We are delighted to announce that next September 19 we are officially reissuing the extremely hard to find “Original Soundtrack” album by Gary Blanchard. Less than 500 copies of this analog keyboard solo effort were originally pressed, and less than 200 still exist. The album was written, produced, and distributed in Gary’s hometown Baltimore, between 1986 and 1987.
After 20 years, Gary decided he wanted to do something different. He bought a $100 Yamaha PSR keyboard, complete with autochord and drum machine, and began to experiment with writing in new ways. Rather than having conventional song structure, the music was more open. The words were sometimes spoken, and sometimes sung. Gary also began writing poems and vignettes to include in his performances. While these songs were not as overtly political as his folk-style songs, they commented on life in the 80s with a uniquely cynical Baltimore view. (Many thought Gary was influenced by Baltimore filmmaker John Waters, especially given Gary’s love of pink flamingos, but Waters was not an influence on the music.) Gary began to search out other performers to help him bring this material to the stage; at the same time he started working with producer Erik Steensen to create a recording of the music along with some of the spoken word pieces. The album, Original Soundtrack, was released about the time Gary did his first performance with The Generic Art Ensemble.
This reissue includes insert with complete biography and track-by-track notes by Gary Blanchard himself. Front cover artwork hand pasted on sleeve.