PARAPALEGIC CANCER SURVIVOR GOOCH NELSON TEAMS WITH GRAMMY-WINNING PRODUCER JOE NICOLO FOR BLUES-BASED COLLECTION
The release of COMIN’ HOME, the debut album by New Jersey’s GOOCH AND THE MOTION — the first on the newly minted Blacbird/Universal label — doesn’t just set the bar ridiculously high for blues-rock in 2016. It also is an aural testament to the indomitabliity of the human spirit, and the healing powers of music.
Under the aegis of nine-time-Grammy-winning studio whiz Joe “The Butcher” Nicolo (Billy Joel, Cypress Hill, Boyz II Men), singer-songwriter Ryan “Gooch” Nelson has conjured a rip-snorting, foot-stomping collection of songs despite a personal backstory that seems right out of Hollywood.
In 2004, Gooch was in a terrible car accident that left him a quadriplegic. Five years later, he was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia. Through it all — including the still-daily chemotherapy treatments that have kept the cancer in remission — music has been Gooch’s balm and salvation.
Not that it has been easy for the 30-year-old southern New Jersey native, who re-learned to play guitar by placing it on his lap and using a specially-fitted bottleneck.
“When I lost the ability to use my hands it was devastating to me — much more than losing my legs,” he says. “It really depressed me. It took me down.”
Two years after the accident, Gooch’s grandfather bought him an electric guitar. That, and the mix tapes provided by friends, enabled the healing process to begin in ernest. Troughout, he was writing lyrics, many of which dealt with his situation.
The paralysis was just the first of a bad-luck double whammy. But even the cancer diagnosis couldn’t defeat him — and music was again the antidote.
“It was nice to be able to go and play gigs,” says Gooch. “Playing really took my mind off the cancer and for the spinal injury, it was also paramount.”
Musically, everything begins with the blues for the inspirational singer-songwriter, whose vocal style is a classic swampy moan somewhere between the vocals of Dr. John and Tom Waits. Specific influences include Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi All-Stars and the late bluesman R.L. Burnside.
But, Gooch notes, “I really try to draw from everything. And being from rural South Jersey, my music kind of comes out of a bluesy, Southern-rock-type sound. But I think you can hear elements of funk, hip-hop, a little country and jazz.”
Guest musicians include Kenny Aaronson (Bob Dylan, Billy Idol, Joan Jett) on bass;Luke Carlos O’Reilly (Curtis Fuller, Dave Valentin, Fred Wesley, Steve Turre) on piano and organ; and Andy Kravitz (Billy Joel, Cypress Hill, Joan Osborne) and David Uosikkinen (The Hooters, Cyndi Lauper, Rod Stewart, Patty Smythe) on drums.
Gooch’s health issues are obviously an important part of who and what he is as an artist. But for Nicolo, they were pretty much irrelevant when he decided to produce COMIN’ HOME.
“When I first met Gooch I listened to him perform with my eyes closed,” recalls Nicolo. “I didn’t want his condition to affect my opinion of his music. He totally sold me. He’s so unique. There’s nothing out there really like him. It’s one of the finest compliments I can give an artist.”
Source: Randex PR
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