Music
Press
Let's kick off the new year by reviewing a CD from Hallowell's Jim "Gypsy" Carey. His latest release "Trying to Find Myself" comes straight from the heart.
Carey...........served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969. That life-changing experience deeply affected his songwriting, apparent here on "Won't Happen This Way" and the hard-hitting title track. Therse tunes reflect a near-bitterness and Cynicism at times......
There's a world-weary quality to Carey's voice that reminds me a lot of Johnny Cash, and it adds to the overall impact of the 10 tracks that make up this album.
There has to be something in the water in that riverside town that fosters such talent. - Lucky Clark for Central Maine Newspapers, January 2007
While sitting in a local 'open mike' cafe in Hallowell, ME., I listened to a local performer who just jumped out with emotion - which is what music is really all about in the first place. His true real self being delivered in his own original songs really moved me as Ray Charles always has. Jim Carey lives his songs as he peforms them. Jim's songs are written about his life. JIm is a true Maine treasure. Thank you, Jim!
Mark "Guitar" Miller
Jetspeed Records
Hollywood, CA - Mark 'Guitar' Miller
Discography
Trying to Find Myself CD - Rel. December 2006
Photos
Bio
Born in Hallowell, ME USA in 1947, Jim studied piano from 6-12 at Mrs. Tibbett’s in Hallowell and was turned off by this experience. Staying away from music until 17, he then picked up electric bass and played locally until entering the service at 18. A purchase of a Gibson acoustic to take into the service proved a smart move. The same guitar went to Vietnam and was kept in the family until a son decided to smash it for the fun of it.
Jim went to Vietnam in February 1968 and served there until his discharge in 1969. He still stays in touch with a few friends from Nam. I say ‘few friends’ because ‘Jim has no friends because he hates people’ as his British friend Richard would say.
Upon return from Vietnam he entered college and degreed in Computer Science. He then spent 33 years hating what he was doing. In the nineties, we played rhythm guitar and sang with the Deer Hill Band and Four on the Floor playing all those songs he hated. This led to a music break until the VA decided to deny vocation rehabilitation in 2003. This forced an unemployable status and the end of his troubled work history. It also led to a wave of song writing which continues to the present. The Trying to Find Myself CD is a random mix of some of his music and he is currently active on his 2nd offering called ‘What Went Wrong’ as well as a mini-CD entitled ‘My Country Roots’.
Jim has been doing a set of his originals, accompanied by Mark “Guitar” Miller, the 2nd Friday of each month at the Higher Grounds Coffee House in Hallowell. Jim is also seen Tuesdays at open mic at the Higher Ground in Hallowell.
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