Wooden Wand is the alter ego of singer and multi-instrumentalist
James Jackson Toth, who alters the band name from one project to the next. Initially working in the mid-2000s in collaboration with free improv experimentalists
the Vanishing Voice,
Toth eventually spent more time as a solo artist mixing folk, jazz, psychedelic, and noise rock influences into a singular blend that identified him with the alt-folk, freak folk, New Weird America scene. Along with a surfeit of obscure and often self-released singles and CD-Rs, higher-profile releases like Second Attention and James and the Quiet began to widen Wooden Wand's audience. Later releases like 2012's Briarwood and 2013's Blood Oaths of the New Blues saw
Toth exploring facets of outlaw country, while also releasing a handful of albums billed simply as
Wand. In addition to his own D.I.Y. efforts, Wooden Wand releases have appeared on a wide variety of labels such as
Fire Records,
Kill Rock Stars,
Rykodisc,
Young God Records, and
Three Lobed Recordings, the latter of which issued 2017's Clipper Ship,
Toth's first LP since 2014's Farmer's Corner. ~ Charity Stafford, Rovi