Gary Van Miert – The Sensational Country Blues Wonders! If I Stop Moving, I’ll Fall From The Sky
This is songwriter/producer Gary Van Miert’s 3rd LP of original classic country, blues, pop & rock accented tunes slathered in quips & sardonic euphemisms in psychedelic wrappings. It’s shaped & mindful of the music spit-polished by 60s bands like The Strawberry Alarm Clock (“Incense & Peppermints” & their obscure heavy song “Me & the Township”). There were also the Electric Prunes (“I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night”), the Syndicate of Sound (“Little Girl”) & the Count 5 (“Psychotic Reaction”) that come to mind.
Gary incorporates whimsical seasoning with the sky, the universe & altered states. Some songs may come off as novelty, campy, or hippie-drippy, but that isn’t the spirit in which it was made. Gary tries to maintain some humor in his otherwise serious repertoire. The New Jersey musician succeeds in being entertaining & clever.
There are 10 interstellar journeys fully fueled on The Sensational Country Blues Wonders! If I Stop Moving, I’ll Fall From The Sky (Drops Oct 25/Independent/34:00). All these outer limits originate from the mind of Gary who hovers over the realm of Hoboken & Jersey City, NJ.
Nancy Sinatra and I were born in Jersey City’s Margaret Hague Hospital (now condos) in Hudson County. I’m curious. We’ll see. I came to this showcase apprehensively. But “We Are Made of Stardust” opens interestingly with Gary’s vocal a bit like Fred Schneider’s (B-52s). The song is quirky with sitar & catchy & well-recorded. It’s not silly at all for a Jersey boy.
So, don’t expect Bruce Springsteen or Billy Falcon. But Newark, New Jersey’s Fred Schneider puts Gary in respectable company. Gary isn’t emulating the B-52s, but his topics seem appropriate for that band. Even “Why Did I Eat the Whole Bag of Mushrooms?” is a cool admittance. It’s also an accurate observation in this age of legal lubricants. The Schneider vocal comparison only goes as far as the song’s subject matter. Gary’s vocal is closer to a stardust cowboy now.
However, he goes for the higher Schneider register in “If I Stop Moving, I’ll Fall From the Sky.” The sitar is campy cool & as mentioned earlier it’s done with a deft touch that dangles these songs just above the cauldron of novelty but never submerges — they’re that good. “Head In the Clouds” is spacy but it’s rendered as pretty as “Penny Lane” by The Beatles.
Highlights – “We Are Made of Stardust,” “Why Did I Eat the Whole Bag of Mushrooms?” “If I Stop Moving, I’ll Fall From the Sky,” “Head In the Clouds,” “One More Cup of Mushroom Tea” & “Magic Glasses.”
Color image courtesy of Barbara Beeman. CD @ Bandcamp + https://garyvanmiert.com/
Video Premiere – https://americanahighways.org/2024/10/09/video-premiere-the-sensational-country-blues-wonders-if-i-stop-moving-ill-fall-from-the-sky/
