Loneliness can be a good resource for fueling creativity. Works that are borne of this state can often stir up similiar emotions in those who consume them from a distant perspective. But they can also bring us back to ourselves. There's something to be said for works of alienation that let solitude come full circle in the listener.
Since I am indeed miserable on a melancholy Friday night, the sound of rushing cars and a song titled "It's So Sad to Be Alone" is only encouraging my appreciation of this empty moment. While others use this day of the week trying to find a special someone (explicitly or no), the composer of this song, Gary Wilson, has his flashing "Online Now!" icon on Myspace.
Most people are not sure who Gary Wilson really is. That could be interpreted in a few ways. Physically his onstage costume consists of various objects that cover up his face and body; flour, duct tape, sunglasses, fake blood, bedsheets, anything. He's been more than critically recognized, but when asking around trying to obtain a Gary Wilson album the usual response is usually "who?" followed by a shaking head from an typically apathetic music store employee. He recorded his debut EP You Think You Really Know Me in 1977, out of his parents' basement in Endicott, NY. The 600 copies that were pressed were funded and distributed by Gary himself. After his 1981 tour and a lack of commercial acknowledgement, Gary Wilson went away.
It wasn't until the 90's that the public sought out this elusive musician. His debut album was now being critically acclaimed, his experimenting in new-wave synthesized sound could finally be appreciated; it was 'ahead of it's time'. He received mainstream referencing, specifically in Beck's hit "Where It's At?"; citing Wilson as one of his influences and his line "Let the man Gary Wilson rock the most" was more than enough to spark the interest of record labels in finding this man.
Where was Gary Wilson?
Private detectives were hired by Motel Records who led unsuccessful searches. He was eventually found living in San Diego with his girlfriend, working late nights at an adult video store and playing keyboards weekly for a lounge by the name of Rancho Bernadino in San Diego. You Think You Really Know me was re-pressed by Motel Records in 2002.
Gary still kept his low profile despite his growing recognition as a pioneer of independent artists who took on experimental approaches to music and performance.
Gary Wilson and the Blind Dates
He re-emerged and played a live show in 2002 at Joe's Pub in Manhatten, but Gary Wilson appearances onstage (accompanied by his band "the Blind Dates") are still rare occurances. They do happen occasionally, at times unexpectedly. Wilson will be playing Pop Montreal on October 6th, currently his only planned performance. He obliged to an interview for us, possibly allowing us to really get to know him, or at least make us think we do.
Laura Matsue: The equation 6.4 = make out. What equation can = getting a girl to fall madly in love?
Gary Wilson: I think the equation might be 5.8 = girl in love. Mary and I will have to check the books to confirm.
LM: You mention Dion (of Dion & the Belmonts) as being a huge influence on you. Do you have any Dion related childhood memories that you can share with us?
GW: I was a member of the Dion fan club when I was in fourth grade. I wrote my first song when I was 9 years old (influenced by Dion). Before going to school, my mother would wake up in the morning and curl my hair to look like Dion's hair. I remember buying the albums "Runaround Sue" and "Lovers Who Wander". Very exciting for a little boy.
LM: Is everything you adorn yourself with for a Gary Wilson and the Blind Dates show completely improvised?
GW: I remember we would meet at my house before the gig. I would grab what was available in my house and wrap it or attach it to the Blind Dates (my backup band). It could be a bed sheet, a pillow, a couch cushion. Maybe a cello, tuba or trombone duct taped to our bodies (making it difficult to play). Whatever caught my fancy. A lot of duct tape and flour cemented the objects to our bodies and heads. A lot of the time the band couldn't see anything which made playing their instruments a little difficult.
LM: What would you recommend, from your experiences, are not good things to plaster on your head/body when going onstage to perform?
GW: Of course certain objects duct taped to our bodies didn't work. I remember trying to duct tape a large refrigerator box to my body. It was so awkward that I would fall over because of it's size and weight.
LM: How do you clean off the costumes after the performance? Do you relax, wearing them around a bit, do you tear them off, do you help each other unmask all the duct tape and wipe off the flour like caring friends cleaning up after a food fight?
GW: I always try to keep the objects on for a while after the gig. Mary and Linda like it that way. The band and I would help each other pull the duct tape off after the show. I played recently at The Knitting Factory in Hollywood. My friend and guitar player, Carmen Putrino showed up with duct tape totally covering his face and head. I guess he didn't realize that it would be difficult (and painful) to pull the duct tape of his head. It's always fun to clean up the flour after the gig.
LM: You travel with Mannequins, Mary, Cindy, and Karen. Could you tell us a little bit about what they're like?
GW: I always like to bring a couple of the "girls" with me to the gig. If I leave them home alone together, you never know what could happen. Sometimes the "girls" (Karen, Linda and Mary) argue and scream at one another. Sometimes they dance with one another. It's difficult for me to understand their moods.
LM: Do you favor one over the other? Is there tension between any of them? Is Mary the prettiest/smartest?
GW: Of course there is tension between the "girls". This helps with the shows. Every now and then I will leave one or two of the girls home when I go out of town to perform. It seems they always call me before the gig and upset me. I think they think it's funny.
LM: A lot of your songs touch on themes of loneliness, something that you seem to embrace. What do you find is the most lonely time of the day?
GW: It's always hard to pinpoint when I feel lonely. I used to work the graveyard shift full time. It would get very quiet in the place between 3 am to 6 am. This would give me plenty of time to contemplate life and feel lonely.
LM: What do you find yourself doing with yourself in times of loneliness?
GW: I would sometimes write songs when I felt lonely. Sometimes I would get depressed. Perhaps a wish to be young again. To try to be happy. I feel depression has a lot to do with our awareness of death and that no matter what we do, we can not overcome the final outcome.
LM: Your songs speak of yearning after girls from a distance then the quest to obtain them, admire them from a far, I guess that's a nice way of referring to something that edges on the lines of stalking, what happens if Mary starts to write songs about you?
GW: It's funny because Mary is writing songs about me. I recently received a version of "Linda Wants To Be Alone" by a girl singer named Robin Renee. She reversed the roles and became Linda stalking me. Interesting. Mary knows a lot about my private life.
LM: If she were to title a song after Gary Wilson, what would it be called?
GW: Mary is currently writing a song called "Mary Likes To Kiss Gary Wilson On Friday Night".
LM: Have you ever practiced lucid dreaming?
GW: Linda said she practices lucid dreaming. Not sure if I ever attempted lucid dreaming.
LM: Is another word for Dreams : Soul Travel?
GW: One of my first records I made was an instrumental called "Soul Travel" and "Dream(s)". I was 17 years old. It's funny but Stones Throw Records and Adult Swim have paired up together to release a compilation called "Chrome Children". One of the selections from this cd is my early record called "Dream(s)".
LM: What was the most recent dream you've had that involved a television show?
GW: I recently purchased 66 episodes of one of my favorite TV shows called "Boris Karloff's Thriller". I've been watching the episodes and thus, some of the programs have entered my dreams. I always feet that dreams are like cheap vacations. Off you go to strange lands and adventures. Then you wake up and the dream is over. No matter how bad the dream was, it was still an adventure.
LM: If Gary Wilson's performance at Pop Montreal were to be an episode of the Outer Limits what would the storyline be?
GW: How about this. I go to Montreal and I fall asleep and wake up and I am 13 years old. I need to get back to Sodus Point which is located on Lake Ontario (about 40 miles from Rochester). My parents had a second home on Lake Ontario. There were a few amusement parks near Sodus Point. I end up back at the amusement park with Linda and Mary. It is night time and I know I have to get back to Montreal to perform with the "girls". The girls keep confusing me and wanting to stay later and later at the amusement park. Soon the park closes but I am still on the ferris wheel with the "girls". All the lights are out and we get stuck on the ride. Now I am between Montreal and Sodus Point.
LM: Since you refer to yourself in the third person frequently, it seems you are separating yourself from the person known as Gary Wilson. So who are you, really?
GW: Gary Wilson is Gary Wilson.
Gary Wilson performs: Friday Oct 6th, 11pm at The Ukrainian Federation, 5213 Hutchison (coin Fairmount) The Film: "You Think You Really Know Me: The Gary Wilson Story", screens Friday 6 Oct, 3pm, Associaçao Portuguesa, 4170 St. Urbain
