REMEMBRANCE
In June of 1997 my father Philip Goodyear died in an accident at the age of 56. Thousands mourned as a beloved family man, teacher, professor, coach, friend, and legendary TV repair man was suddenly gone. The following days of grieving precluded much socializing. Then one night in July I finally went out with some friends. I knew it would be good for me. What I didn't know was that a recording would be made.
Michael Santasiero (Bonkers) suggested we stop by the studio where he worked (Fox in East Rutherford NJ where Dad grew up). I sat at the piano but couldn't seem to find much inspiration. But Bonkers, Matter Cotter, Rob Tempio, and Rob Talisse demanded that I play...and keep playing for an hour. So I did while Bonkers beautifully recorded everything onto a cassette which I subsequently misplaced. Happily I found it in 2024 and was pleased to find enough material for an authentic expression of my feelings, dreams, hopes, fears, questions, and memories during that period. Everything was improvised except This, Too, Shall Pass and Still Point which were works in progress at the time. My style would undergo plenty of changes as the years progressed so these works are quite a bit different at times from my more Eastern music-influenced material. But they are very much from the heart and have a lyricism and looseness often missing in my later compositions.
Special thanks to my sister Danielle Garretson for her beautiful cover photograph Remembrance. In it I see rectangles of memory in the background and larger, more illuminated ones in the foreground suggesting a renewal of the past. The wiggling horizontal beam, once a firm one preventing access to this past, is softened by its contact with this revitalizing energy. The curtain represents obscuring aspects of the mind which we can periodically peer through to witness visions of a past made present...visions of remembrance. After all these years, these pieces still help me peek through the curtain and feel a wide range of emotions. I hope they help you do so as well.
STARGATES VOL. IV
Stargates Vol. IV continues my experiments in musical science fiction and, like Stargates Vol. I, was realized using electric guitars and effects. I refer to these works as stargates since they feature a strong sense of passing into a realm of mystery, wonder, revelation, and, sometimes, terror. They are certainly some of my more bizarre compositions (especially The Comet of Visions and Engines of Immortality). But hopefully this will allow them to offer you some truly alien musical encounters on your journeys through inner space.
STARGATES VOL. III
Stargates Vol. III continues my experiments in musical science fiction and, like Stargates Vol. II, was realized using synths, piano, and some drum loops. I refer to them as stargates since they feature a strong sense of passing into an alien realm of mystery, wonder, and revelation. I hope they prove to be reliable portals for your imaginative travels through inner space.