Former USA National Teamer Eugene Godsoe is not only known for his skills in the pool. The 4-time World Championships medalist is also recognized for his musical talents. As his swimming career came to a close in 2016, Godsoe took time to reflect on his career and what was coming next for him. He then began to write his album, Somewhere, Anywhere, which was released on September 5th. Godsoe said the songs were inspired by a lot of things, but most come from the feeling of “transition” happening in his life.
He took the time to share a little bit about the album and his musical background with SwimSwam:
I grew up taking traditional classical piano lessons starting when I was 6 years old. As I grew into my teens, I fell out of love of having to play what other people wrote, and playing it exactly the way they wanted it to be played. I started interpreting things a bit differently. I actually quit piano for a couple years when I was 15. It wasn’t until I later found someone playing the Mario theme song on the piano on Youtube did I realize the piano had more possibilities than I had imagined, and I dove back in.
I started learning the songs I wanted to play, and more importantly, started learning how to play by ear. I would listen to my favorite songs and figure out how to play them on the piano. It was incredibly painful and slow at the beginning… but after a few years of work I could now learn a song in a minute or two. It was at this point when I better understood how songs were made and the music theory behind them that I started making my own.
When Olympic Trials finished, I had some time to reflect on my career and what was to come in the future as I planned my move to New York. It was during this time I wrote most of these 14 songs on the CD. The songs are inspired by a lot of things, but most come from the feeling of “transition” happening in my life.
Most who know me would consider me an incredibly happy and optimistic guy, but for some reason when I sit down at the piano, I tend to create sad and melodic songs. I’m not sure why it ends up like that, but it feels right and I absolutely love it.
For those who enjoy my CD “Somewhere, Anywhere” and would like to support me, please listen to and share the album, follow me on Spotify “Eugene Godsoe” and my socials, and join me on my musical journey. I’m excited to see where we can take it. 🙂
In the pool, Godsoe was a collegiate swimmer for Stanford, and continued to train with the Cardinal as a postgrad in his international career before retiring after the 2016 Olympic Trials. During his NCAA career, he garnered 16 All-America honors. He won 4 Pac-10 titles and was the 2009 NCAA Champion in the 100 yard backstroke.
Internationally, Godsoe competed for the USA for nearly 10 years, starting as a member of the National Junior Team in 2005-06. One of the highlights of his career came in 2013, when he won silver in the 50 butterfly at the World Championships. All-in-all, he earned 4 Worlds medals and 7 Pan American Games Medals.
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Excellent riffs, cool transitional use of arpeggio
Super good! Congratulations Eugene!
Wow, this is actually really good!
Very very cool. Giving it a listen at work now.
The guy can play!