At times feeling both angular and delicate, and other times touching and transcendent, "Marathon" gives the listener a taste of life seen through it's creators' eyes. The brainchild of keyboardist Paul M. Grove and guitarist Joel Steven, What Man Was is the perfect creative outlet for the music that comes from their very souls.

"We approach each What Man Was album with total openness," states Paul who played keyboards, piano, bass, and melodica on Marathon. "We have no agenda, we are playing what we feel."

"Each song is from the heart, and each takes a life of it's own," agrees Joel Steven, the acoustic and electric guitar player, drummer, singer, and bass player for the band. "One of us will start with an idea but when it's handed off to the other it can go in any direction. The key is to not be so married to your original idea that the musical response sounds in some way wrong."

"It's those surprises, when even the smallest instance of a piece you are writing takes the other composer in a new direction, that's where the magic really happens," says Paul.

Written over several years time and with several hundred miles separating their studios, Steven and Grove had lots of time to let this magic develop and to let the songs breathe and become what they were destined to become. Both Grove and Steven have extensive backgrounds in recording engineering, producing, songwriting, and both are multi-instrumentalists as evidenced in each of their multiple solo albums and other projects together. By utilizing studio wizardry and their arsenal of experience, What Man Was produced \"Marathon\" largely apart in separate studios. This approach led to some interesting challenges, the result of which is somehow an album that sounds contiguous, connected, and totally satisfying.

Roaring into life with the guitar heavy "Ink" and easing back to Mother Earth with the closely segued "Quill in the Well", What Man Was' new album sets off on a journey for the senses. Enjoy the quixotic and fun "Stumble Up Again" juxtaposed with guest vocalist David Warner's gorgeous voice on "Rising". Joel Steven's catchy guitar solo "Jangeloosa" blends in perfectly with the soaring "Liberty's Veil", the albums centerpiece. You can feel the gentle flowing of the Californian coastal river itself in "Little Sur". "Jakarta" tells the story of a family man in this Indonesian city, a dark and surrealistic tale sung by Joel Steven. "True Heart" is next, with Paul M. Grove on solo piano expressing his deeper self as only piano can do. Written in a place of healing for Shannon Bledsoe-Grove, "Shannon's Chord" brings back memories of this special and life-changing time, of sitting and playing instruments without a goal or presupposition. It bespeaks of a peaceful place, of joy and gentleness. "Time and Time Again" turns time inside out and upside down, moving from trippy to groovy back to trippy again, a wild and fun ride for the ears and the mind! The finale of "Marathon" is the rockin' "King of the Mountain", a true What Man Was blaster, full of humor, majestic chords, head-turning changes and sonic landscapes. From beginning to end What Man Was "Marathon" is a treat for the discerning listener.