George Woods
... is a nationally touring Boston based artist who has been haunting the clubs of the greater New England area for years. Woods writes fiery, infectious autobiographical music and brings contagious optimism and humor to his shows.
With an "uncanny knack for allowing his songs to tap into raw human emotion” (Vanyaland), he combines "tasty and classy guitar work," and "a voice... like pure velvet" (Red Line Roots). Every performance offers an electric yet intimate show.
Woods has been lying low since the death of his father and mentor David Woods in 2016, and teaching songwriting at the Berklee College of Music. However now he is back in full force, with a new batch of divinely crafted material just waiting to tickle your ear drums.
Who is the human behind the artist George Woods and how did you get into music?
I'm basically a bunch of deep thoughts and Dad Jokes all wrapped around a guitar. I also teach Songwriting at the Berklee College of Music, so that's fun! Being a teacher is a big part of who I am I'd say.
"Wanted Man" is an amazing piece of Pop and sounds fantastic, what was your inspiration, what's the story behind?
I've spent most of my life always being peoples "just friends" boy buddy. This track is sort of a dedication and reflection on the life I have now, with a wife and kid, in the context of never previously being someone's "Wanted Man".
No one really saw me as desirable, and so I didn't really see myself through that lens either. Now that I'm all grown up and have filled out my sexy lumberjack physique, and personality, I am wanted and loved. This is a note to my younger self that basically reads, "It's coming. You're worth it."
It's the first single from your upcoming EP "Reflecting the Light", what can our readers expect from?
More meticulously (obsessively...) crafted songwriting with some funky sounds thrown in there. Something moody for the Spring. Something Groovy for the Summer. Then a big fat EP release in the later half of the year. Something to get you in your feels and something to help you shake your ass when the weather demands it.
How would you describe your songwriting process?
Oh man... that is a complicated question... I have both flights of wild inspiration and then the SLOW grind type of stuff. I've got a few videos on Insta and TikTok that actually walk you through a few songwriting techniques that I have found.
Overall though, I'd say that I tend to power through the song from beginning to end then relentlessly tweak the thing until I wrestle it into submission.
Any chance to see you somewhen/somewhere live on stage?
Yeah buddy! Just go to my website. I've got more and more shows coming up in the northeast US so stay tuned. We just had a nice little sold out Single Release Party for Wanted Man at The Burren in Somerville MA! It was an absolute blast!
How important are "socials", in your opinion, for the indie music scene and for yourself?
The internet is the great equalizer of the music industry. Its like fucking Robin Hood if you look at it the right way... And yeah... Songs and compositions are changing to meet the attention driven nature of social media, but Charlie Parker had to cut his solos to one or two choruses to fit them on 3 minute Vinyl records. Same shit different decade. Social media allows me to talk to YOU directly and we can have a relationship that hopefully transcends that place and moves into something more direct and P2P.
Being an Indie artist in Boston is ...?
A post pandemic struggle to rebuild a scene of very talented, tight knit, music loving nerds, who want to make beauty and put it out into the world.
What’s next for you?
This year... I'm George Woods rebuilding, and rebranding what it means to be George Woods. Getting my heart into your heart. Next year I might start working on giving you my soul. We'll see how this heart thing goes. ;-)
