Gobotron is the solo side project of

Manchester Orchestra Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band from Atlanta formed in 2004. The group is composed of rhythm guitarist-singer-songwriter Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, bassist Andy Prince and drummer Tim Very. Former drummer Je ...

's lead guitarist and backing vocalist, Charles Robert "Robot" McDowell. His debut album '' On Your Mark, Get Set...'' was released on January 19, 2010, through

's own label Favorite Gentlemen Recordings.

History

Upon returning from

's 2008 headlining tour in the summer of 2008, Robert McDowell has decided to start working on his own solo material in his parents' house in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

. He was anxious to move into a new direction and create something different than the music he had made working with the band. McDowell decided to call his solo project by the name Gobotron. The Gobotron moniker comes from the initial nickname “Robot” given to McDowell years ago as a play on words with Robert, that evolved into Robo, Robo Cop, Robotron, Robby Robot, Rorby, Gorby, Gorbatraz and many more before ultimately and finally graduating into Gobotron. The album title is inspired from a dream he had after watching

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

one night. "I was falling asleep, drifting in and out. The episode mixed in with one of my dreams and made me think of the title. I woke up laughing and wrote it down. It's nothing deep, it just made sense for the album title." McDowell wrote, played and recorded a whole album worth of material during the summer of 2008, before

was going into another short tour and pre-production for their next album, which has become 2009's critically successful ''

Mean Everything to Nothing ''Mean Everything to Nothing'' is the second studio album by the Atlanta-based indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. It was released on April 21, 2009 through independent record label Favorite Gentlemen Recordings and produced by Joe Chiccarelli a ...

''. Of the album's sound, McDowell has said he was influenced by artists ranging from Ben Kweller to Brian Wilson, and features mostly a

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

sound. Since he had no time to keep working on his own material due to the

schedule, he delayed the project until the summer of 2009, when his album was finally mixed and mastered, a whole year after being recorded. The debut album, entitled '' On Your Mark, Get Set...'' was finally released on January 19, 2010, through

's label, Favorite Gentlemen Recordings. Robert McDowell (as Gobotron) made his debut live solo appearance in October 2010, as a supporting act touring with Bad Books, a supergroup he is also a part of, on their 4 date East Coast promotional tour for their self-titled debut album. He has also supported Kevin Devine and

Andy Hull John Andrew Hull (born November 7, 1986) is an American singer, musician and songwriter. He serves as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter of the indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. He also has a side project, Right Away ...

on their acoustic five date tour in December 2010, which was also in support of the Bad Books debut album, though neither McDowell nor the full band joined Devine and Hull on these dates. On June 10, 2016 the second album, "Transform" was released o
bandcamp

Discography

*'' On Your Mark, Get Set...'' (2010) *''Transform'' (2016)

References

{{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from Georgia (U.S. state) Musical groups established in 2008 Musical groups from Atlanta