Chris Gheran & The Graveyard Gang

by Crom

Most of the time that music is playing in my presence, searing guitars flay skin from the bones of the weak, and I stand on my desk shrieking loudly, hands held aloft in victory. But every so often I need to turn the tempo down; sometimes Crom needs to get introspective. For many moons there has been a derth of worthy music to soothe the beast, and there are only so many times you can play “Blood on the Tracks” before its lost any and all meaning. Fortunately, there is a light in the black.

I was standing in my living room, waving a broadsword around, the usual Saturday afternoon, when a fellow warrior told me of a soothing new voice. I frantically jammed the CD into my computer, jacking the speakers up to the bleed line, and sat back in the lazy boy, waiting for the first strings to waft my way. A rainbow sprang forth from the speakers, and made it possible for me to again believe that solid tunes can be produced not only in our day and age, but in our area code as well.

Chris Gheran is a folk-rock pimp, rising through the levels of amateur smog that chokes the local music scene, and dodging the bullet of imitation with each new tune he releases. A local boy who swings with a mighty bat, Chris has slowly gained notoriety through the local music scene over the last few years, plying his wares across town, popping in at the Blind Beggar, Vicious Circle, Rusty Cage, and Broken City. Chris has endured the venues, and small-time song contests. In fact, though I have no clear memory of how, several days later I was packed into the Snatch RocknRoll bar (a place I adamantly refused to go) where the Fuel 90.3 Big Rock Contest was taking place, and Chris had hit the semi-finals.

Gheran had brought along the Gang, a trio of instrument wielding thugs who bludgeoned the room with rhythm. I slurped down Rum & Coke, pounding my fists on the bar in time with the music. The band is versatile and the good time they’re having on stage is infectious. Who knew that whistling could actually sound good on stage? The rum flowed strong as the boys brought out an array of talent: trumpet, piano, 3 guitars, no bass, some bass, all bass; it felt like the Allman Brothers Band had jumped on stage, as the lads gave a showing finer than most the live music I’ve seen in a decade. I laughed along with “Monster”, and whooped hard during the refrain of “Join the Army”; a good time was had by all. Sadly the boys were undone in the voting by a corrupt system, and my complaints went unheard as I was violently expelled from the bar for calling the panel a group of brackish whores.

But Hark! There is hope still friends, for the Gang has finished their battle in the studio and the band’s first professional mixed CD is coming out. Oct 3rd the Gang unleashes “Monster”, and Chris Gheran will use his soothing voice, to push the sun back into the sky, and give us one more day of summer.

Here are some sample tracks, gorge upon them.

Entaro Adun,

Crom