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The Noise Beneath The Apple:
Where The Sky Kisses The Dirt
And then there's the concept of preserving culture and tradition, the ability to exchange ideas in a free environment, free speech, First Amend ment Rights. Read more here.Seeger Joins the Young in Song and Hope The Rivertowns Enterprise | Dec. 10, 2009 | by Iris Hisky Arno Close to 400 people packed South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry, NY on December 10, 2009 to raise their voices in song with the legendary folk singer and lifelong activist who has been a Hudson Valley resident for 60 years. Onstage with a passel of kids – members of the recently formed Take Me To The River Community Chorus with youngsters hailing from Hastings and the Coachmen Family Center in White Plains. Their leaders – Hastings folk musicians Jenny Murphy and Matt Turk – were on hand to lead the singing, encourage and strum guitar and mandolin. Read the entire article here.The Journal News April 30, 2009 by Mary Shustack
Lucid Culture Concert Review Beefstock 2009 The revelation of the evening was Gillen and Turk. To say that their whole is greater than the sum of the parts is in their case an actual compliment, Fred Gillen Jr.'s fiery lyricism and old school Americana folk songwriting is a perfect complement to Matt Turk's soulfully virtuosic acoustic guitar and mandolin work. The best song of the whole festival was a new number possibly titled "Dear Mr. President," an absolutely spot-on critique. "Dear Mr. Governor, did you really call on her to comfort you in your hour of need?" Gillen and Turk asked the crowd, to considerable laughter. The song's last verse celebrated that "it's really great, the votes were really counted in 2008!" The duo also held the increasingly celebratory crowd hushed through the dark 9/11 blowback ballad "We All Fall Down," then an oldtimey number where Turk mimed a muted trumpet and got the audience going with an increasingly complicated call-and-response, and a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" that had some of the audience in tears.
"Humanitarian. Songs about people and about living and getting along and those good folk traditions of standing up and speaking out."
Todd Rundgren at the Tarrytown Music Hall Box of Textures Blog 10.11.08 By Seth Elgart Opening the show was Gillen and Turk. They've played all up and down the Hudson River Valley, doing both electric and acoustic shows. I hadn't heard of them before, but I thoroughly enjoyed them and bought Backs to the Wall , their latest CD, in between their set and Todd's. They played a relatively short acoustic set and were darn good. Gillen & Turk's "Backs to the Wall" well crafted and filled with hope Daily Freeman Kingston, NY 7.11.08 By David Malachowski Well-executed harmonies can be transforming, and the duo Gillen & Turk inherently knows that. The Hudson Valley's Fred Gillen Jr. and Matt Turk have put together a CD of not only finely crafted songs sung well, but filled with hope. They've put their time in - underground for the MTA in Manhattan, as well as at Pete Seeger's "Circle of Song" tent at the Great Clearwater Music and Arts Festival. Former solo artists, Gillen and Turk combined their efforts with spectacular results. An alt-country cosmic cowboy sound is revealed in the 12 tracks here, from the open air "These Nameless Streets," the sunny Grateful Dead-like vibe of "It Really Matters," the urgent, politically charged "Black Hills" and the free-flowing "Come Away With Me." "Peace Rant" recalls early Dylan in more ways than one, while "Killing Machine" has an almost Clash-like anxiety. This work is not frivolous love songs, but topical and thought-provoking tunes, like the music we loved years ago. A moving first effort by a promising pair. The World According to Wawrzyniak GILLEN & TURK - Backs to the Wall
Tuneful and lulling, with a nice folksy pop-rock sound and equally engaging reflective sensibility to it, this album automatically wins the listener over on the basis of its
gently melodic quality alone. Fred Gillen Jr. and Matt Turk harmonize beautifully well together on the lead vocals; their two voices blend seamlessly into a lovely and
arresting whole that's an absolute pleasure to hear. Moreover, these two New York City-based guys are very fine and thoughtful songwriters.
Whether it's the sweet charm of the opening track "These Nameless Streets," or the bubbly vitality of the bouncy "It Really Matters," this album delivers one delightful
song after another. Some songs rock a bit harder than others ("Fall Down" in particular has a strong socking beat to it), but every last one hits the pleasingly dulcet
spot just the same. A wonderfully radiant little gem.
Duluth News Tribune | The Wave May 29, 2008
When solo artists team up, it's really....rockin'
Turk, a songwriting 'balladeer,'
Friday, April 6, 2007
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"American Masterpiece!"
"Backs to the Wall is a strong, confident work of folkish-rootsy rock with political and social consciousness."
"...unvarnished social commentary with folkified hoot-and-holler melodies"
The Celebrity Café
Acoustic Live
Fred Gillen Jr. and Matt Turk won a coveted spot in the Metropolitan Transit
Authority's Music Under New York program this May, 2007. The auditions were
covered in the national and major New York media.
Matt Turk Makes His Mark:
WESTCHESTER WEEKLY DESK
Brian Wise | Nov. 27, 2005
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Review by fin from South of Mainstream
What do blues, party funk, roots rock, and New York have in common? Matt Turk. That wasn't really meant to be funny and neither is Turk's release What Gives.
Read more...
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WESTCHESTER WEEKLY DESK
Susan Hodara | Oct. 5, 2003
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Thomas Staudter
What Gives features eleven songs of earnest pop-rock. Musically and lyrically it suggests David Bowie, Bruce Cockburn, Elliott Murphy, U2 and Duncan Sheik — in short, literate tunes with heart and muscle.
Read more...
What Gives
is a huge musical statement by an artist to be reckoned with, enunciated by a voice so AM/FM friendly there is no question the world would be a better place with his material rocking the airwaves.
Joe Viglione's review
of What Gives is on All Music Guide.
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"In my 20 years in the music business as a musician, producer, and radio host, I have listened to countless indie releases. What Gives by Matt Turk is among the best of them! Strong songwriting with catchy hooks complemented by tasteful production, solid guitar playing, and compelling vocals are what sets What Gives apart. I'd put this album up against anything, indie or major label, and it would come out a winner."
--Todd Mack | Producer & Host
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Matt Turk's eponymous debut features impeccably recorded songs. Turk is
better when he's rocking out. On the edgy "Buffalohead," Mr. Turk's
youthfully sweet voice and his penchant for guitar become power assets.
--Kurt Hoffman Forward
Completely natural! All rock critics are familiar with the story of how
Jon Landau wrote "I've seen the future of rock 'n' roll, and he's Bruce
Springsteen." At the risk of overstating my enthusiasm, well, I feel that
way about Matt Turk; he's that good.
--Larry Jaffee On the Tracks