Saturday, February 21, 2009

GOLLY MCCRY PART ONE

Hi.

The best way to present the story of a true modern musical icon--Golly McCry--is to get right to the story. I won't bore you with any sparse commentary. The story really unfolds magnificently--the detail, the motivation, his nascent musical tastes are all touched upon--as well as the musical climate of Germany in his youth. The most mindrocking questions--the angle that made me want to know more about this gentleman--what made this young guy in Germany decide to a) record his own music at home; b) record garage and surf music; and c) film his own videos a full decade before youtube made this practice common? Musical genius abounds throughout the story, as is evident in his home recordings. Golly is the R. Stevie Moore of garage music, and he will soon get the recognition that is due him.

In his own words, here is part one of

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SAGA OF GOLLY MCCRY--GARAGE MUSIC REVIVALIST:

Lets begin here

I was born on 11.th April 1971 in Köthen (Germany)as the youngest of 4 children.
Köthen is a town in East-Germany formerly territory DDR (GDR).
I grew up listening to music that came from a cassette tape recorder of my oldest
sister. It included some of the mainstream music (end60s/early70s.)
So its hard to say what song brought me to music.
I dont think it was a song or album anyway.
In east germany there was only one record label for all ,called AMIGA.
They mostly released bands from east-germany or sometimes the big acts from UK/US.
I remember when I was in school, I think it was every Wednesday, I was going to
our record store, 1 hour before they opened in the afternoon to get the newest
release of... (what was it?... nobody knew). People standing over an hour in line
in front of the record store but nobody knew what album of what band was released
this week. It could be great or it could be a mess. But we bought it anyway,
nobody wanted to waste his time in vain.
The best thing you could do was listening to west germany`s radio stations, if
you wanted to hear good music. (my opinion, but that leads to a political direction
and away from the question).
I think it was more important for me that my 10 year older sister took guitar
lessons in the end 70s or early80s. And when I came home from school one day
she was playing on guitar and singing "The Circle Game" (Buffy Sainte-Marie song)
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=0608QlhCYiQ. I really was impressed by that. I loved
hear her play that song. I loved the sound of the guitar.
And one day she showed me how to tune a guitar, maybe I was 9 or 10 or even younger
I cant remember really and I think THAT brought me into music.


to be continued....

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Golly McCry Story Coming Up!

Youtube has been a great source of music sharing, as well as acting as a platform for performers to expose their talents to an otherwise absent audience. For the most part, these musical performances fall flat or, albeit dynamic, are tired performances of tired songs. In fact, one of the only guys who stand out from this musically vapid pack is Golly McCry.
For anyone who doesn't know about Golly yet (and any self respecting outre music fan should) here is a capsulated description: Golly has for years been recording as a one band--recording all instruments and vocals to tons of songs. Granted this is relatively common now, but there are three factors to consider.
1.He had begun doing this long before the technology of today was available. Using "primitive" equipment, Golly layed down all the tracks.
2. Golly records originals, but his major focus lies in cover songs of 60's garage tunes. Mind you, not "Little Bit o' soul" but the most obscure stuff.
3. Golly lives in Germany.

Where did he come from? How did this one man decide he wanted to recreate a sound that to most people was a minor blip on the musical radar?

I have been lucky enough to get all the details from the man himself.

Not only does he discuss his life, his interests and influences, but also he offers a worldly perspective of the music scene of Germany. What's it like growing up in Germany and being a fan of this kind of music? What is the music scene like there?

Golly gives a detailed account (in easy to read installments) of his life and his music, so please support him by checking back at this blog very soon, as well as his youtube page for pure entertainment. I will also post notices on my youtube page to let you all know what's up. Thanks a bunch and keep an eye out.