Music in the Vineyard: Gerry Stanek

Musician Bio -- Gerry  Stanek makes records rooted in his own raw vision of what rock and roll  is supposed to be, where things are fast and gritty. “I write and  record quickly,” he says, “because you can’t overthink something that  already has a certain type of spirit when it shows up.” Stanek earned  his musical stripes on the corner stages of VFW’s and American Legion  halls in Western Pennsylvania’s coal towns. He played bass and toured  extensively with major label acts in the 90s: The Lost on Epic Records,  and Outcry on Eureka/Polygram. He also managed to do solo gigs in New  York City and on the Jersey Shore.

Gerry Stanek left music behind  around the turn of the millennium and drove a tractor trailer for eight  years. He also earned a Master of Fine Arts in Fiction after his final  day in the truck. Three daughters showed up along the way, and he lives  with them in Greensboro, North Carolina. The idea of writing songs again  was like a gathering storm, then, and it turned into a cloudburst in  early 2021. Stanek's full-length LP, Heart in Peril, was released in July of 2022, a collection marked by kinetic energy and a bit of snarl. A more intimate EP was next: Grease and Dust and Blood was released in September of this year. There's been some airplay at  college radio and in Europe, and "Heart in Peril" got spins at Little  Steven's Underground Garage as autumn rolled around.

There's more music on the way,  mostly because Gerry Stanek writes songs as a matter of necessity. It's  what he has to do. He's making up for lost time.