Gerry Madden—Music/Lyrics
 
Born:                August 6, 1970
Place:                Ottawa, Ontario
Instruments Played:        Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Influences:            Kiss, D-tuned Bands and 70’s Sugar Pop.
Personal Philosophy:    There are three things worth
living for… music, food and people.

Andy Simpson—Music/Lyrics/Book

Born:                January 25, 1978
Place:                Carleton Place, Ontario
Instruments Played:        Vocals, Drums, and Percussion,
Kazoo.
Influences:    Queen, Shunt, The Who, Pink Floyd, Kiss,
Weird Al Yankovic, Andrew Lloyd Webber
Personal Philosophy:        If you’re not in it for the love
of it, then get the “F” out!

The Story of GASM
    In August of 1996, a young songwriter was hoping to
complete a musical he’d been working on.  An ad was
sent, and three weeks later, the ad was answered.
    Andy Simpson, then a high school student, placed the
following advertisement on radio station The Bear:
“COMPOSER/ARRANGER NEEDED TO HELP COMPLETE NEW
MUSICAL.  LYRICS ALREADY WRITTEN.”
    “I wasn’t even listening to the radio when the ad was
read.  I was doing homework,” says Simpson.  “The
phone rang, and my mom picked it up and then gave it
to me.  I then heard the voice of the guy I was going
to work with.”
    Gerry Madden picks up the story….
    "I had just parted ways with a band I was in and was
looking for musicians.  I saw Andy's ad and decided to
see what it was all about.  Needless to say, that
we're still working together today proves that we both
are creating something special."
    After numerous phone calls back and forth (I’m sure
the long distance bills were really high—especially on
my end, Simpson recalls), the two finally met at
Carleton Place High School on a rainy night.
    “I was playing a coffee house that night, and before
I went to do my set, I saw a car pull into the parking
lot.  I went out, thinking it was just another false
alarm (chuckle).  This guy walked up to me and asked
if I was Andy Simpson.  I said ‘yes’, and Gerry
introduced himself.”
    What was the first thing that Andy said to Gerry?
    “He said I looked like Geddy Lee of Rush!” Madden
says.
    “I still don’t really know if he was insulted or
flattered.  He kind of looks like Jesus, too.” Simpson
remarks.
    At Christmas that year, the two finally met at
Simpson’s house and started to work on the project: a
musical version of Daniel Defoe’s classic novel,
Robinson Crusoe.  The musical is now on the back
burner, and attention has turned to a more practical
project, The Fork.

The Fork
    The Fork is based on a song called “Johnny, I Hardly
Knew Ye.”  It’s an old Irish anti-war song, and it’s
often heard on St. Patrick’s Day at the Simpson house.
 
    Madden and Simpson “scratched” together a story in
the Second World War “with a love story woven in there
somewhere.”
    Basically, the story is about making a choice.  John,
the main character, is faced with going to war, or
staying with his girlfriend, Enid.  He goes to war,
but ends up wondering if it was the right decision to
make.  From there, people can draw their own
conclusions of the story.
    The song cycle is as follows:
Overture, Seig Hiel/Man From Hell/Revenge, May Day,
Train Of Lost Souls, Army Life, Over The Ocean,
Northwind, The Ant’s Theme
Underture, The Fork, Into Action, First Attack, In
Flander’s Fields, Second Attack, Heartstrings, Sixteen
Memories, Escape, Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye
The double CD debut for GASM was released on 24
January 2004.

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