Search - Andrew Gorczyca :: Reflections - An Act Of Glass

What should be described as a true labor of love for drummer Chris G was finally completed and is set for an official release by ProgRock Records in early 2009. The recorded work, a tribute CD of the music of his late brother Andrew Gorczyca, is the culmination of four years effort devoted to countless recording studio sessions. At its core, the music would fall into the progressive rock category - given some of the notable influences and instrumentation. Yet the music in this tribute collection balances the technical playing side of classic progressive rock with a songwriting sensibility devoted to melody and lush vocal arrangements.

Soon after Andrew s passing in 2004, Chris became the caretaker of his collection of music. It contained all of his finished songs, demos in various forms of completion, and notebooks with scribbled sections of lyrics. His work was never well documented, so it was quite a challenge to organize everything. Aside from a few exceptions, Andrew never sought out other musicians for collaboration. He never tried to record his songs in a professional studio; preferring the privacy and economy of his home studio. This did affect the sonic quality of his work, but the musical ideas were always the most important thing to Andrew. As the only other musician in their immediate family, Chris resolved to preserve those ideas. There was a need to do more for the music, rather than just carefully store artifacts. He wanted to celebrate the work by treating it to modern recording techniques and inviting some notable progressive rock players to perform the material.

Thus began the epic task of scheduling players and managing studio time. A total of eighteen progressive rock players were recorded in twelve different studios located in six different American cities. This host of artists associated with the genre (including Adrian Belew, Nick D Virgilio, Phil Keaggy, and Mike Keneally) provided the cast of players sought by Chris to re-create Andrew s music with professional flair and credibility. After nearly four years of planning, playing, and producing, the finished work finally saw the light of day. According to Chris "We strove for a balance of staying true to the songs as written while letting the artists bring something of themselves to the music." Within that framework, Reflections An Act Of Glass was completed as a lasting tribute to Andrew and the music that meant everything to him.