Rob Marshall is an L.A. based multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. You’ve doubtless heard his playing since he has performed & recorded with artists such as The Mastersons, Calling Cadence, Grammy-winner Gabby Moreno, Taras Prodaniuk (Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, Shelby Lynne) and John Ginty (Neal Casal, Whiskeytown, Blind Boys of Alabama). Here, though, we have his latest – and debut – solo single.
‘Other Friend‘ is a downhome modern honky-tonk shuffle with some simpatico harmonies from Marshall’s good friend, singer-songwriter Elliott Callaway, and some stinging Telecaster licks from guitarist & co-producer Daniel Grimsland—all while Marshall holds it down on bass, acoustic guitar, piano, organ and lead vocals.
The song is about a girlfriend Marshall had just after college, as he tells it: “We were visiting her ex-boyfriend, who I also knew. I’m sitting there on his front lawn with my guitar in my hand. He’s on the phone, and he says yeah, I’m here with Kelsey and her…. other friend. I thought it was hilarious. Later that night, I was strumming the old cowboy chords, and the song came from that joke, and the impermanence of the relationship. I knew it was just a summer thing, but it was a ball and we loved each other for that time. So ‘Other Friend’ is an abstract description of her and the idea—like it says in the song—that, ‘Love is just the question are you free?’”
