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It was a long journey from a small Canadian town to the top of the rock and roll heap, but one the mop top drummer and vocalist takes great pride in.
" I started pretty young. Elvis, The Beatles, jazz records that my Mom and Dad had, Buddy Rich and other jazz greats. Most of the kids liked the guitarists. I always gravitated towards the drummer. He was the guy who got the audience to their feet," says Gardner.
Upon journeying to Boston from the great white north, Gardner played in various groups including Fatback, Berkshire and Target, in which he hooked up with the other future New England members. There was a magical chemistry within the group and during endless hours rehearsing they refined their sound. The five-some stripped down to a quartet and changed their name to New England. Rather than play the local club circuit as they had done before, the band worked day and night in their rehearsal space putting together a show that would highlight the strength of each band member and would play to an arena audience, both musically and visually.
A showcase for Bill Aucion, Kiss' legendary manager, brought the band to the attention of numerous major labels. After a bidding frenzy, the group signed with Infinity/MCA and Paul Stanley produced their debut album. The disc included the John Fannon-penned classic Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya. Primed and ready for action the band set off to tour with Kiss, AC/DC, Journey, Styx and others. The band recorded two more albums, Explorer Suite and Walking Wild, produced by John Fannon/Mike Stone and Todd Rundgren respectively.
After New England broke up in 1983, Gardner received a call from an old friend Gene Simmons, the tongued wonder of Kiss, who turned Hirsh onto Vinnie Vincent. Together with bandmates Jimmy Waldo and Gary Shea they put together the group Warrior in Los Angeles. Just prior to the band being signed to a major label deal Vinnie got the offer to join Kiss. Hirsh left L.A. for his home in Boston and began producing numerous acts in the northeast. His experience working with producers Mike Stone, Paul Stanley and Todd Rundgren would prove to be a tremendous tool in his own celebrated producing career.
"It was a great education. They all taught me aspects of recording and performing that I have used ever since" notes Gardner. The education paid dividends for Gardner, who was nominated for Boston Music Awards Producer of the Year 5 times, voted Producer of the Year for the Boston Phoenix Best Poll, and was sought out by numerous record companies to produce acts like Mass, Axminster, Shyboy, 8084 and Vice.
With all his production work Gardner took a break from being an artist. He may never had returned to being a solo performer had it not been for the response from fans on the world wide web. In 1998 GB Music released the New England catalogue on CD. Fans flocked to the New England web site...the response was tremendous. The emails poured in, most people asking if there would be new music in the future.
"With the resurgence of New England's popularity it got me thinking. People were writing in that they loved the band. I realized we had built a loyal following. Although the band went away our fans never did. That's when GB Music approached me to sign a multi-album deal and it was a great opportunity to get back to basics. Playing, writing and singing. The things that took me by storm in my parents basement when I was 6 years old," states Gardner.
The results of Gardner's efforts can be heard on his debut CD, Wasteland For Broken Hearts, due in stores this November. The disc is full of AOR anthems and powerful ballads. Hirsh even reunites with his New England pals for the track, More Than You'll Ever Know. bridging the gap between New England's heyday and the year 2003.
The making of the new Hirsh Gardner album “Wasteland For Broken Hearts”
"Wasteland For Broken Hearts" starts off with a moody arpeggiated guitar track...setting the mood for a dark rocker. I broke out the ol' Alesis QS 6.1 synth for this one. There are several guitar patches that I used here (yes the intro is a keyboard). The twelve sting patch was severely EQ'd to bring out the bottom end of the guitar. I used a couple of different 6 string patches and overdubbed those into the mix. These are also abundantly EQ'd and absolutely crushed with one of my DBX compressors. This really brought out the pick sound hitting the strings. I opted for the keyboard simply because I didn't have anyone around at the time to cut a real guitar track...I love the sound...and I didn't have to yell at anyone that they were playing out of tune :)
The songs cranks up after the intro with my buddy Buddy Sullivan crankin on electric guitar. The rhythm guitar has a bit of a Def (Mutt) Leopard counter rhythm going on in the chorus sections...real nice. Buddy's solo is huge. This guy is so fluid in his playing...so expressive and effortless. This brings the song into the bridge and on into the ending choruses.
Hmmm...what to do about an ending? I loved the intro so much that I just had to revisit it. The song ends with the rhythm tracks fading out and the arpeggiated acoustics coming back in. The vocal hook repeats a couple times with some distant echoes.
"Don't You Steal" is another one of those songs that is very much in the New England tradition. The piano track for instance is very "Jimmy Walso-ish". Also, the main bridge melody and three part harmony is something that we would have done as well.
Jim Smith does the guitar work on the one. I have not heard a guitar player lock onto a rhythm track like Jim did. He was all over my drum track...great job Jim. Lyrically this song is pretty simple. Its about person who is losing the love of his (or her) life. When the person says "Don't you steal this heart away", I think he's actually talkng to his lover as well as the lover's lover...confused??? Don't be..its only a song :) But, when it gets to the main bridge I bring back a little ray of hope for the relationship...if they take each other's hand they'll get to the promised land.
"She Is Love" is one of my favorite tracks on the CD. I was listening to an Aerosmith ballad and they had these amazing backing vocals with interweaving parts, some decending, while others stayed static...it was gorgeous. So, the backing vocals in the chorus to "She Is Love" have a similar arrangement. I know that I make mention of my love for country music which may surprise a lot of you...but I would love to hear Vince Gill perform this song. The verses have to be sung with great senstivity, very high and quietly. Very difficult to pull this off. I hope I've done it justice.
Guesting on this song was Andre Maquera from 8084. He played all the guitars and bass. The lead solo is a perfect match for this style of song...and while Andre can shred with the best of them...as he does on "Thunder", his work here is stunning.
"Thunder In Her Heart" is another song that goes back a few years. I was producing a record for 8084 and they needed an extra song. I had written this song during that time period and wasn't using it so I let them record it. Randy Smith's original vocal is awesome. It made sense to enlist Andre Maquera again for the guitar tracks...as usual he did a brilliant job. Frank Barnes from 8084 appears on this one as well playing bass..AND in a strange twist my good friend Jim Sambataro also played bass on the track. Jim's chorus tracks were amazing and Franks verse tracks were amazing...so I used 'em both!!!
You know, one of the great things about New England and the arrangements that we came up with was that your typical verse, chorus, verse, chorus arrangement was never good enough. We always injected something into the song that was a little weird. In "Thunder" I did the same. The main bridge is a completely different vibe from the rest of the song. Andre has this thirty second note guitar riff going on that is panning from left to right, there is just a simple hi hat beat going on, and Jim has these very Beatle-esqe McCartney like bass licks going on. Of coarse I have mellotrons all through this section as well. The lead vocal is very effected...so all in all you have a very unique part stuck in the middle of this rocker...I like arrangements like that.
“Bad Cowboy” is the kind of song that I always felt was needed on a CD...it is simply relentless in its rhythm track. Straight four on the kick drum, no messing around, look out, get outa my way the train is comin' through. Pete Casani, who plays in the Boston based band The Peasants played all the guitars on this one. You know, I could have gone for the typical shredding style guitar lead here but I chose not to. Pete just lays it down...some double stop guitar licks-very country-ish and a screamin lead reminicent of Aerosmith's Joe Perry. The song had to be just more than your typical rocker though. In the middle of this kick ass tune the song breaks down into a real country and western jig...with a 2/4 bass line and a speedy 16th note guitar lead at a breakneck tempo. Then all of a sudden you have an actual movie script to a bar-room brawl...with gunshots, people screaming, chairs crashing and the good guys going after the Bad Cowboy. I had such a great time producing this one...laughed my ass off everytime I worked on it. At the end of the song you hear me laughing...I had to leave that in...although it does have some personal hidden meaning.
"When The Sky Cries" was inspired by listening to Joe Cocker believe it of not. The guy has soooo much soul when he sings. I wanted a ballad that was really, really slow...to bring out the sensitivity of the lyric. The verse arrangements also had to be just right. That's where Enzo Smith came in. Enzo is a noted Boston musician, for years the guitarist and keyboard player for "The Dead End Kids". I used to go see him play and would marvel at his extrordinary ability to play anything...from 12 bar blues, to pop rock to the most outrageously complex King Crimson and Yes arrangements. Seriously, Enzo is a "PLAYER".
We got together a few times and the keyboard parts he came up with for the song were perfect. It was now on to lead guitar. Enzo says, "do you want me to give it a try". Of coarse I said yes and we started to record. but Enzo wasn't getting what he wanted. After a frustrating hour he says..."Hirsh, why don't you go away for a while and just let me play". Damn, he through me out of my own session! I came back an hour later and what you hear is what Enzo laid down. Great tracks...just great.
I was looking for a little different flavor on the backing vocals on this song. Maybe girls should be singing here. I didn't have to look far. My wife Tracie and my 16 year old daughter Michela joined me for this one. Tracie is an incredible vocalist. As a matter of fact, we met while I was producing her band. Michela is an absolutely awesome singer and actress...the two of them made the backing vocal track come alive.
"Your Love" by the Outfield is such a great song. I was listening to one of their Greatest Hits albums on my morning run and just fell in love with it. I had to do one of the songs. I laid down a scatch keyboard track and some drums and started singing. Man can that guy ever sing. Great voice! Once I had the arrangement I got together with Andre again for the guitar tracks. There must be 16 different layers of guitar on that song...but amazingly it still sounds simple. We had Frank Barnes from 8084 lay down the bass tracks and voila. It is a tribute to a great band.
"Hold Me In Your Dreams" is another song that features Enzo Smith on keyboards and guitar. Joining us on bass guitar was Steve Generoso, another member of "The Dead End Kids"...too bad we couldn't get Bobby "Dinky" O'Donnell in the studio, we'd have had the whole band. Maybe next album. Tracie again joins me on vocals on this one...I just love the sound of her voice in the choruses.
This song is a very commercial, softer vibe for me. I actually like the direction of this song. More songs like this in the future??? Well, we'll see.
"Never Love" is a song of mine that's been around forever. After my Vinnie Vincent - Warrior tenure back in the mid eighties, I started a solo project and actually put a band together. Lenny Gardino was the guitarist, Skip Fisher was on drums, I sang lead and we had a couple of different bass players. One of the songs we played was "Never Love". I always loved the chorus backing vocals in that song so it was a must do for the album..BUT...hey...there's NO drums!!! In the original live version Skip came in at the beginning of the second verse. I really wanted this song to be emotionally chaged because of the lyrics so I decided instead of relying on the drums to raise the emotions, I would rely on the lead vocal. This song is a movie soundtrack song. It has to be playing at the beginning of a film with a girl standing at the water's edge, crying over the sadness in her life. People have asked if its about someone taking their own life. I leave that up to the listener. In the bridge, the final lyric asks..."will she ever love?"
In the intro "Welcome Home", "Explorer" recieves a message from earth...a strange robotic message. He tells of his arrival date and recieves the response, "our hearts our empty but we never gave up hope". Thanks John for that great line from the song "Explorer Suite!!!" The intro cross-fades into the actual song, similar to the bombastic intros that New England used in their live shows.
The lyrics for this song were written within the last six months and were just sitting in one of my songbooks, waiting for the day that they'd be chosen to exist with some melody that I was going to write. I was tinkering for a while with this descending E minor chrord progression and as I sat at my synth looking at some other lyrics I happened to notice "More Than You'll Ever Know". It hit light a lightening bolt...I was singing the complete chorus within minutes. The idea of a trip into space and not returning for a long while was definately inspired by John Fannon's Explorer Suite. As a matter of fact at one point in the production I had taken a sample of my lead vocal in Explorer Suite and inserted it into the bridge of "More Than". Didn't work though. I guess I look at these lyrics in a couple of ways. Yeah, its about a guy who goes away, misses his girl and can't wait to come back home. But, with the New England guys playing together for the first time in over twenty years it takes on a little different meaning doesn't it? And...I guess its a little bit about my musical career. I left New England over twenty years ago...my personal journey took me far away...but I knew that I'd return someday. In the line, "may God have mercy when I reach your world" the space explorer has been travelling at the speed of light so he has no idea what the landscape of the world he is returning to is going to look like. He's scared, tentative about his return, but confident that he'll "be back in your arm's holding you girl". Was I coming back with my first solo release scared, tentative but confident??? And was New England returning after a 20 years absence from the music scene with this performance?
The New England influence was all over this song right from the beginning. I had to have the New England guys do the backing tracks for this song. I called John, Gary and Jimmy and asked if they'd be into playing on the song. Everyone was into it. Jimmy was all over the world, England, Egypt, Hungary...we did a lot of file transfers over the internet and eventually I had some magnificent organ and mellatron tracks from him. John and I worked together at his home studio, laying down tons of guitar tracks. Gary's bass tracks were done in Detroit. Whew!!! It took a lot of co-ordination but we finally had all the tracks.
Finally, at the end of the song..I decided to reprise the intro... "Welcome Home (Reprise)"...and at the very end of the CD the final words "Welcome Home" reflect the many different meanings that this album has for me. I hope the fans welcome me home!!!
It was a long journey from a small Canadian town to the top of the rock and roll heap, but one the mop top drummer and vocalist takes great pride in.
" I started pretty young. Elvis, The Beatles, jazz records that my Mom and Dad had, Buddy Rich and other jazz greats. Most of the kids liked the guitarists. I always gravitated towards the drummer. He was the guy who got the audience to their feet," says Gardner.
Upon journeying to Boston from the great white north, Gardner played in various groups including Fatback, Berkshire and Target, in which he hooked up with the other future New England members. There was a magical chemistry within the group and during endless hours rehearsing they refined their sound. The five-some stripped down to a quartet and changed their name to New England. Rather than play the local club circuit as they... View more
| Track Title | Click to play sample | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Wasteland For Broken Hearts | (04:53) | more info | |||
| 2. | Don't You Steal | (03:54) | more info | |||
| 3. | She Is Love | (04:12) | more info | |||
| 4. | Thunder In Her Heart | (04:35) | more info | |||
| 5. | Bad Cowboy | (04:36) | more info | |||
| 6. | When The Sky Cries | (05:40) | more info | |||
| 7. | Your Love | (03:38) | more info | |||
| 8. | Hold You In My Dreams | (04:43) | more info | |||
| 9. | Never Love | (04:21) | more info | |||
| 10. | Welcome Home | (01:01) | more info | |||
| 11. | More Than You'll Ever Know | (03:59) | more info | |||
| 12. | Welcome Home (reprise) | (01:03) | more info |
Release Year | 2003 |
Label | GB Music |
Produced By | Hirsh Gardner |
Engineered By | Hirsh Gardner |
Mastered By | Dr. Toby Mountain Northeastern Digital |
Genre | Rock, Pop |
Band Members / Musicians | Hirsh Gardner |
Location | Boston, MA, USA |
 Rock Hard Country Tom Dixon featuring The Tom Dixon Band |  Crawling Up Grafite |  Live For Today Blaine/LaSquade |  FRENZY Annafair |
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