Gillen & Turk's debut CD is Backs to the Wall. We recorded at Woody's House, Fred's studio in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. Fred plays guitar, bass, harmonica, washboard and sings. Matt plays guitar, mandolin, kalimba and sings. There are 12 tracks ranging from folk to rock with world and roots influences. We brought in a few friends to help us, cause we like getting help and we like hanging out with our friends in the studio. Steve Kirkman guests on guitar, Abbie Gardner and Susan Kane sing, David Blackshire and Andy LaDue play drums and Rob Morsberger plays keys. The recording is melodic, with vocal harmonies, slide guitar harmonies and much of it was recorded live in the studio. We could tell you about the songs, but would rather you listen to the samples yourself. Winston Churchill said "there are no bad times, only trying times." Songs on this record reflect the times in which we live and the hope we have for the future.

New Yorker Matt Turk is known for his natural musical style combining roots/rock and world/folk music. He is a versatile musician, an accomplished guitarist, songwriter, mandolinist and vocalist. Matt Turk has shared the stage with Fiona Apple, Jeff Buckley, Blues Traveler, Dave Matthews Band, Del McCoury, The Doobie Brothers, NRBQ, Keller Williams, The Samples, Pete Seeger,Bob Dylan and Phil Lesh. Recently, he appeared at Clearwater's Hudson River Revival, the Berkshire Mountain Music Festival and Atlanta's Music Midtown. Turk's 1999 CD entitled TurkTunes is produced by Jay Newland(Norah Jones). Before setting off on his solo career, Matt was a founding member of "The Hour", along with Marshall Madow, Carey Harmon (Railroad Earth), Jen Montgomery and Luke Patchen (Strangefolk), John Vitarelli and Mike Mulvey. "The Hour" is best known as the house band at the Arrowhead Ranch, Ken and Michele Hoff's "Fillmore of the Catskills", backed by legendary rock empressario Bill Graham.

New Yorker Matt Turk is a versatile musician, an accomplished guitarist, songwriter, mandolinist and vocalist. "What Gives" is produced by Kevin Hupp. Mixed by Peter Moshay (Desree, Hall & Oates), Engineered by Jay Newland (Norah Jones) Matt Turk on vocals, guitars, and mandolin, Jack Daley (Lenny Kravitz) and Mike Leslie on bass, Kevin Hupp (Maceo Parker, Joan Osborne, Rufus Wainright) on drums, Russ Irwin (Aerosmith, Sting) and Saul Zonana on keys, Curtis Schmidt (Cosmic Jug) and Randy Funke (The Grapes). "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, Off the Beat-n-Track recording studio Producer & Host, The Off the Beat-n-Track Radio Hour (WKZE 98.1FM) Matt Turk has shared the stage with Fiona Apple, Jeff Buckley, Blues Traveler, Dave Matthews Band, Del McCoury, The Doobie Brothers, Bob Dylan, Ellis Marsalis, NRBQ, Keller Williams and Pete Seeger among others. He has appeared at Clearwater's Hudson River Revival, the Berkshire Mountain Music Festival and Atlanta's Music Midtown.

“…an artist to be reckoned with.” --All Music Guide Playing what one astute critic calls “literate tunes with heart and muscle,” Matt Turk exemplifies the consummate musical artist. He’s a veteran performer and eternal idealist who has engaged audiences around the world, both as hard-rocking bandleader and acoustic folk troubadour. Also, few denizens of the limelight have maintained the kind of pertinent, meaningful existence away from the stage as Turk has. A wealth of experience, compounded by a careful observation of the lives around him and that of his own soul-stirrings, informs his work with a hard-to-ignore universality. Washington Arms, Turk’s new album, emphasizes a talent for songcraft that integrates knowing lyricism into soundscapes that surge, soar and soothe, all graced with unerring vocals that will recall for many the late Jeff Buckley. From the hard-drivin’/hard truth opener “Into Nothing” to rockers like “All Over You,” “Queen of the Set” and “Without Her,” Turk utilizes influences like the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Pearl Jam to create songs that fit nicely in the melodic alt-rock camp. Stepping back some, Turk shows a mellower side on “Amanda” and sure summer groover “Silver Ring,” then updates Ten Years After’s anthemic “I’d Love to Change the World,” the album’s sole cover track, for all the right reasons.

Greenwich Village eclectic quartet combining world groove, folk, rock and songwriting.

The Hour originally recorded "Hold Back the Reins" in the winter of 1989 at Nevessa in Woodstock, NY with Chris Andersen (Todd Rundgren, Grateful Dead). The Hour is Jon Vitarelli on drums, Marshall Madow on vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, Matt Turk on vocals, acoustic and electric guitars and Mike Mulvey on bass. The master tapes of Hold Back the Reins were exhumed from the Hour's archives after 15 years in storage. We've added a live version of "Heading for the Way Way Out" from New Orleans' Tipitina's with Jen Phelps-Montgomery on vocals representing The Hour at their electric finest in the Greenwich Village jamband scene of the late 1980's. Also added is the Hour's original demo.

Sounds like Elliott Smith on speed having a collision with Preacher Casey in a trailer park somewhere in upstate New York and then having a beer together and singing a few songs with some drum loops and a sequencer.

Liner notes: A whole lot of memories can pile up in a place or a person, until a weight hangs in the air like haze in the summer sky. To clearly see the vivid colors of the present, some of the curtain needs to be pulled away, and in order to move it you need to get close enough to feel its velvet weight in your hands. Close enough to see the intricate weave of its fabric as you push it gently aside. The colors, sounds, and smells of Coney Island are dazzling when experienced with an open heart, clear of memory's dull, mourning drapery.

Intimate performances of songs about the human condition. "Gillen performs a straight-ahead style that blends the earthiness of Americana, the punch of Rock -n- Roll, and the confessional quality of folk." -Pete Hanson, Metroland Magazine

This is the first full-length CD from Fred Gillen Jr in four years. It features guests Andy LaDue, Abbie Gardner, Steve Kirkman, and Laurie MacAllister, and includes 8 new original songs, 1 old original song, and 1 Woody Guthrie cover... "Fred, your record is so good i nearly soiled myself when i heard it." -Koji Mabuchi, Chicken Coop Records Review in Indie Music.com by Liza Monroy Quote: "Like Guthrie, Gillen has the uncanny ability to take you places, take you on a tour of a long-awaited escape, and all the bittersweetness that comes along with that weighted word called leaving."