Personally, at times I can struggle to write a good commentary once a month (sometimes the words just don’t come!). But writer’s block is basically a non-issue to Gary Reynolds – the Seattle-based singer/songwriter and owner of Electrokitty Studios. The guy is more than ambitious: he plans on releasing a new song every Monday for the duration of 2010 and a new album every month! He’s already well underway, releasing "Off of My Mind" on January 4th, "Be Your Man" on January 11th and “Yeah!” on January 18th.

Sooo, why is Gary keeping himself so damn busy (other than the obvious reason of pleasing his fans)? He says “I’m clearing the slate and finally getting my entire catalogue out where it belongs.” He continues, “I had a bunch of unreleased material that I’d always wanted to do something with but wasn’t sure how to go about it. I got the idea for a yearlong project from the movie “Julia and Julia”, about a woman who cooks through the Julia Childs cookbook in one year. I figured it would be a cool challenge to do an extensive project like that.”
 
Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity have also released “Instant Happiness”, the EP “Extended Play” and 2007’s “Santiago’s Vest”. These collections (and the other 51 songs released this year) are fine examples of a range of styles, “from psychedelic indie-rock with, at times, a heavy pop leaning and at other times folksier textures, along with some straight ahead power-pop and guitar rock ditties.” Check a live show if you can… Reynolds is going to be more than busy. His January album, “The Cretin Chronicles Vol.I: Almost Normal” will be available soon on http://www.garyreynolds.com. Keep on reading for all the answers to the XXQ’s.

XXQs: Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity

 

PensEyeView.com (PEV): What goes through your head the minute you walk onto stage?

 

GR: Relax, remain calm and maybe no one will see me! Not really. Usually if I concentrate on getting vibe right then the band will feed off that and the show will go well.

 

PEV: How did you first jump into the music industry? When you first got together was it an instant connection?

 

GR: Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity is a solo project mainly. I formed the band after I’d recorded the album “Instant Happiness”, back in 2006. I’ve gone through several personal changes, Jeremy and Perry being the ones who have stayed on board. I’ve been playing music as long as I can remember. But didn’t officially get into the music industry until I was in college when I formed my first band called The Cretins. It was essentially a solo project then as well.

 

PEV: What kind of environment do you surround yourselves in to create music?

 

GR: Songs come to me at odd times like walking down the street or driving in the car or in the middle of the night. I carry a tape recorder around to jot the ideas down and go from there. As far as actual recording music goes, I have a really nice studio called Electrokitty where I do most of my work out of. I don’t feel creative until later in the evening so most of my work takes place between midnight and 5 am.

 

PEV: What can fans expect from a live Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity show?

 

GR: Lately, I’ve been playing with a string and brass section. It’s been a whole new experience for me, and it’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time. It’s nice to have horns take the role of what a distorted electric guitar would normally do.

 

PEV: Tell us about your first live performance. How have you changed since that first show to where you are now?

 

GR: Wow, first live performance, that was my High School talent show where we dressed up like The Beatles and did Hard Days Night complete with screaming girls! Now days I’ve become a much better musician all around but what I really miss is those screaming girls (laughs).

 

PEV: You will release a song a week, every Monday, for the duration of 2010, starting with January 4th's release of "Off of My Mind", January 11th's release of "Be Your Man", and January 18th's release of "Yeah!" How did this first come about? Any fears?

 

GR: I had a bunch of unreleased material that I’d always wanted to do something with but wasn’t sure how to go about it. I got the idea for a yearlong project from the movie “Julia and Julia” about a woman who cooks through the Julia Childs cookbook in one year. I figured it would be a cool challenge to do an extensive project like that.

 

PEV: What can fans expect from these songs?

 

GR: What fans can expect is that they will come from different periods of my carrier some will be early works and some haven’t been written or recorded yet. What fans cannot expect is that they will all sound the same.

 

PEV: Tell us about the creative time behind the making of the these songs so far? What was it like creating this concept?

 

GR: The first batch was recorded years ago in my parent’s attic of all places. I’m calling those albums “The Cretin Chronicles Vol:1 -3” I had to put a lot of time and effort transferring them to digital and mixing them. The songs and vibe are great but the recordings were not so much. I think they came out sounding pretty good considering where they started off.

 

PEV: Already involved in this process, what has the reception been so far?

 

GR: It’s been going great via word of mouth. The downloads are doubling each week and I’m learning how to Twitter!

 

PEV: What’s one thing we’d be surprised to hear about the members of Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity?

 

GR: The Brides are not girls?

 

PEV: Was there a certain point in your life when you knew that music was going to be a career for you and you were determined to make it happen?

 

GR: It’s what I’ve done my whole life I never had a choice really. I tried to give it up once for a few months but I became angry and hollow. So I quit that and went back to making music.

 

PEV: What one word best describes Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity?

 

GR: Busy.

 

PEV: Traveling is now a large part of your life as a musician. How is life on the road for you? Best and worst parts? Any fun stories?

 

GR: The crowds have been very receptive that’s the best part. The worst part is having to share a bed with Perry. Ha Ha. We were in a bar one night after a show in New York and Perry, who is kind of shy, was so intoxicated that he started telling the waitress that she was beautiful and that he loved her. She started to walk away and he kept saying ‘No, no really come back, I love you!’ We had to pack him off in a cab. But we all had a great laugh out of it. I guess you’d have to have been there.

 

PEV: How have all your friends and family reacted to your musical career? What’s it like when you get to play at your hometown?

 

GR: Everyone has been really supportive and when we play my hometown people come out of the woodworks! It’s nice to see old friends again.

 

PEV: What can we find each of you doing in your spare time, aside from writing and performing?

 

GR: I like to read books and watch movies. I’m also a pretty good recreational drinker.

 

PEV:  Is there an up and coming band or artist you think we should all be looking out for now?

 

GR: I’m a big fan of Head Like a Kite and The Blakes. I did some mixing on both of their new albums.

 

PEV: If playing/writing music was not your perfect career, what would each of you most likely be doing?

 

GR: I’d probably be in the restaurant or bar business.

 

PEV: If we were to walk into your practice studio/space right now, what would we find?

 

GR: You’d find a fifteen foot SSL 9000j recording desk, a Studer 24 track analog tape machine and a lot of beautiful outboard gear.

 

PEV: So, what is next for Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity?

 

GR: Still have to mix a few of these albums, finish the one I’m working on now and then write and record two more before the end of the year. I think that’s enough for this year.