Changes
Greetings from lovely Charlotte nc!
spending a relaxing week visiting my brother and sil for a week with the kids, so since I have some quiet time to myself what better time to update you all on some big changes coming up for myself and my lovely group of misfits!
So when we last left off, we finished off the beginning of June playing our first time in nj and had the unfortunate cancellation at the loft due to a miscommunication at the end of the month, but we were gearing up to return to one of our favorite spots 33 Golden for July!
However, things change…
Turns out the club was having trouble getting some support acts for the night, so instead of driving 2+ hours to have us just play ourselves, we agreed to reschedule for the fall. It was a bummer, but Craig and the club are awesome people and we are looking forward to playing there again soon as a support act to a known draw to get some good exposure in that area.
So after that setback, we decided to concentrate on not only the upcoming gigs we have through October, I also have about 15 songs demoed of new material that I wanted to show the band so we can concentrate on putting out new music. We’ve been playing 2 new songs in the set lately that have been going over well, so it was time to break out the GarageBand and start going over some of the other ones I’ve been sitting on for quite awhile
After recording and releasing the live album in March almost as a fluke it showed me that the songs sound sooooo much better live with the band doing their own thing. If anyone asks me what album or songs they should start off with, I always point to that album because although it’s live and yes, we didn’t alter any clams we had in the set (hence the title..all the Clams live!) it gives you the best representation of the songs.
Also, after talking with the band about the songs and where we are all at now…it’s time we make this album not just about me and finally make it a band
when I started this website and released my first solo album way back in 2015, I wanted for the first time in my life try to release music 100% on my own. I didn’t want to do a “Nine inch Nails” or even a “foo fighters” thing where it’s all me, but under some band name I wanted to put my own name on it because to be honest, I was damn proud of the songs and still am!
But I knew I also wanted to play these songs live, so when I put a band together I decided when we played shows it would be under Greg gilroy & The Critically Ashamed Band where the musicians would be essentially my “E Street Band”. The albums and focus were on me but the CAB would just be my backup band.
I always wanted the CAB to be their own thing where I was still highlighting the individual talents of the band, but at the same time make it ever changing member wise.
We had many lineup changes over the years, sometimes we had as many as 6 members play shows, sometimes only 4. I even had goals of depending on certain gigs adding backup singers, other percussionists, strings anyone who wanted to jump in on the fun, but no commitment on their part.
if they wanted to do other projects? Awesome I would support them 100% on their own creativity, but when it came time to releasing new music? I write the songs, you play the notes/riffs I wrote and no collaboration as far as material. Sure, put your own “stank” on it live I don’t want you to be a puppet but just play the notes and arrangements I wrote on the albums and essentially back me up. No “hey I think we should play it like this” nope..play what’s on the charts I give you.
but after 3 albums and one live album under my own name, when it came time to move forward I looked back and although I am super proud of what I have done so far, it always came back to “the core 4”
helene has been by my side in the CAB since the beginning. Shawn has been my brother, friend and bandmate in countless projects for 20+ years and Gary although “the new guy” has been with this band for over a year, plays with me in The Splits too and has contributed quite a bit since he joined (not to mention a powerhouse drummer!). So why not like the live album give them the credit, collaboration and respect they so deserve?
Its easy to get wrapped up in your own thing, but one of the most important things I’ve learned the past year is that it’s not always all about you. Letting other people into your circle and working together with other like minded positive friends can only make things better.
So…moving forward we will be rebranding the next release, social media, the site, everything under the Critically Ashamed
I’m still deciding on whether to keep this site active and there might be times where I still release music on my own down the line. I have songs written hidden in “the archives” that might see the light of day recorded the same way I did the “elephants” album just for fun.
but be on the lookout starting the next few weeks for a ton of cool content under our NEW website and social media sites under thecriticallyashamed.com
cannot wait to show you all what we have in store!
Much love,
g2