Wooden Wand to play acoustic set at Bishop

James Jackson Toth will perform under the name Wooden Wand at 9 p.m. Friday for a solo acoustic set at The Bishop Bar.

Toth, who cited bands and musicians like Neil Young, the Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead as influences on his sound, said his family’s love of music encouraged his foray into singing and songwriting. He said his cousin was in a heavy metal band when he was growing up, which fostered his early music tastes.

“For years, I listened to mostly heavy metal and punk rock,” Toth said. “As I got older, I listened to Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, artists that were more lyrically based.”
Toth said his love of reading influenced him to start writing songs focusing more on lyrical content.

“I wanted to do something that focused on the writing part and words,” Toth said. “Heavy metal is limited that way. Generally speaking, it’s not a genre with good lyricists. I wanted to communicate something about the human condition.”

Toth said while writing, he looks for inspiration in other music as well as conversations and phrases and expressions he overhears in his daily life.

“I try to keep my own writing distinct to myself and I try not to steal from anybody too much beyond the subconscious,” he said.

Toth said his show in Bloomington will feature a mostly acoustic set of songs from his last two albums, “Death Set” and “Blood Oaths of the New Blues.” Toth said he feels the two records compliment each other well and should contribute to a good live show.

Though he hasn’t performed in Bloomington in four or five years, Toth said he has big plans for his Friday night performance.

“Every show’s different,” he said. “I change the set lists from night-to-night to try to make it a one-of-a-kind performance.”

Toth also said he may throw in some debuts for the Bloomington crowd.

“It’s early in tour, so it’s only my first or second time playing these songs,” he said. “I’m excited to test them out and see what kind of response they get.”

Sponsored by Spirit of ‘68 Promotions, Toth will be joined by folk rock bands Elephant Micah and Lylas. Tickets for the event cost $7.