ARTIST: Gerald Collier
TITLE: How Can There Be Another Day?
LABEL: In Music We Trust
GENRE: Indie
BITRATE: 176/441/Joint Stereo
PLAYTIME: 55:58
RELEASE DATE: 2007-04-19
RIP DATE: 2007-00-00
Track List
----------
01. One Clear Shot 4:41
02. Jigsaw Puzzle 6:28
03. Sorrow 2:41
04. Is This What You Wanted? 5:38
05. Don't Discard Me 3:34
06. Rocket Man 4:51
07. Hell Has Frozen Over (On Who I 5:12
Used To Be)
08. Night Comes In 6:22
09. Sometimes She Forgets 3:17
10. For Taking My Baby Away 4:37
11. Don't Go With Him (Bonus Track) 4:48
12. I'm Not Coming Back (Bonus 3:49
Track)
Release Notes:
Best Kissers in the World front man Gerald Collier had been through it all. His
rock band moved from Arizona to Seattle, WA and soon found themselves signed to
Sub Pop, spawning the 1991 self-titled debut EP. From there, the band quickly
signed to MCA Records, releasing 1993Æs EP ôPuddinÆö and later that year their
debut full-length, ôBeen Thereö.
Following several high-profile tours, including two tours with X and two tours
with Social Distortion, and recording a second full-length, ôYellow Brick
Roadkillö, Collier and his band found themselves without a label in 1995 and
soon disbanded.
It was then Collier started his solo career, and a similar chain of events would
unfold.
He recorded his debut full-length, ôI Had To Laugh Like Hellö and then signed
with C/Z Records, who released the record in 1996. Following critical praise and
a huge buzz coming off of the Best Kissers in the World. Collier once again
found himself being courted by major labels and inked a deal with Revolution
Records, a label owned by Warner Bros.
For the purpose of Gerald ColleirÆs new record, ôHow Can There Be Another Day?ö
coming in the summer of 2007, this is where our story unfolds.
In July of 1997, Collier and his band - William Bernhard on guitar, J. Hollis
Fleischman on drums, and Jeff Wood on bass û would fly from Seattle to Forte
Apache Studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts and record the self-titled
full-length for Gerald Collier, and Revolutions Records would release it in
March of 1998.
Entertainment Weekly said of the self-titled full-length, ô...filters his
love-lorn tales through downcast, gritty songs that recall Neil Young at his
most bummed out..." while Magnet Magazine stated, ôCollierÆs world-weary voice,
akin to Townes Van SandtÆs, is perfectly suited to the heart-wrenching jukebox
confessionals contained hereinö.
Touring would follow and, due to lack of label support and Warner Bros.
dissolving Revolution, Collier would soon find himself without a label again
amidst band turmoil.
Now label-less and without a band, Collier would forge on and record 1999Æs ôLow
Tar Tasteö, released on Aces & Eights Records, a label he co-owned with The
SupersuckersÆ Eddie Spaghetti and former Dwarves member Danny Bland (who was
managing Collier and The Supcrsuckers at the time). Then in he would record a
full-blown country record simply entitled ôUnreleased Country Recordö (it never
saw a proper CD release, and is only available digitally). And in 2003 would
record ôBreakinÆ Downö and release it on San Francisco-based Isota Records
before giving up on music entirely, moving to Austin, TX with his wife, and
getting a day job.
It seemed the end of his music career. That is, until CollierÆs former guitar
player William Bernhard discovered demos, outtakes, and live material they had
recorded together before going their separate ways.
At this point in 2006 Collier and his wife had re-located to Portland, Oregon.
Bernhard, who was also living in Portland at the time, invited Collier and his
wife over for dinner, and began playing Collier these recordings. Recordings of
unreleased songs such as ôOne Clear Shotö and ôTaking My Baby Awayö, covers of
The Rolling StonesÆ ôJigsaw Puzzleö, Elton JohnÆs ôRocket Manö, and Steve
EarleÆs ôSometimes She Forgetsö, among others.
These recordings and subsequent talks would soon find Bernhard compiling the
songs together, paring it down to twelve recordings, getting it mastered, and
designing artwork for the project.
ôHow Can There Be Another Day?ö was born.
ôIt was the suggestion of the lead guitarist in the band at the time, William
Bernhard,ö says Collier of the recordÆs birth. ôMy lovely wife and I had just
relocated from Austin Texas back to the Northwest and met with Bill and his
lovely wife for dinner one night at their house in Portland. He produced these
tapes. I don't think either of us had heard the stuff in years. They sounded
very good.ö
Collier continues, ôBill said we should release them, and that was itö.ö
Listening back to these songs recorded in 1997 and 1998 with his Revolution
Records-era band, Collier reminisces on the Revolution days.
ôIt was a good one all in all,ö Collier says of the experience. ôI don't think
they knew what to do with the record when it was done however. That coupled with
the fact that Revolution was on shaky ground about three months after the record
came out didn't help things.
ôOne day I got a call and the voice on the other end said, æeveryone has been
fired here, can you come to Los Angeles for a meetingÆ? It wasn't going to be
good news when I got there, you know? I knew that. But, I'm not one of those æI
hate major labelsÆ guys, so if youÆre looking for dirt or bellyaching forget it.
Fact is, they paid me very well to come on board and to go away (thanks to my
lawyer) and never at anytime treated me like something the cat dragged in. A far
cry from how I feel on a daily basis these days.ö
The record also gets Collier thinking about the band, and how Bernhard,
Fleischman, and Wood were a forced to be reckoned with.
ôThe band was very powerful and dynamic, and listening back to these recordings
proves it,ö Collier says without hesitation. ôThe solo band could be very quiet
and turn a song into a shit storm at our command. The players in the band had a
lot chops and didn't give a rats ass about what anyone thought about what we
were doing at the time. We knew it was great music and our performances were
consistent and always on the verge. Tension was important to us.ö
Songs such as ôDonÆtÆ Discard Meö and ôHell Has Frozen Over (On Who I Used To
Be)ö were demo recordings that were later re-recorded and put on ôGerald
Collierö, while cover songs such as Leonard CohenÆs ôIs This What You Wanted?ö
and Richard ThompsonÆs ôNight Comes Inö were recorded as bonus material should
the record take off. The record also includes full-band live cuts of ôDonÆt Go
With Himö and ôIÆm Not Coming Backö, songs that were recorded acoustically on
CollierÆs debut but re-worked with a full band for touring.
When asked why some of these songs didnÆt make the Revolution RecordsÆ
full-length, or why a few were re-recorded, Collier explains, ôSome just didn't
get recorded in time for the release, as they were recorded after the CD had
already been issued to the public. We chose what we thought would make the best
CD from the songs we had at the time. Some of them were recorded after the fact
for æextra songsÆ, just in case the CD took off and sold a billion copies. This
was common practice back then. The label wanted to make sure that we put
material down when ever we were ready to do it as a way of always having
material.ö
When asked to discuss the recordings being put away and virtually lost, to be
discovered nearly ten years later, Collier has an answer.
ôHow did they get lost?ö he asks rhetorically. ôItÆs easy to lose anything. Put
your best intentions on a restaurant table and leave it for five years. Chances
are it will be lost. Couple that with the slovenly ways of music types and
ta-da, itÆs lostö.
Taking it one step further, Collier, when initially hearing ôOne Clear Shotö and
ôTaking My Baby Awayö didnÆt even recall writing these songs.
ôThey are new songs to me. And to my fans, since IÆve never played them live or
released them,ö he says of the two songs. ôHell, I don't even remember writing
them. I love them. They are the best songs that I forgot I ever wrote. Period.ö
If asked why a b-sides/outtakes record now, Collier will, without hesitation,
explain to you that ôHow Can There Be Another Day?ö is ôthe missing link. Behind
everything that we were doing at the time were these experiments. This release
shows in living color what we were all about. If you were a fan of our material
at all, you must appreciate this offering.ö
Asked if heÆs excited about ôHow Can There Be Another Day?ö and getting back
into live music and writing songs again (Collier is currently writing material
for a new studio record to be released in the spring of 2008), Collier doesnÆt
pause for a moment when he says, ôWhat I really get excited about these days is
cashing checks, made out to me in respectable amounts, which doesn't happen
nearly enough on a daily basis in my humble opinion. With this CD, all proceeds
are going to charity so I will be very happy should that come to pass with more
regularity.ö
Continuing, he says, ôI've had more excitement in my lifetime than most could
ever imagine. I've been signed twice to major labels, toured with all the
legends and contemporaries that I care about, made and lost enormous amounts of
money, received affirmation of a job more than well done from pears and band
members, married an absolute fox who stunts me in every category, sipped and
sucked in some of the finest and foulest eateries the world has to offer.
ôI'm sorry, what was the question?ö he asks himself.
ôHas making this record excited you about writing music and making records
again?ö his mind answers back.
ôOh yeah, I'm jacked up. I'm sure the future will be able to hold a candle to
all of that!ö
Collier hasnÆt missed a beat. His dry, biting sense of humor is fully alive, as
is his knack for turning a phrase into a cutting, memorable line, proven by the
comment Collier makes when asked to recall the recording sessions these songs
were made at.
ôI can still taste the very powerful drugs,ö he says with a smile. He knows heÆs
got you roped in, and he going to take you for a ride.
http://www.geraldcollier.net/
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