THE GILROYS [return]

“The Art of an Era” by Michael Nace

Undeniable to the careful music audience, the shape of America’s

music community has, at the end of this century, settled into a stagnant

position of music-as-industry, thus dissuading the true artists from

creating for art, and instead reaching for a constant, unchanging musical

disposition which has, for some time now, failed to progress beyond a

certain archetype of form, content and style.

From the periphery of sacherrine, sterile pop bands and performers

who exist only in the kitch aire of commercial conformity come this

quartet of musicians whose approach to their music medium can only be

compared to the maturity and commeraderie of the great Jazz musicans

of this 20th century. Interlocking their inspiring command of the rock,

jazz, and progressive artists of the past fifty years, The Gilroys bring to

their listeners such a tasteful and collaborative portrait of all that remains

of tasteful and inspiring music.

Singer and guitarist Sean Hoots evokes a sense of nostalgia and

stark emotional brilliance, calling down the ghosts of dead jazz singers,

undercut by stylings similar to Jeff Buckley and Thom York. Tim Celfo’s

bass lines are naturalistic and bottom-felt, linking the melodia of the

songs with tremor-like rhythmns which can easily take flight into the

upper layers of melodic sound, fusing to the sharp movements the guitar

and piano. Piano/Organist Ben Smith truly brings the Jazz dynamic into the

Gilroys’ sound. His virtuositic and seamless physical ability on the piano

and ambient voice brings the band’s song aesthetic to a rare and unusual

level of clarity and emotion. Finally, drummer Matt Magarahan drives the

band’s songs with a spirit that is unmatched against other drummers of

this past decade. During performances, he is truly enveloped in sound

and energy, crossing rock, jazz, bossa nova, jungle, funk, and

drum-n-bass into his beats, and performing with such a sense of musical

connectedness that his presence is almost overwhelming.

The Gilroys do not make music to sell. Nor do they make music to

stun. Their art is created at the beginning of our mysterious ability to rise

up from the effects of that which performed. At the most basic level, the

Gilroys bring something that any music listener can come to appreciate,

enveloping an audience with a consonance that only matches the quiet,

driving sounds of our innermost functions.