The Great American Desert (music profile)

The Great American Desert (formerly South of Lincoln) is the stage name for Max Holmquist and his one man folk show. The calm, boring life of a small Midwestern town drove him to pick up a guitar at the age of 15. Four years later, South of Lincoln started in 2006 as Max Holmquist’s solo project. With the introduction of Alt/Folk from people like Damien Jurado, Neko Case, M. Ward, Andrew Bird, Rocky Votolato, etc., South of Lincoln became Great American Desert, a collection of honest, heartfelt folk songs. 

(Photo Credit: Danni Hohensee)

Themes of alcoholism, heartbreak, love triangles, a sense of home, etc. run thick through his music. “I’m sort of obsessed with where home is and what makes a home and how many homes one can have and whether a place ever ceases to be a home,” he says.

He started working on the album “Homes” in the studio in Fall of 2009. He had help instrumentally from John Feuerbach (from Bandit Sound/The Incredible Heat Machine) and Mat Hovanec (from The Incredible Heat Machine/Plan C Recording Studio) playing Accordion and Keys respectively. The debut album “Homes” was released at Duffy’s Tavern on January 19th (2011) and is available on iTunes.

(Photo Credit: Danni Hohensee)

His second album, “The Monsters/Bathroom Sessions” was released on June 26th (2011) at Duffy’s Tavern and was supported by a national tour to the east coast with Portland band Archeology.

The first album he released under the name The Great American Desert, titled “Carson City” was released June 2012 on YerBird Records to some critical success. It is available on Spotify, iTunes, and through bandcamp at http://thegreatamericandesert.bandcamp.com

Click the album artwork for a direct link to iTunes.

Brother by South of Lincoln 18th & H by South of Lincoln

The Monsters/Bathrooms EP is scheduled for release on June 26th with Slo-Fi Records (Facebook) out of Omaha, NE.

Aural History: Maxwell Beardsley Holmquist’s Music Documentary from Robert John Morrison on Vimeo.

South of Lincoln: Man Pt. 1 from Love Drunk on Vimeo.

Video by Django G-S and Love Drunk Studios

Father, Mother, Sister, Brother-South of Lincoln from Frontier Project on Vimeo.

Check out The Frontier Project on our Facebook Page

Shot by Nicholas O’Bradovich, Audio by Cole Voss

Video by Andrew Lamberson

I can’t remember the last time I cried listening to music. Maybe it’s never happened before. But three songs into South of Lincoln’s “The Monsters/Bathroom Sessions,” and I was broken. Max Holmquist, with a smile and sense of humor as infectious as any, sings and turns into a ghost, only he’s the one seeing through you. You’re just as imperfect as the archetypes of others and of the self he embodies with his voice. And through the sadness, you’re renewed. -Michael Todd, Daily Nebraskan/hearnebraska.org (http://www.dailynebraskan.com/special-issues/superhero-cinema/south-of-lincoln-represents-best-of-folk-with-the-monsters-bathroom-sessions-1.2602871 )

(Photo Credit: Nicholas O’Bradovich)

“‘Homes’ is one of those rare records that’s made up of one strong song after another, all smartly constructed and produced, and Holmquist is an evocative, supple singer. That makes for an excellent album that deserves to be widely heard.”

-L. Kent Wolgamott, Lincoln Journal Star

 

“Homes” by South of Lincoln — This one came out way back at the beginning of 2011, on Jan. 19, and it defined my year for music in Lincoln. “Homes” was an excellent omen for 2011. It is an album of extraordinary beauty, both musically and lyrically. Max Holmquist’s sublime vocals and perfectly understated songwriting complimented and were complimented in turn by some of the best musical arrangements ever compiled around an acoustic guitar. I gush about this album all the time, and it’s because it deserves it. Genuinely. You know what? I’m too lazy to re-arrange the article now, but put this one at No. 1, best of the year, in your head. And then listen to it and make it No. 1 in your heart.

-Casey Welsch, HearNebraska.org (http://www.hearnebraska.org/content/casey-welschs-2011-list)

Slowcoustic.com Top 12 List:

Slowcoustic’s Favourite Albums of 2011

 

(Photo Credit: Daniel Muller – http://www.esotericvelvet.com )

Friends of Great American Desert: Manny Coon (Lincoln) Archeology (Portland), The Loom (Brooklyn), Kyle Harvey (Omaha), The Kickback (Chicago), Desert Noises (Provo), Bella Ruse (Minneapolis), Plains (Lincoln), Betsy Wells (Omaha), Brad Hoshaw (Omaha), Smith’s Cloud (Lincoln), Dolorean (Seattle), Damon Moon & The Whispering Drifters (Atlanta)

(Main image: Eric Gonzalez)