Kickstarter - Livin' The Dream!

We have been working hard getting the new record all wrapped up and we are excited to get it into your hands as soon as possible. We have started accepting pre orders on our website. It is a quick process and you will get your copy well before it is officially released.

Your advanced copy will be personally autographed by all the guys and the first 1,000 copies will be a special limited edition.

Click here to order your copy right now!

 

 

 

Gary Pfaff & The Heartwells on iLike - Add iLike to your MySpace

READ ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Gary Pfaff is my newest musical crush. Actually, this is my second go-round on crushing on him, this time stronger than the last. I saw him at the Loft last fall and was impressed but then moved on to other musical interests. But after seeing him again - twice! - in February, I'm flat smitten. With his band, the Heartwells, he is the exact act one might expect to find playing in a bar in a smallish Georgia town, though perhaps it would be more correct to say that they are the exact band one might expect to find in a movie about a bar in a smallish Georgia town because rarely does one expect to find this caliber of professional musicianship in bars in smallish Georgia towns.

In terms relating exclusively to the music itself, Gary and his boys and their mix of power ballads and high-energy, booty-shaking, country-blues grooves are flat out amazing, but that isn't the real draw - or at least not the only real draw. I dig his writing. He seems to be coming from the same place where I live. Some people write what they think a perfect pop song ought to be and their lyrics smack of insincerity. For instance, I really do love the Los Lonely Boys' first album (man those guys can play!) but you can tell that the person who penned those lyrics had never really been in love and didn't know what real relationships are like. Some people tell other people's stories in a way that allows you to get inside that character's head. Marshall Ruffin does that - he is quite the bard but I have never heard him sing anything that allows me inside HIS head or gives me a picture of HIS life. Other folks write about themselves, their lives, their feelings, their relationships, and it shows. John Mayer, Ben Taylor, Sonia Leigh, Ben Deignan, Jason Mraz - when you listen, really listen, to their music, you know they are laying bare their souls for your perusal. It may not be your experience, but you know that these words are very real to them.

Gary writes music for grownups, and by grownups, I mean people like me - thirty-somethings with lives and families and real responsibilities, able to put on our grownup suits when necessary but yet not quite willing to own adulthood. By grownups I mean the sort of folks who blast Offspring in our minivans and think its funny when small children sing ‘Give it to me baby! Uh huh! Uh huh!'. He writes about his life in a brutally honest voice. His songs deal with themes like personal hangups, drugs, drinking, and relationship dysfunction. Rockin' dance tunes like ‘Perfect' and ‘Love Drug' in which he sings about fighting about silly things, the unwillingness to admit when wrong, and having passionate make-up sex, and ‘Naked', a ballad that contains the line, ‘I'd rather be naked with you than argue like we always do' remind me of situations I've been in repeatedly and lead me to believe that he and his wife are both stubborn, prideful, temper-tantrumatic, passionate, wonderfully flawed individuals who are madly in love and committed to their relationship and their kids. And it would seem that Gary likes to cut loose and raise hell when he gets the chance. I know what that feels like!

Gary's studio stuff is definitely top notch, but his true strength is performance. On stage, he and his band seem like super-human arena rock gods. The dude is 6‘3" anyway, and that's without his signature cowboy boots. The physical size of the guys is matched only by the amount of energy they put into their music and the amount of energy they can draw out of the crowd. These factors work together to create the feeling of being at one huge party they've thrown just for you.

My favorite song in their live repertoire is a dirty, gritty, rockin' blues tune called ‘Mississippi Streets'. Like I said, the studio version is nice but the live version is nothing short of an experience all in and of itself. First off, he gets the audience all stomping and clapping just as hard and loud as they can and all that resonates against the hardwood floors of the Loft and makes the whole place shake. Secondly, there's the trick he does with the beer bottle. He picks it up, slams down whatever is left in the bottle, flips it upside down, and then uses it for a slide on the neck of his guitar - all in one fluid motion. It's friggin' amazing - totally Rock Star...just like Gary and the boys. Swoon....

Gary Pfaff & The Heartwells on iLike - Add iLike to your MySpace

I have had a super rough couple of days and am slowly getting back in better spirits. The week actually started great with a show at The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville on Sunday and then a really productive recording session on Monday in Atlanta, but then everything seemed to fall apart.

I took Tuesday "off" so that I could get in some good family time and we took the kids up to the pool. We spent about 3 blissful hours there and then came out to find our car window smashed to pieces.

They got my wife's purse which had her wallet, cellphone, and all of her makeup (which I now understand was a big deal...lol!) plus they had enough time to dig through the center console and find my wallet as well.

It has been terrible trying to get by with no ID, no credit/debit cards, no access to our money, and only one cell phone between us. It is amazing how much those "little" items being gone can cripple your ability to do anything.

It has been 48 hours full of stress, but is allowing for some self reflection and realizing that the world we live in is full desperation. I hope that whoever had to steal from us got what they needed. You would have to be pretty down and out to break into a car and reach over a babie's carseat to steal a purse.

So now - with last week having our merch box lost/stolen and now this week with the personal loss I am having to dig deep to keep a positive mind about things, and deep down I do know everything is going to be alright even though today really sucks!

At least everyone is safe!

Thanks for letting me vent - Be well!

GP

Gary Pfaff & The Heartwells on iLike - Add iLike to your MySpace

Tickets just went on sale for the July 11th show at Andrews Upstairs in Atlanta, GA. Gary is producing John Pringle's new album and they have teamed up for a HUGE show in their hometown.

GET TICKETS NOW!

Gary Pfaff & The Heartwells on iLike - Add iLike to your MySpace

A couple years back the birthday show tradition started with the live recording that turned into Gary Pfaff - Under The Influence Live album. The time has come for another BIG show. We are bringing it back to Andrews Upstairs on July 11th and have invited good friend: John Pringle to perform as well.

We will update you as soon as tickets go on sale!

Gary Pfaff & The Heartwells on iLike - Add iLike to your MySpace

We made an awful discovery when we got to Raleigh last night. We realized that our merch box was left behind in Atlanta. The worst part is that it was left on sidewalk at our studio at The Biltmore in Atlanta and no one has turned it in.

We hope someone will...

If you see a 1970's big green suitcase with Gary Pfaff & The Heartwells CD's & stickers - give us a shout.

Oh well - can't change it now...

Gary Pfaff & The Heartwells on iLike - Add iLike to your MySpace

We are back out on the road now heading up 85 to North Carolina for a couple shows and since I am not driving I thought I'd take a second to update everybody on the status of the new album.

We spent all day yesterday in the studio recutting my vocal tracks on a few songs. After months of touring my voice has gotten stronger and some melodies and lyrics have evolved so we wanted to capture that on the recordings. It takes a little extra time (which we don't have alot of...) but in the end will totally be worth it.

So, as it stands now we have basically finished the new album versions of:


The Sound Of Rain

Never Looking Back

Mississippi Streets

This Town

Things Will Get Better (Hard To See How)

Gone

Walk Away

Livin' The Dream

Love Drug

Wild Fires


We have also decided to add a couple new songs that we recently wrote while we were on the road. Those songs will get tracked sometime next week and are currently titled:


Through A Soldiers Eyes

Here We Go Again


Knowing us there will be a couple more surprise songs by the release of the record. We are excited to get it out, and expect it to FINALLY be available September/October.

See ya'll soon!

G.P.

Gary Pfaff & The Heartwells on iLike - Add iLike to your MySpace

We saw this wide open field off the highway somewhere in between Raleigh and Wilmington, NC and decided to get out of the van for a bit and play some music..... Enjoy...More to come!