laura goldhamer - composer/animator/builder
Laura Goldhamer draws from a variety of purely American traditions; however, Laura’s ability to merge traditional Americana with the avant-garde, fusing inventive homemade technologies with earnest folk, is one element that has earned her numerous accolades, including Westword magazine’s 2010 Mastermind Award, awarded to her for being a “cultural visionary” in the Denver arts community. During musical performances, she projects her intricately composed stop-animation films which illuminate and illustrate her spirited song delivery.
Born, raised, and currently residing in Denver, CO, Goldhamer has often toured her multi-faceted shows, whether solo, with a backing band, or accompanied by “The Roboctopus”, an eight-channel robotic percussive ensemble she made from speakers, drums, christmas lights, and doorbells positioned to hit cymbals. Additionally, she has traveled as a member of a handful of other Denver based bands, such as Dovekins, which toured as the core musical act of New Belgium Brewing Co.’s Tour de Fat for two consecutive years. Other bands of which she has been a member include Princess Music (progressive indy-rock), Harpoontang (a hilarious all-girl punk/rap act), and New Denver Orchestra (an amorphous super-group of Denver musicians, including members of Paper Bird, Ian Cooke, and Dovekins, which Goldhamer co-ordinated within a community art space she started in 2007 within a historical church building in Denver’s Capitol Hill Neighborhood). During that time of cohering music community in Denver, Goldhamer helped found an organization called Long Spoon, an artists’ collective espousing the ideal that through nourishing one another, we are ourselves nourished. Under the Long Spoon banner, Goldhamer recorded and helped release countless albums, not only of her own music but of burgeoning performers like Patrick Dethlefs, Papa Bear, and Dovekins. Goldhamer’s knack to connect people, organize, and work creatively and tirelessly has made her a vibrant fixture in the arts of the Mile High City, and beyond.
Out of honing her animating habits on her own projects has come a fruitful career in directing music videos for other kindred musicians. Video commissions include Sean Hayes’ “One Day the River” (2010), Jonny 5 of Flobots’ “Elixor” (2013), Gregory Alan Isakov’s “Amsterdam” (2014), and Trout Steak Revival “Brighter Every Day” (2015).
In addition to musical and artistic blossoming, Goldhamer is committed to the empowered cultivation of artful living, which includes imagining and building structures that nurture that lifestyle. In the fall of 2015, Goldhamer began constructing a “Panel Pull-Apart” Tiny House, which she designed to be modular and come apart in 4”x8” panels. The first prototype of the structure was erected in a public demonstration advocating for homeless rights, which helped to spur on fruitful dialog in the media and public eye on issues of human dignity, criminalization of homelessness, legalization of tiny homes, and preservation of low-income and affordable housing in the face of gentrification.
Goldhamer boldly brings all of herself to the table. As a folk songwriter, guitarist, old-time banjo player, stop-motion animator, instrument and architectural inventor, Goldhamer continues to enliven her audiences with laughter and awe, conveying her intimate and focused energy in a unified and immersive musical, visual, & kinetic experience.