About Me
Coming to you right off the streets, George Blakeney is not an easy character to deal with. "I'm desperate and I'm crazy" The first words expressed on the album describe George's outlook and the situation he's in. However, his charm and wit are so overpowering that it magnetizes me to him time and again. I've known George since I was sixteen years old. He turned my world upside-down and changed the way I thought about music (a big inspiration to say the least). George's fierce surroundings and daily struggles shape the tone of this album. His intense, intelligent, and sometimes eccentric lyrics provide your imagination a chance to run wild and experience a new perspective. The sound is mostly comprised of George's vintage maple archtop acoustic guitar (from the 30's I think), an old beater upright piano, some crappy Casio from the 80's, and random found percussion. Releasing this CD is a way for me to introduce the rest of the world to the genius and talent of Mr. Blakeney. It's also a way to get George off of the streets and into a decent living situation with a recording studio that provides him with unhindered creative output. The sound on this recording may come off to some as a little rough around the edges. But, considering the tedious process that George went through to get his ideas down, it's a masterpiece. For the thirteen years I've known George, he's been making music on cassette fourtracks. But on this recording, he didn't have the cash for one. The only thing available to him was a hand-me-down home CD-to-CD burning unit with a karaoke function microphone input. So he would have to record one take onto a CD then play that CD back while recording another take on a fresh CD. In this makeshift studio, he had ten zillion CD's stacked everywhere (this would give me a headache). He is very persistent and the entire album was done this way barring two songs. For those two, he had the good fortune to record by slightly better means. These songs get stuck in my head on a daily basis. Their charm will win you over too, I promise. Check out the free MP3 downloads @ DoubleDutchRecords.com and see for yourself. Remember, if you buy a CD or a download you're not only getting some beautifully intense music, but you're helping a guy out.
George wishes to donate a percentage of his record sales to:
All Kinds of Minds
Understanding differences in learning
Founded in 1995, All Kinds of Minds' mission is to help students who struggle with learning measurably improve their success in school and life by providing programs that integrate educational, scientific, and clinical expertise. Our goal is to make the Institute's programs, products, and services broadly accessible to parents, teachers, clinicians, and students who struggle with differences in learning, and to change the educational environment supporting these children. Our primary goal is to educate teachers, parents, educational specialists, psychologists, pediatricians, and students about differences in learning, so that children who are struggling in school because of the way their brains are "wired" are no longer misunderstood.
Thanks for listening.
Robert Ipp
DoubleDutch Records
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