Jonathan Paull Gertler “Unfinished Business”
Americana Highways is hosting this premiere of Jonathan Paull Gertler’s song “Unfinished Business” from his forthcoming album. The album was produced and mixed by Paul Ebersold, and recorded at Studio Rukkus Room in Nashville, TN. This song will be released on July 10 via Rock Ridge Music label.
“Unfinished Business” is Jonathan Paull Gertler on vocals and guitar; Kai Welch on piano; Jimbo Hart on bass; Josh Hunt on drums; and Matt Menefee on banjo and dobro.
Jonathan told us a little about the song, “’Unfinished Business’ is unquestionably a pandemic song, because we can never fully do everything we want, and that was a time when it was even harder. As a surgeon scientist, I recognized the critical healthcare policy needs for epidemic control until we had better treatments and vaccines, and as a human being, I profoundly felt the isolation that so many of us were experiencing. We were missing some basic personal contacts – the shared glass of wine, eating off the same plate – or just seeing somebody’s face without a mask. But by design, the song is optimistic, which is always the way I live my life. I wanted the tune to speak to our dreams that we never lose, to say it is essential to take a chance and make mistakes, and that we should never forget the simplicity of the human touch, especially when coupled to passion, which as the lyrics say can make our hands shake. In a great way.
“This song was intentionally musically simple – the final production has the centrality of the finger style guitar – but the beautiful percussive banjo and the melodic dobro made it exactly as I would have wanted it to come out. At the end of the day, as with so much of what I write, this song is about love as the support that we are in need of in times of hardship, the essential ingredient to life of empathy that sadly has been eroded from our world, and the optimism that simple human kindness allows us all to look forward to what’s ahead. I’m proud to have this one be the first single that comes out.”
Jonathan’s lyrics are thoughtful and complex as he touches on the inner life and the best of the human experience: kindness. “In days gone by the grass was sown / Unkempt as rains have fallen / In isolation dreams are grown / Can’t help my love from calling.” Fingerpicking guitar is arguable the most honest form of melody making and Gertler employs it on the song beautifully.
The music is available here: https://ffm.to/bzqe8yj
Find more details here on his website: https://jonathanpaullgertler.com/