Influences:
Foo Foghters,
Incubus,
Three Days Grace,
Green Day,
The Killers,
Chevelle,
Ten Years,
Linkin Park,
Fallout Boy,
Nickleback,
I Mother Earth,
Tool
GEE DAVEY LIVE: "Hey Hey Yeah"
Singer/Songwriter Cape May 2009
2009 MAR 27 * The Ugly Mug * Cape May, NJ
What they are saying about
SHE SELLS SMILES
Regardless of whether individuals are familiar with the work of Gee Davey, the one thing that can be said is that the band is dedicated. Over the course of the last five years, Gee Davey has came to the plate four times – 2003’s “Dear Theo”, 2005’s “Sparticle” EP, 2006’s “Sparticle” LP, and “She Sells Smiles”, the latest effort of the band. “Say Another Prayer” leads off this EP, and listeners will be immediately buffeted by intense guitar riffs. The style of music that Gee Davey creates during “She Sells Smiles” is difficult to categorize: there are hints of acts like Temple of the Dog, Incubus, and even hits of Fu Manchu and Monster Magnet present. While the drums and vocals are impressive enough on this introductory track, the guitars stand out beyond that, shredding with an intensity that equals that of a Dimebag Darrell or a Kirk Hammett.
“Last Song” is a track that withdraws from a straight hard rock/metal sound and moves Gee Davey towards a “Spoonman”-era Soundgarden or Foo Fighters type of approach. The drums rise to ascendency during this track, playing perfectly off the diverse array of guitar lines that are presented listeners during this track. While the average fan of hard rock will easily find something that they can appreciate on “She Sells Smiles”, Gee Davey is able to speak to a wider array of fans. This is due to the fact that the band puts together all six “She Sells Smiles” tracks together perfectly: there is no dissonance, no bum notes, and no weak arrangements to be had here. In that sense, Gee Davey is similar to Andrew WK. However, unlike Andrew WK, there is some significant differentiation to be had during the tracks on “She Sells Smiles”.
If individuals want to hear pure out party rock, they can turn on “Last Song” or the title track. If they want something a little more intricate and fulfilling, all they need to do is play “Beautiful You”. The band is flexible and can easily bring any number of different influences and genres to bear. Through all of these stylistic shifts and changes, listeners will begin to understand the allure of Gee Davey. The act is not about creating music just to be famous: they honestly want to create the best music which they are capable. They do just that on their “She Sells Smiles”, and they will likely gain an entire army of converts when listeners are able to pick up on the band’s special brand of rock music. If you like any rock, whether it be Van Halen, System of a Down, or even something like Matthew Sweet, search out a copy of “She Sells Smiles”.
In the title track to ‘Stay Positive’ by the Hold Steady, the lyrics go, ‘’When the Youth Of Today and the early 7 Seconds/Taught me some of life’s most valuable lessons’’.
Now you may ask, why quote another bands new release while reviewing the Gee Davey EP.. well its all bout how Gee Davey fuses the fairly distant past (classic rock like the Doobie Brothers, Grand Funk Railroad) into the recent more alternative past (Husker Du, Screaming Trees) and by having learnt all those ‘valuable lessons’ about melody, roughness and hints of vulnerability, creating a set of songs that live and breathe in the now and connect to hardcore and pop fans alike.
In this EP there is all the thrill of the best of the 70s rock classics without any of the stupidity and over indulgence that era flirted with, and there is the danger and wicked grins of the noise of the 80s, without the awful flipside of over produced safe metal pop.
There is a love of grunge but a wonderful ability to kick away the narcissism that riddled that genre, and an earthiness that kicks the contrived clean myspace models..I mean bands , where it hurts most.
She Sells Smiles starts out with Say Another Prayer, a modern rock bruiser with punk roots. Last Song opens with a great guitar hook and an extremely commercial sound reminiscent of the Foo Fighters. Beautiful You is a gorgeous rock and roll ballad and sounds a little like early Pearl Jam. Trial By Self is my favorite song on She Sells Smiles. It finds Gee Davey musing in the acoustic realm and highlights just how talented these guys are.
"Say Another Prayer" is carried by driving guitar chords and gritty vocals. The fiery guitar solo is brief, but what every guitar fan craves. The riffs stay heavy, but with a blusey twist on "Last Song." A Stone Temple Pilots influence can be drawn on the EP's title track. The riffage comes at you hard and heavy on the addictive track "LOLing." At the conclusion of this six track EP, she may sell smiles, but Gee Davey sells gritty rock hits. Crank it up!"
Foo Fighters, Seether, Green Day, Silversun Pickups, Rise Against,
Chevelle, Three Days Grace, Ten Years,
Silverchair,
Art Of Dying,
Colour Cold,
Vaeda,
The Headie Berrie,
Finespun, Shadows Lie, BHive, Permanent Scar, Sarah Donner, Lisa Bianco, Saluting the Rockies, Ready in 10, Super Consumers, Seven 27, The Fearless, Cosmos Moon, High Tolerance, Phoenix Rising, Black Pearle, Third Power, High Risk, Lux Astra, 7th Layer, 5 North, Neighborhood Disturbance the Dan Sheehan Conspiracy,
Fuel,Collective Soul,I Mother Earth,
Stone Temple Pilots,
Like a lot of up and coming DIY bands who eventually rock the world, the quirkily named hard edged powerhouse Gee Davey has been through some wild and woolly personnel changes since first wowing their fellow Long Islanders and indie fans everywhere with their 2003 EP Dear Theo. Now with group founder, guitarist and chief songwriter DJ Pearlman—whose former band Narcotic Gypsy opened for Ozzy Osbourne on the Ozzfest Tour—taking the reins as charismatic lead vocalist from GD’s recently departed original singer, everyone’s all smiles: the revamped lineup (including longtime drummer Michael Bontempi and new bassist Ray Kuhner), the band’s growing legion of fans and even Pearlman’s two year old daughter Charlotte, whose impish grin adorns the cover of Gee Davey’s explosive new disc She Sells Smiles.
In a state of flux for a few years, Gee Davey—whose hard hitting mix of fiery guitars, catchy melodies and poignant lyrics brings to mind superstar bands like Foo Fighters, Incubus and Green Day—was unable to tour in support of their critically acclaimed 2006 release Sparticle. That didn’t stop the album from becoming a major hit on the college radio circuit, with tracks like “Breathe” and “Skye” receiving airplay on over 50 CMJ (College Music Journal) reporting stations nationwide. Beyond spins on their local outlets WBAB, WMJC and WUSB, Sparticle made the Top Ten on several stations and—much to Pearlman’s bemused delight—got the most action in obscure places like Ruston, Louisiana and Valdez, Alaska!
Overseas, a podcaster from Germany has championed Gee Davey and played various tracks from Sparticle on his show “Next Big Thing” (www.nextbigthing.co.za); “Breathe” was a perennial in his Top Ten songs from around the globe. In addition, an acoustic version of “Fall Into You” was chosen for inclusion on Java With Javelyn, a popular promotional sampler of the country’s best indie music created by L.A. based singer-songwriter Javelyn. Texas based indie filmmaker Brandon Powell was so impressed by Gee Davey’s songs that he asked Pearlman to pen the title track for a movie he is currently in the process of editing; Pearlman chose to close She Sells Smiles with the infectious moody rocker he wrote for Powell, “Trial By Self.”
With the new lineup firmly in place, Gee Davey is making up for lost time, performing almost a hundred times in support of the new CD …so far. The first show was attended mostly by friends, but the enthusiasm of the band’s new booking agent, coupled with the venue staff’s excitement over the band’s new music, led to three more bookings there on the spot. They’ve also played popular New York venues like Crash Mansion, The National Underground, The Zebra Club, Sundance, Munchaba Lounge and the Performing Arts Theater. They've showcased at the coveted M.E.A.N.Y Festival (NYC), the Millennium Music Conference (PA), the Singer/Songwriter Conference at Cape May (NJ) and the USA Connected Festival (Calverton) and they’re slated to play at most of the regional festivals throughout the Summer/Fall of 2009, Including the Long Island Music Festival, a return to M.E.A.N.Y Fest 2009, and the CMJ Music Marathon.
Since the departure of original lead singer Jack Bielata and original bassist (and band co-founder) Wayne Macgregor, Gee Davey’s overall sound has taken on a slightly more pop-oriented flavor; the heavier vibe of the band’s older songs were directly influenced by Macgregor’s intense love for bands like Tool and Hatebreed. In line with the cheerier album title, She Sells Smiles reflects not only the unique new writing dynamic between Pearlman and Bontempi but also features a major stylistic shift that evolved with songs written specifically for Pearlman on lead vocals.
“There’s definitely a lighter, poppier vibe going on She Sells Smiles,” Pearlman says, “which is the culmination of all the creative changes Gee Davey has been through. My influences shine through a little more, and they tend to be lighter sounding rock bands like Incubus, Green Day, The Killers and Silverchair. The heaviest I tend to get is Godsmack or Audioslave. Mike and I have a completely different style when we write together than I had with Wayne, but the main criteria is still working on the song till it’s memorable and fun for us to play. Musically, it’s all about just enjoying what we’re playing and making sure that audiences can have a good time while connecting emotionally with us.”
The title track “She Sells Smiles” was, as the cheerful album cover attests, inspired by little Charlotte. It’s about people who don’t possess anything of material value yet whose presence makes our lives worth living; when Charlotte was born, the only currency she had was her smile, and that was quite enough to fall in love with. The title is a clever twist on the old classic tongue twister, and attuned listeners can detect sly references to those old perennial rock themes, sex and drugs.
“What’s cool for Gee Davey now,” Pearlman adds, “is that we’re basking in the glow of doing the kind of music we love to do, playing stuff we’re enjoying while our fans are really digging it. After being away from the stage for so long, it’s great to be out making people happy with our new music and having total strangers come up to us and saying they love the way the band is sounding. When fans give that kind of feedback, it just motivates us to keep the momentum going. It’s truly the best thing in the world.”
~ Jonathan Widran - Music Connection
****
As of May of 2009, “She Sells Smiles” is in the midst of an excellent run on College Radio, including top 30 positions in markets in NY and NJ, and is charting on core CMJ stations in Tampa and Toronto, as well as regional hotspots like Boise, Salt Lake, Maryland and Virginia. The single “Last Song” has made its way onto several AAA stations and has become a regular on their online streams.
Listen to Batching It's debut album "Homage" in it's entirety before it is released! CD out in January 2010! Featuring songs by NOFX, Skankin' Pickle, Swingin' Utters, Pearl Jam, Rancid, Lagwagon, Metallica, Sublime, No Use For a Name, Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, No Doubt, The Descendents, Less Than Jake and Operation Ivy!
Hope you had a great Halloween!!GREAT TO BE PART OF YOUR SPACE!!!!!One of our favorite SPACE'S on THE SPACE!! In our myspace videos,check out our Halloween video we just released from our sold out show Sat. Oct. 31 with costume mix at the end, they where all there Ace Frehley, Freddie Mercurey Peter Criss, Rob Zombie and more!!!!!
and if you have not seen our video from the Sammy Hagar Birthday Bash check it out, or if you have i think its worth a second veiw!!!!SAMMY REALLY ROCKED~ THE CABO WABO CANTINA ~this year!!
ALL THE BEST and Have a great WEEKEND!! your friend JIMMY for SOUND COLLISION~Vancouver~Canada
Hey! It's Damon from Set Theory. We are looking for a male or female vocalist in the NY area (we're based in Westchester, NY). If you know of anyone interested, please e-mail me here. We would really appreciate any help!
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