Closely Watched Trains’ broad influences and instrumentation work their way into a uniquely unified sound that runs the spectrum from distorted garage rock to orchestral quiet folk. Founded in the winter of 2007 by Jon Schlesinger (banjo, guitar, lap steel, vocals) and John Gage (drums, vibraphones, marimba, percussion), the began recording half written songs and capturing ideas at Jon's garage studio. Citing influences from The Who, Ramones, Dylan, Sonic Youth, Television, Wilco, Velvet Underground, Miles Davis, Minutemen, and on & on, the two set off to create a record that would cite their influences but be a sound all it's own. Sharing space between Jon’s garage where they tracked guitars and drums and Gage’s classroom (where he’s a music teacher and houses his vibraphone, marimba and a slew of odd percussion and other instruments), they wood-shedded their ideas down to an eight-song recording.

The record was filled out with friends on the west coast utilizing the latest in ftp technology and email. Greg Richling (Wallflowers) provided some bass, Phillip Sidlow (Woldis) provided mellotron and guitars, and Ken Dolman (No North/Dolman, Black and The Brain) played acoustic guitar. Locally, Matt Wilson (Titles) provided pedal steel, and M. Steubs (MYTY KONKEROR) played electric guitar. Mike Kiefer (MYTY KONKEROR, Twin Lakes Records co-founder) twisted knobs and helped produce.

Seeking to fill out the band for shows, they asked friends John Leonard (bass, vocals) and Taralyn Bulyk (violin) to jam.  Soon, the band took hold as a quartet, with both J and T being integral contributors.  With this line-up, CWT cemented their sound. Leonard, having his own studio and an incredible ear for detail, was soon anointed engineer and mixer. He gathered up all the recordings and brought them to his Sonic-Bot Studios where he re-mixed them in their entirety, taking CWT’s sound and production to new heights. The songs were then mastered in Northampton, MA at Slaughterhouse Studios by Mark Alan Miller (Dinosaur Jr., New Radiant Storm King, The Pernice Brothers).

The result was a sound familiar yet impossible to define with genre tags alone…an aural landscape--pastoral and surreal--that beckons and is easy to get lost in.

Since its inception, CWT has played at the Sidewalk Café in NYC and shared bills in CT with Jesse Malin, Soft Black, and local luminaries The Furors, Mountain Movers, MT Bearington, Americana sweetheart Lys Guillorn, and sonic sludge rockers Myty Konkeror.  The band has also had the privilege of gracing a few festival stages. 

Live shows feature heavy use of loop pedals and sonic explorations, vibraphone solos, usually with a nod or two of covers.