Here’s the new single from Jersey City’s Gary Van Miert, a self-styled Psychedelic Cowboy who performs under the moniker The Sensational Country Blues Wonders! ‘Why Did I Eat the Whole Bag of Mushrooms?’ is a psychedelic journey with pulsing, tuneful bass and cosmic electric guitars. The layered and soaring sounds reflect the subject matter – the mind-altering impact of excessive drug-use. The animated video reinforces the theme: vibrant colours and constantly changing images are like hallucinations to get lost in.
Van Miert says of the song: “A cautionary tale. It was inspired by Billy Wilder’s great film ‘The Lost Weekend’ and my tendency to overdo things. This song name-checks my favourite Rolling Stones album, ‘Exile on Main St’.”
The single is taken from the forthcoming album ‘If I Stop Moving, I’ll Fall From the Sky’, a collection inspired by the psychedelic music of the 1960s. The songs fly high, covering themes of the sky, the universe, self-awareness, planes of existence and altered states of consciousness. He adds: “They were also inspired by my sense of awe about the universe. ‘If I Stop Moving, I’ll Fall From the Sky’ is a trippy, whimsical musical journey guaranteed to put a smile on your face.” Elements of classic country, blues, gospel, pop and rock are blended together with cosmic, psychedelic sounds and reflections and threaded through with humour. Music has been the constant in Van Miert’s life as he explains: “I saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show when I was five years old but my love for music actually goes back further. My mother told me that when I was a small child, I took 45 rpm records to bed with me instead of a teddy bear. I noticed that the Beatles recorded three Carl Perkins tunes, so I figured this guy must be good if the Beatles covered so many of his songs. After becoming a Carl Perkins fan, I learned that he was influenced by Hank Williams, so I started listening to Hank. The Rolling Stones named their band after a Muddy Waters’ song, so I knew I should check him out as well. And on and on. I’m a record collector and I have an extensive collection of old gospel 45’s. That’s where I cull a lot of the material I perform and where I got the band’s name, which is a homage to all the great groups from the golden age of gospel. The music that inspired me was born in Nashville and Memphis and the Mississippi Delta. I’ve always been interested in that point where blues, country and gospel music intersect. Elvis Presley and a few others captured lightning in a bottle in the fifties and changed the world. I’ve always had an affinity for this particular brand of American roots music that originated in the South. I’ve been chasing this sound for years now, and having the time of my life doing so.” It’s a musical education that now informs his songwriting. Enjoy – but don’t over do it.
