Chris McKay & The Critical Darlings - "Something Unseen" featuring Mike Garson (Official Video)
This one's even more personal: THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: "Something Unseen" (featuring Mike Garson) (Official video with remastered audio). Order your double vinyl LP at http://www.chrismckay.bandcamp.com Release date: October 20, 2023 Something Unseen (Music by Tom O'Gorman / Chris McKay / Mike Garson. Lyrics by Chris McKay / Tom O’Gorman) Chris McKay: ...I always loved this song that Tom O'Gorman brought in back in the late '90s and felt a lack of resolution that the song had never been officially recorded, but I didn’t have the ability to play it on the piano myself and (The Critical Darlings) had no keyboard player... ...I was even dreaming of the piano player search, and that’s where I found the man who actually played on this recording. In fact, my subconscious mind actually gave me two options - sort of… Those two piano players were either Mike Garson (famous for his work with David Bowie such as “Aladdin Sane”) or Freddie Mercury from Queen. By this time, of course, Freddie was long gone so that left one person alive in the world that I really felt could do the song... I know that most people wouldn’t have even tried because it is so unbelievably ridiculous. A voice in my head kept telling me to try. What’s there to lose? So, in a bid toward what felt like the longest of long shots, I looked online to see if Mike Garson was there. To my surprise, he was. I sent a cold direct message asking if there was any possible way I could pitch a song for him to possibly play on for an unsigned, unknown band in Athens, Georgia. A few hours later, I got a message back from an assistant who made it clear that “I’m sure you understand that Mike doesn’t usually these kinds of things, but I’ll pass on the message, so send me a demo and if he’s willing to listen to it, I’ll let you know his answer, but don’t get your hopes up”. Well, I didn’t even think it would get that far. I only had one rough live demo that was recorded at the Georgia Theatre. I sent the recording knowing I’d never hear back. Within a few days, I did, in fact, hear back, not from the assistant, but directly from Mike Garson. My hands were shaking when I clicked to read the message. Mike said he loved the song and was into doing it. He also wanted to know why I wanted him. I told him about my dreams, my focusing and the fact that it came down to either him or Freddie Mercury, and then I explained that he was just slightly easier to get in touch with than Freddie, so there I was. He seemed to appreciate that... At the risk of worrying that he wouldn’t want to go back to a certain place and that I might offend him, I went all in and asked him to head fully into that “Aladdin Sane” / “Lady Grinning Soul” vibe. I really was nervous to hit “send”. I didn’t want to scare him off. I didn’t. He knew that was likely what turned me on to him as that album is what turned the world on to Mike Garson. He was beyond gracious about it and willing to revisit that sound and feel modernized to who he had become over all these years. Before I even got the scratch demo done, he’d sent me the intro and I’m not going to lie, my eyes were watering. “Oh, my God. I made this with my favorite musician of all time. We created this together”. I will never not be shocked and blown away by the fact that world collided in such a surreal way. You have to understand. When Aladdin Sane came out on cassette in the early ‘90s as a reissue, I had never heard it. I was in my back bedroom at my Grandmother’s house with my future wife...Suddenly, “Aladdin Sane” burst out of the speakers and my life changed. It was just that quick... I remember saying out loud, “WHAT THE HELL IS THIS???” In a musical buzz by the playful little ending sign off from Garson, “Aladdin Sane” ended. I looked over at Manda and I said, “I don’t know who that piano player is, but I swear to you, if he’s alive, somehow, we will work together someday”. I just knew it at some core level. I still don’t understand it, but I knew it, I felt it, and then it came to be. Saying those words at the time gave me chills. It gives me chills even writing it and knowing that I knew it instantly and it actually happened all those years later. How could this be?... Yes, the song is about endings, but it’s also about beginnings. It’s about change. It’s about looking around one day and realizing that not only won’t life continue as it has been, but that life, by the laws of Nature, cannot stay the same. How are you going to react to those changes? Are you going to be a part of the change and grow or are you going to give in to entropy and run out the clock? ...There was death and danger and trauma all around throughout this album, but I was determined not to give in... For the full story, see: https://www.facebook.com/criticaldarlings/videos/1064541384720784 Or find a copy of the book The Satisfactionista Diaries. Reserve your Satisfactionista Bundle now at http://www.chrismckay.bandcamp.com
This one's even more personal: THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: "Something Unseen" (featuring Mike Garson) (Official video with remastered audio). Order your double vinyl LP at http://www.chrismckay.bandcamp.com Release date: October 20, 2023 Something Unseen (Music by Tom O'Gorman / Chris McKay / Mike Garson. Lyrics by Chris McKay / Tom O’Gorman) Chris McKay: ...I always loved this song that Tom O'Gorman brought in back in the late '90s and felt a lack of resolution that the song had never been officially recorded, but I didn’t have the ability to play it on the piano myself and (The Critical Darlings) had no keyboard player... ...I was even dreaming of the piano player search, and that’s where I found the man who actually played on this recording. In fact, my subconscious mind actually gave me two options - sort of… Those two piano players were either Mike Garson (famous for his work with David Bowie such as “Aladdin Sane”) or Freddie Mercury from Queen. By this time, of course, Freddie was long gone so that left one person alive in the world that I really felt could do the song... I know that most people wouldn’t have even tried because it is so unbelievably ridiculous. A voice in my head kept telling me to try. What’s there to lose? So, in a bid toward what felt like the longest of long shots, I looked online to see if Mike Garson was there. To my surprise, he was. I sent a cold direct message asking if there was any possible way I could pitch a song for him to possibly play on for an unsigned, unknown band in Athens, Georgia. A few hours later, I got a message back from an assistant who made it clear that “I’m sure you understand that Mike doesn’t usually these kinds of things, but I’ll pass on the message, so send me a demo and if he’s willing to listen to it, I’ll let you know his answer, but don’t get your hopes up”. Well, I didn’t even think it would get that far. I only had one rough live demo that was recorded at the Georgia Theatre. I sent the recording knowing I’d never hear back. Within a few days, I did, in fact, hear back, not from the assistant, but directly from Mike Garson. My hands were shaking when I clicked to read the message. Mike said he loved the song and was into doing it. He also wanted to know why I wanted him. I told him about my dreams, my focusing and the fact that it came down to either him or Freddie Mercury, and then I explained that he was just slightly easier to get in touch with than Freddie, so there I was. He seemed to appreciate that... At the risk of worrying that he wouldn’t want to go back to a certain place and that I might offend him, I went all in and asked him to head fully into that “Aladdin Sane” / “Lady Grinning Soul” vibe. I really was nervous to hit “send”. I didn’t want to scare him off. I didn’t. He knew that was likely what turned me on to him as that album is what turned the world on to Mike Garson. He was beyond gracious about it and willing to revisit that sound and feel modernized to who he had become over all these years. Before I even got the scratch demo done, he’d sent me the intro and I’m not going to lie, my eyes were watering. “Oh, my God. I made this with my favorite musician of all time. We created this together”. I will never not be shocked and blown away by the fact that world collided in such a surreal way. You have to understand. When Aladdin Sane came out on cassette in the early ‘90s as a reissue, I had never heard it. I was in my back bedroom at my Grandmother’s house with my future wife...Suddenly, “Aladdin Sane” burst out of the speakers and my life changed. It was just that quick... I remember saying out loud, “WHAT THE HELL IS THIS???” In a musical buzz by the playful little ending sign off from Garson, “Aladdin Sane” ended. I looked over at Manda and I said, “I don’t know who that piano player is, but I swear to you, if he’s alive, somehow, we will work together someday”. I just knew it at some core level. I still don’t understand it, but I knew it, I felt it, and then it came to be. Saying those words at the time gave me chills. It gives me chills even writing it and knowing that I knew it instantly and it actually happened all those years later. How could this be?... Yes, the song is about endings, but it’s also about beginnings. It’s about change. It’s about looking around one day and realizing that not only won’t life continue as it has been, but that life, by the laws of Nature, cannot stay the same. How are you going to react to those changes? Are you going to be a part of the change and grow or are you going to give in to entropy and run out the clock? ...There was death and danger and trauma all around throughout this album, but I was determined not to give in... For the full story, see: https://www.facebook.com/criticaldarlings/videos/1064541384720784 Or find a copy of the book The Satisfactionista Diaries. Reserve your Satisfactionista Bundle now at http://www.chrismckay.bandcamp.com