’m not afraid to say so.

in my heart I wish I was:

An Independent Filmmaker. I will be one sooner than later. I’m kind of a know it all when it comes to film, and it’s time to put my money where my mouth is. It’s been a lifelong passion of mine.

My personal analysis of the current state of the music industry is:

I think Rock music is in a great place right now specifically because it is so outside the music industry. There are no trends to follow, so you can be yourself and people will respond to that without judgement. You have to work your ass off to get your music out there but that just means other musicians you encounter will be as gracious and hard working as you.

The best place to eat breakfast in my city is:

Homegrown. Excellent farm to table food. pretty fast too!

My favorite websites or apps are:

Sound-hound is pretty awesome. It’s a mobile music encyclopedia. great stuff.

When people come to visit me, particularly if those people are cooler than I am, I take them to:

Lexington Ave downtown. Everyone on Lexington is way cooler than me. You got static age, and hi Voltage record stores, Hay-day guitar shop, downtown book and news, Wasabi, Izzy’s and Mela. And theres the Cherry st. free parking! you don’t even have to mess with parking downtown. Very cool.

Asheville downtown

Favorite seasonal beverage:

Cold hand pressed cider. it’s nostalgic I guess. Something unique to that time of year (autumn)

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