New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Vancouver-based Roots/Folk Rock artist Geoff Gibbons is a true storyteller, armed with that rare narrative combination of humility, compassion, and troubadour wisdom. His songs are melodic and wholly relatable. Much like
Tom Petty or Bruce Springsteen's music, when Geoff Gibbons writes songs, they somehow seem destined for the open road. His new single "Keep on Driving" speaks on a theme that most of us have experienced.
About "Keep on Driving": In these times of uncertainty "Keep On Driving" is a longing for freedom. Caught in the well-worn circle of day to day survival…I wondered what would happen if I didn't turn in the driveway and just kept going. It speaks to life in general. The smallest move or gesture can completely change the direction of a life. We forget we have control over those moves every minute...as fear and comfort often hold us where we are.
Geoff's new music video perfectly captures the bittersweet thought process of the song, taking us along for a dreamy ride to wherever our imagination wills us. Watch on Youtube.
Sepia-tinted panoramas and meticulous song craft: Across the breadth of his material, Canadian singer-songwriter Geoff Gibbons breathes life into lyrics with elegant economy, and an ear for conversational proximity.
From Vancouver, BC, Canada, Geoff is a full time working musician and a producer-engineer who has lived his life immersed in music. Captivated in his teen years by classic singer-songwriters like Cat Stevens,
Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, he played in a steady succession of bands; then at 20, thanks to earnings from a local talent show, he headed off for Australia's Gold Coast to perform for tourists in the evening and luxuriate seaside during the day. Teaming up with a visiting Canadian friend, he formed the duo Silverlode, returned to Vancouver and performed on bills with Emmylou Harris, the McGarrigle Sisters,
David Crosby, and Levon Helm and Rick Danko of The Band.
As a solo artist, Geoff advanced his song craft with a string of well regarded, ever more ambitious albums. As a songwriter for visual projects, he created songs for television shows including Higher Ground, Just Cause and Robson Arms plus animation: Mook and the adult comedy series The Mr. Dink Show - winner of the jury prize for Best Animation at the New York International Film Festival. He also composed the score and songs for Wolf Moon (aka Dark Moon Rising.)
While Geoff enjoys the challenge of orchestrating others' visions, in 2017 the time was right for a new solo project. "It began with me compiling," he says. "I combed the material until it started taking shape." To bring the project Buffalo Hotel to fruition, he reached out to John McArthur Ellis to co-produce. "We'd been trying to work together for years. We started going to the next level with it. I had probably 20 songs demoed. We focused in on 12"… Buffalo Hotel born and was critically received.
Seventies country-rock of Southern California is a prime influence on Geoff. "I couldn't get enough of long-haired guys playing country-influenced music," he recalls of the bands like the Byrds, Fool's Gold and the Flying Burrito Brothers.
A trip to the cradle of North American music was a signpost of the journey for Gibbons. Geoff and two friends flew South to the cities of sound: Muscle Shoals, Nashville and Memphis. "When I got back home I wasn't just inspired, I was altered," Geoff remembers. "It was like traveling to a musical Mecca." Echoes of this experience permeate Geoff's musical tapestry, a fine mix of Roots, Americana, Rock and Soul.
Not wishing to rest musically, Geoff has spent the last couple years solidifying his position as
one of Canada's best kept secrets, building his own studio and expanding his sound…
Continuing to work with esteemed producer John MacArthur Ellis, Geoff has released a succession of singles…From the psychedelic melancholy of 'Fall Girl', to the poignant and introspective 'Lately', to the breezy radio friendly groove of 'Follow You,' The music he is writing now is as fresh and vital as anything he has ever done. Gibbon's songs reveal new layers with every listen, subtly turning casual listeners into lifelong fans.
