Jerry Gaskill
Come Somewhere

Review By Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
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  This is Jerry Gaskill's first solo outing. I think he feels right at home behind the drum kit singing lead vocals. Come Somewhere is his new album featuring Ty Tabor, his band mate in King's X. Tabor steps up and helps out with some exceptional guitar work and certainly makes Gaskill feel right at home. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that this music sounds similar to King's X, and that is a good thing because familiarity can help you at times, and in this case I think it does.

Gaskill does his best impression of Phil Collins and Nick D'Virgillio by putting out an awesome solo album and catching everyone off guard with how good his vocals are. The King's X influences are ever-present with the hard rockin' riffs and Beatlesque sounds hovering around the fringes at all times. It is a remarkably appealing combination of rhythm, melody, and straight ahead rock with biting lyrics to get both hemispheres in your brain working.

I found the CD cover art very thought provoking. It could have many meanings dependent upon your own personal point of view or your place in life. Possibly the image of the woman relates to loneliness and baring your naked soul in a (nearly) empty room, so everyone in the world can see you totally revealed, then hopefully someone will come along and take you by the hand and show you a better way towards the light of life and living. The naked woman all curled up in a ball in a corner, looks very frightened, and she seems to need help. The picture certainly opens the door for many thoughts and ideas to the underlying theme of this project.

In "L.A. Flight," Gaskill sings about changing the pain from black to white, which is an interesting play on words and something to reflect upon. If you are a listener that really hears the lyrics and what the artist is trying to convey, you will find a lot to sink your teeth into on this release. "Garden Stroll" brings Frank Zappa back to life when a voice that is a dead ringer for Frank interjects some spoken word into the song. It is almost as if Zappa laid down the voiceover and put it in the can for Jerry to use for this album someday, it's eerie as hell. I felt I got another clue about what this story is all about in that particular song.

The album cover does have one plant in it, which could signify the existence of a garden, and there is mention of cocaine, so perhaps this is about addiction and the loneliness it can bring into one's life, threatening sanity and a normal semblance of life. The singularity of the plant's life gives hope, which I think is a key. Let's face it, what is normal about sitting in an empty room naked with a plant looking distraught and confused? On "Hello Mrs.," another excellent composition that rocks, when Gaskill sings the harmony in between his heavy-duty emotive lyrics, he sounds like Marc Bolan of T. Rex. There are so many surprises found on this album, I think that is why I spent so much time taking it all in and processing it. It all starts when you look at the cover and then when the music starts the journey starts and never ends.

Maybe I got a little too heavy with what this all could mean but I just could not help myself. The lyrics forced me to ponder my inner self and then my thoughts translated to feelings within my heart, thereby allowing me to formulate my perceptions of the entire album. What really counts when all it is all over is that you will have a great album to listen to whether you have ears for music, lyrics, or both. This is a great album worth checking out.

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