Jerry Manas

Jerry Manas is singer/songwriter, inspired by the classic melodic folk/rock styles of the Beatles, Moody Blues, Harry Nilsson, Bob Dylan, CSNY, and Pink Floyd, as well as current artists such as Alanis Morrissette and Sheryl Crow.

After having written dozens of songs in the folk/rock genre, Jerry established a music publishing company in the early 90's and began writing songs for the R&B market. One of those songs, September Forever, received an Outstanding Song award in the Billboard Song Contest in 1994 and made Broadjam's Top 10 on two different charts. However, his first love is for classic folk/rock, and the resurgence of that genre has inspired him to get back into recording in the style he loves best.

His debut CD, Pop Art Folk, is now available at Amazon.com and CDBaby.com. The first song on the CD, The Sound of Gathering Stones, has already made Broadjam's Top 10 in the Pop Classic category.

The CD was recorded on a $2,000 budget (pretty low for a studio recording) and as such, was recorded like the albums in the old days, in a few long studio sessions, with just a handful of acoustic instruments. Since Jerry played all the guitars, bass, percussion (except for one song), and did all the vocals, he didn't have the luxury of a full band, so songs naturally took longer to record (plus most of these songs contained multiple harmonies, presenting an extra challenge). Recording this CD on such a tight budget was no small feat!

For some of the songs, Jerry, being an old Beatles fan, worked with his producer, Joey Heier, to try to capture the feel of some of the Rubber-Soul era sounds (check out the background harmonies on "Sunshine Girl" - written for Jerry's 3-year old daughter Elizabeth - which recall the Beatles harmonies in the song 'Girl"). Also, many of the songs were built "progressively" - that is, as a song progresses through its verses and choruses, more instruments, percussion, and harmonies are added, a technique often used by George Martin (the idea being that it keeps the songs moving).

Jerry also paid close attention to selecting the right songs for the album (he had written enough for at least 2 albums) and choosing the right song sequence, recalling a John Lennon interview where Lennon credited the Beatles' success with the fact that they were very selective and approached each song with equal value and focus. Also, much like the Beatles, some songs on Pop Art Folk were written as simple pop songs, while others were written more as lyrical anthems or statements.

The Pop Art Folk title was chosen to give potential listeners an idea of what kind of music is inside the CD before they buy it. First, it truly is a combination of Pop and Folk, but second, like Pop Art itself, the songs are a collage of contrasts and styles that together make a whole statement. The themes of love and hate, war and peace, youth and age, wealth and poverty, frustration and joy are all represented on the album as well as the album cover, which mirrors the themes and elements of the songs.

Never satisfied, Jerry plans to revisit the CD at some point, touch up some vocal tracks, add more overlapping harmonies, and perhaps add some female vocal tracks to round out the sound, so one day, don't be surprised to see Pop Art Folk - Redux! Meanwhile, he hopes people enjoy the raw feel of the acoustic album, with its melodic songs, harmonies, and colorful lyrics.

Jerry is a member of the Songwriters Guild of America, the International Songwriters Association, and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He is affiliated with BMI.