Entertainment News: South Bound Brook Musician's New Album HALF THE DRUGSTORE out 10/15

Hazy Jane, the seven-piece indie folk/rock band out of New Jersey is releasing a full-length studio album Half the Drugstore on CD, vinyl and streaming on October 15. The band includes South Bound Brook's own Andrew Gehman on guitar and bass, as well as musicians from around the state.
Drawing inspiration from Neil Young’s 1970 classic album After the Gold Rush, Half the Drug Store (an anagram of the title) may have a familiar sound. However, both lyrically and musically it wanders far from the source material and ultimately exists on its own terms as a strong collection of original songs. Among the 19 musicians who helped make the album, there are inspired guest appearances from renowned Philadelphia guitarist Chris Forsyth, Glenn Alexander of the Asbury Jukes and Grip Weeds frontman Kurt Reil, who also serves as producer.
For more information on the band, please visit their Bandcamp page: https://hazyjane.bandcamp.com

About the album Half the Drugstore: Neil Young's classic album "After the Gold Rush" serves as the inspirational source for Hazy Jane's latest album—the cover art and anagrammatic song titles make that clear. But the songs are not pastiche, ripoff, or even tribute. They occupy a different space, fifty-plus years removed from the hazy, hippie dream of 1970s Topanga Canyon.

Songwriter Paul Milan cites overlooked author James Purdy as another inspiration. His characters' inscrutable actions and stilted speech give the feeling of them existing in a slightly different world, hard to pin down in time. In a similar spirit, Half the Drugstore was recorded at House of Vibes studio in Highland Park, NJ, a place off the beaten path with a low-key, laid-back feel. Producer Kurt Reil's mellow approach and encyclopedic knowledge of 60s and 70s rock and pop—along with the band's use of vintage instruments and gear—helped achieve the album's timeless sound.

In the end, 19 musicians—a dozen guests in addition to the seven members of Hazy Jane—helped bring this folk/rock vision to life. It’s no surprise that Paul, a working church musician, loves to collaborate. 

"I work with lots of different singers and musicians all the time, and I’m constantly inspired by the huge range of ideas and approaches some people bring to the music. In fact, that's how I met Will [Shore, Hazy Jane’s violinist] and Megan [Soltys, the group’s co-lead singer]. They’re both so talented, versatile, and easy to work with that I had to get them into this band."

This is a real New Jersey record, with band members spread throughout the state: bassist Josh Gebhardt in Hudson County, Megan in Essex County, Will in Union County, guitarist Andrew Gehman in Somerset County, and drummer Eric Armour in Mercer County. Paul and his wife, singer Chris, are proud to call the city of Plainfield (birthplace of Parliament-Funkadelic and Bill Evans) home.

The record also features guest spots from two of Jersey's finest guitarists: Glenn Alexander from the Asbury Jukes and Chris Forsyth, currently based in Philly but with strong NJ roots. “Almost unbelievably, two of the best guitarists around were willing to be part of this project,” Paul notes. “They brought exactly what was needed to elevate the songs they lent their huge talents to.”

Producer Kurt Reil, drummer and singer for NJ power-pop/psych band The Grip Weeds, can be heard on multiple tracks as well.

The fact that Half the Drugstore is a concept album probably won't matter to many listeners. "I don't even know if everyone in the band is familiar with that record [After the Gold Rush] and I'm not sure if I asked,” Paul recalls. “I thought it was important for them to go with what they felt, rather than try to re-create something.”

Cloaked in complex gauzy harmonies, the first track, Well Thyme, asks the question "Is it time now?"—answered with a resounding “Now it’s time!” by the final song, Linden and Rowan. Ultimately, the record stands on its own as a solid collection of songs ranging from gentle folk ballads to raging psychedelic jams—with some surprising jolts (like the coda to Birds) along the way. Some lyrics or melodies will long haunt the listener like pieces of a nearly forgotten dream… slightly hazy and just on the verge of being understood.

About the band Hazy Jane: The current lineup of Hazy Jane was formed in 2018. Songwriter Paul Milan envisioned a large group, with a bigger sound than the traditional two guitar, bass, drums lineup could provide. Two lead singers (Megan Soltys and Chris Milan) plus backup harmonies from the group would ensure a rich, textured vocal sound. Musicians who could play multiple instruments would bring variety and sonic interest. The seven-person band was drawn from Paul’s friends and musical acquaintances. It was important for this group to have the dynamic of a bunch of friends getting together to casually play some songs. They played a few gigs and recorded an EP (Temporibus) in 2018. In 2020, ready to record a batch of new songs, the band’s plans (like everyone else’s) were derailed by the pandemic. In late 2021, abandoning the unrecorded songs and starting fresh, the band began working on a brand new full- length concept album titled Half the Drugstore. The process was slow and exacting, but the resulting album is a revelation. Willfully ignoring the zeitgeist and current trends in indie music brought forth the inward- looking writing and the timeless feeling of the album. Guest appearances from renowned Philadelphia guitarist Chris Forsyth and Glenn Alexander of the Asbury Jukes brought inspiration. Additional guest musicians on strings, upright bass, pedal steel and brass add depth and beauty to the album.

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