Recent Comments
Re: “Gilbert Neal's Our Deepest Apathy...”
Sorry, Grayson, but that's just not true. I asked if you'll be reviewing the CD. And you said "no". That was that, as far as I was concerned. I think I've been pretty honest with my post, so there's no reason I would lie or misrepresent.
Re: “Gilbert Neal's Our Deepest Apathy...”
Hey everybody. This is Gilbert Neal.
I wanted to clear a couple things up.
1. I BEGGED Grayson to review my CD. I bugged him often, believing that having my CD reviewed amongst the perceived hoi polloi of local music would lend my new release an added air of legitimacy. It's not his fault. It's mine. I asked him to review it. I never presumed that he would like it or not like it. I never put any conditions on it. And neither did he.
2. Eventually, after informing me that there was a dearth of space or an important Indy-wide feature from week to week (maybe he was being polite) as an answer to my inquiries, he told me, finally, that he was not going to review it because he just didn't like it that much. On the phone. I called him. He told me the truth and I accepted that, grudgingly at first.
3. Then, around Christmas, he DID publish the review, and Rex Reeded it nicely, as you see. I didn't think he would, as he had informed me he would not, so imagine my surprise! This put a slight damper on the kids present opening, but we somehow got through it. In hindsight, kids, never bother a reviewer. You might get what you asked for! Even if you were informed that you would not.
3. A few weeks later, I was the shocked recipient of an email from Mr Currin, and the email mentioned that he had information about "something I might be interested in". Well, I called him forthwith, thinking that maybe he was compiling a CD of the Triangle's worst local music, maybe calling it "Currin's Crap" or "Your Music Sucks" and marketing it as some ironic alternative to the golden standard that has been set by other, more worthy local acts. Maybe he needed my signature on some release form. But alas, it was only an attempt to glean whether or not I was, in fact, posting on this thread under an alias. Because, really, who in their right mind would have such nasty things to say to a rock critic from the local entertainment paper unless they themselves were a total fraud? My heart was thusly broken again. No ironic CD of crap. No gig for the unwashed. Just a sad farewell to my scrappy buddy.
4. As for the review itself, I don't hear, for better or for worse, too many people doing what I do, as far as style and technique are concerned (again, not saying they're a better style or a greater technique) and yes, the endings do go on at times, although Grayson must be talking about the old-school porn music. I don't hear a lot of lead guitar in the stuff they do nowadays. So I understand that a review of it might focus on the reference points that a reviewer is more at home with (shorter songs, for instance) and go from there. And in that regard, I failed miserably. Have you ever seen Grayson dance?
But in other, more important ways, I succeeded wildly. Densely. ROBUSTLY. I use augmented chords like they're the new black. All you have to do to enjoy my CD on a visceral, soul-affirming level is picture a dirty old man singing these songs to a pretty girl. It's a hoot!
Re: “Gilbert Neal's Our Deepest Apathy...”
Aw jeesh I'm posting as no one but myself. As far as IP addresses are concerned, I, myself, never post from home. So maybe someone is leeching off of our network thingie at home or uses my password. I can't really explain it but I do know that it concerns me. I'm not a techie. More a Caveman Lawyer. Then again, this review hasn't affected sales (such as they are) one bit. Good or bad. So whatever.