- The Gathering Field
The Gathering Field's legacy began in a burned-out third floor in
Grove City ,Pennsylvania whenBill Deasy ,Dave Brown andRusted Root percussionistJim DiSpirito hunkered down for the weekend with guitars, tequila, microphones and recording gear. An obscure, rare recording was born out of that weekend, appropriately titled "The Lost Weekend" which was never made commercially available.The Gathering Field line-up ultimately became
Bill Deasy vocals and acoustic guitar),Dave Brown (lead guitar),Eric Riebling (bass) andRay DeFade (drums). (After DeFade left the group he was replaced withJoe Zelek .) Their first independent release, entitled "The Gathering Field", was met with great reception around the region and they started playing to packed clubs. However, the band's popularity really skyrocketed when one of the region's most powerful rock radio stations,WDVE , began playing a song called, "Lost in America" and it remained in rotation for over 7 months. Based on the success of the independent release which bore the same name, the group garnered a major label deal withAtlantic Records , who re-released the CD.Soon after they signed to
Atlantic Records and "Lost in America" was re-released, there was turmoil at the label. The album charted on theBillboard Top 100 album chart,Radio and Records and various other industry publications but ultimately the CD and group got lost in the shuffle and they attempted to be released from their contract. When they finally succeeded, they released two more CDs; "Reliance" and "So Close to Home," the latter consisting of songs the band had played live for several years but never recorded. During that time Deasy also released a semi-acoustic solo album called "Spring Lies Waiting", produced by Brown. The band ultimately called it quits in 2002 and went their separate ways but their legacy includes a still loyal fan base across theUnited States and in several countries abroad, most notably (but not limited to)the Netherlands andGermany , where they received a stellar review in that country's edition ofRolling Stone . Leadsinger-songwriter Bill Deasy now records as a solo artist and continues to be a prolific songwriter. His songs have also been recorded by several major label artists and used in a national television campaign forGood Morning America in which he also appeared.External links
* [http://www.gatheringfield.com Gathering Field official website]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:1ldqoarayijm~T00 The Gathering Field on All Music Guide]
* [http://www.billdeasy.com Bill Deasy official website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/billdeasy Bill Deasy official myspace page]
* [http://www.joezelek.com Joe Zelek official website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/joezelekband Joe Zelek official myspace page]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.