Mornings With Gary Byron Podcast

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:00 George Agnelli, CT GOP Fundraiser Extraordinaire
:20 State Representative Tracy Marra
:40 Red Jahncke Nationally recognized columnist who writes about politics & policy 

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:00 Conservative Journalist Chris Powell has written about Connecticut government & politics for many years, read his work @chrispowellcolumn.com
:20 Republican Senate Leader Stephen Harding 
:40  Former State Representative Fred Wilms GOP Endorsed Candidate for Treasurer 

GERRY BECKLEY  -  Biography
“Like trains forever leaving stations, merciful are these stories we spin,” sings Gerry Beckley on the title track to his latest
Blue Elan Records solo album, Merciful, a dark-laced song penned by noted Scandinavian jazz trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær
on his otherwise instrumental 2000 “Nordic noir” release Solid Ether.
That sentiment captures the elegiac spirit of the 13-song collection, produced by Beckley with frequent collaborator and
lyricist Jeff Larson, which looks both back and forward with an appreciation of the past and an acknowledgement of
impending mortality.
“For the last few years, we’ve been going back through the archives to see if there were songs that could be improved,”
explained Gerry. “These days, since I’ve stepped back from touring, I’ve been coming up with lots of new material.”
Beckley is the co-founding member of the multi-platinum band America with Dewey Bunnell and the late Dan Peek, who all
met as students at London Central High School, and went on to score such hits as “A Horse with No Name,” “Ventura
Highway,” “Tin Man” and “Lonely People.” Beckley wrote and sang lead on such successful America singles as “Sister
Golden Hair,” “I Need You,” “Daisy Jane” and the Russ Ballard-penned “You Can Do Magic.”
The very first track, the Beckley-Larson co-written “When the Wells Run Dry” touches on the impermanence of life with a

nod towards not just an individual human’s waning passion and inspiration, but the environmental hazards of the earth itself.
“When the walls come down/What is lost and founder/Underneath the California sky,” laments Beckley.

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“I consider that mix of light and dark my signature sound,” he noted. “So much of rock is based on youth and rebellion, but
as songwriters, we get to move those boundaries around as we age.”
Dividing his time between Sydney, Australia and L.A.’s oceanside Venice, Beckley recorded the bulk of the album in his
own home studios, playing virtually all the instruments with contributions by bassist Jason Scheff, piano player Nate Strasser,
string arranger Matt Combs, guitarist Steve Fedkete, horn player Nick Lane, sax player James Valentine and drummers
Ryland Steen, Luke Davison and Brian Young.
The album’s highlights include Beckley’s emotional cover of “Norwegian Wood,” the Beatles’ wistful saga of an
extramarital love affair with special guest Graham Nash on vocals – recalling that Beckley was in a London high school just
as the British Invasion was in full swing. Gerry originally ran into the singer/songwriter after a Nash performance at the
Sydney Opera House when his longtime pal casually offered his services for any future project. “The song seemed custom-
made for his signature high harmony voice, so I took him up on it,” said Beckley, who played the song in an open-tuned
acoustic guitar style dubbed DADGAD. “Graham’s one of my true heroes going back to his time in the Hollies.”
The upbeat, joyful “Get It Right” livens up the proceedings with its “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” vibe, with Nate
Lane’s horns punctuating Ryland Steen’s island rhythms, a song from the Beckley vaults that Gerry found “still really held
up,” while the tuneful R&B vibe of “75” and the shimmering, atmospheric “Brand New Night” were inspired by U.K.
hitmakers 1975 lead singer Matt Healy and Scottish art-rockers Blue Nile’s Paul Buchanan, respectively.
“All the Wounded Cowboys” comes from a touching anecdote told to Gerry by his close friend, legendary rock photographer
Henry Diltz about caring for his terminally ill partner Joan, who loved watching old westerns on TV. “Monster” is a song
which originally appeared on America’s 1977 album, Harbor, that now has a whole new perspective almost 50 years later
with this new re-recording.
“That’s the rare song I first wrote in 3/4 time,” said Beckley. “To me, that was a very personal number about the dangers of
fame.”
The apocalyptic end-of-days “Big Rain” recalls that America were contemporaries on the SoCal music scene of the ‘60s and
‘70s with bands like Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
“It stands out as the most live-sounding track on the album,” commented Gerry. “Even though I played all the instruments
except for Brian Young on drums and percussion.”
With his increased spate of creativity since signing to Blue Elan Records for 2016’s Carousel, Beckley promises another
release from America’s vaults in the near future, the first in more than a decade since 2015’s Lost and Found, since Primary
Wave took over control of their catalogue.
“The rest of my days/I’m beginning to think and see through the haze/I feel it coming/Something’s on the verge of going
right”
And while Beckley has officially retired from touring since a 2023 show with Bunnell (who continues to perform as
America), he still shows up at a local Sydney pub every Thursday to play bass with a bunch of local kids. He also joined the
Killers on-stage for a rendition of “Sister Golden Hair” at Qudos Bank Arena during the band’s tour stop in Sydney.
Gerry Beckley’s Merciful is the next best thing, a timeless, personal work that realizes our own very limited span on earth at
the same time as it seizes the possibilities while we’re still here.
He points to Johnny Cash’s Rick Rubin-produced American Recordings as proof a veteran artist can indeed reinvent himself
and create late-period work that both compares and builds upon a legendary career.
“There is a shining example of someone who was completely resurrected,” said Beckley, adding “Not to compare myself to
Johnny Cash.”
Nevertheless, Merciful is a most worthy addition to the classic Gerry Beckley oeuvre, the light and dark perfectly calibrated.

Did you miss any of today's guest interviews?
:00 Journalist Matt Caron 
:20 Will Fry, Founder and CEO of American Operator on what’s driving socialism’s growing appeal
:40 Liz Kurantowicz Political Consultant-WTNH Channel 8's Capitol Report 

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:00 Republican State Rep Joe Canino 65th house district 

:20 Jeff Weiss GOP Endorsed Candidate for State Rep 103rd House District (Cheshire, Hamden, and Wallingford)

:40 CT GOP Chairman Ben Proto 

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:00 Chris DiPentima President and CEO of CBIA

:20 State Senator Eric Berthel  

:40 Marc E. Fitch Senior Investigative Reporter CT Inside Investigator

Did you miss any of today's guest interviews?
:00 George Agnelli CT GOP Fundraiser Extraordinaire 

:20 Len Besthoff NBC CT Investigative Reporter 

:40 Mike Criss GOP State senate candidate for CT's 8th Senatorial District 

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:00 Michael A. Letts Global Security & Law Enforcement Expert, President & CEO of In-Vest USA  

:20 CT House Republican Leader Vinnie Candelora  

:40 Joe Markley Former State Senator and LT Gubernatorial Candidate in 2018

Did you miss any of today's guest interviews?
:00 Journalist Matt Caron 

:20 Ken Langille from CT Young Republicans 

:40 Republican Candidate for Governor Ryan Fazio 

Did you miss any of today's guest interviews?
:00 MaryAnn Turner  Vice Chair of the CT GOP 
:20 John Bolton Endorsed GOP Candidate for Attorney General 
:40 Dominic Rapini GOP Endorsed Candidate for Sec of State in 2022