Jeremy Gloff

Jeremy Gloff
Birth name Jeremy Gloff
Born (1975-01-08) January 8, 1975
New York
Origin Fredonia, New York
Genres Pop, rock
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Guitar, percussion, keyboards
Years active 1996–present
Labels LossLess Records
Rising Owl Records
Associated acts Summer, Jill Jones
Website www.jeremygloff.com

Jeremy Gloff is an American performance artist, advice columnist, singer, and songwriter.

Biography

Jeremy was born in New York on January 8, 1975. He currently lives in Tampa, FL.

Jeremy began his performance career in Fredonia, New York from 1993 to 1999, during which time he essentially self-produced a handful of cathartic "indie" pop/rock albums, which for the most part have followed a consistent formula involving gay relationships, alienation within the "gay community", along with fairly candid (and often dark) stories related to coming of age and coping with social and sexual identity in the gay and lesbian community.

Early songs, including "Straight Femme" (from 1995's "Heavy Machinery") had lyrics such as: "It’s an ugly paradox when he’s on top of Goldilocks. Well I’m not the only one who thinks he swings both ways."[1]

1999's "Green Arrow" was about obsessive-compulsive disorder: "Its 2:00... at 2:03. If the floor's wet you'll die lonely, Ten hang-ups on his machine, The sickness of a routine."[2]

"Leaving" (from 1996's Midnight Blooming)[3] offered clues to a transitional period for Gloff, both in his personal life and in his music. He would ultimately leave New York and re-emerge in Tampa, FL in 2000 with the release of "Spin Girl Spin":

"It is obvious Gloff is doing his damnest [sic] to shake himself from the ghosts of his past. The tuneful quirkiness of his home-recorded releases is replaced with an almost anonymous indie-rock sound.... But despite the transitional nature of this album, many of the songs are dark and haunting. It's easy to get lost in the gorgeous wonder of "Infrawhite" or to feel the rage in "Johnny". You can hear a very disturbed person in these minor chord mini epics."[4]

Following

As an openly gay performer singing about his life and issues as a gay man, Jeremy's music has been (if anything) most popular among gay and lesbian audiences and venues in Tampa, FL, where he is regarded as one of the "local scene's best GLBT musicians"[5]

Historically, there have been notable discrepancies in how Gloff's lyrics and subject matter are received, among gay and straight reviewers:

A March 1999 review in Ink 19 had this to say about 1999's self-titled "Jeremy Gloff": "Over 14 songs, Jeremy lets us in to his world, and sometimes it's a very scary place to be."[6]

Meanwhile, Queer Radio describes Jeremy's work as "Lyrically very honest and refreshing."[7]

Career in Tampa

Gloff toured with Seattle's Betty X and Portland's Summer (singer) in 2004.[8] This tour led to Gloff and Summer releasing albums with an experimental, freely redistributable "open source licensing" scheme[9] under the Lossless Records label.

Now's The Right Time To Feel Good was #10 on OutVoice's Online GLBT Top 40 CD Chart in 2006.[10]

His music was featured on the soundtrack for the 2006 film "Hooked", which was a documentary exploring the “online cruising” phenomenon in the gay community.[11]

Gloff's music appeared on Don Waters 2006 compilation Kitestringing: The Prison Literature Project Benefit CD.[12]

Jeremy Gloff dancing in an anti-gay rally in Tampa (2008).[13] One of the protesters at the event would later remark: "I just remembered the performance by Jeremy Gloff, you know the guy who danced around in short shorts. I'm sorry you guys had to see that."[14]

2008 saw the album release of "1987", a send-off of 1980s dance music, and a radical departure from Gloff's earlier work. Jeremy received a jab for the dance album in an appearance on Penn & Teller: Bullshit! (Season 6, episode 10).[15]

In June 2008, Jeremy was performing a cover of Jill Jones acoustic song "So Much in Love" in New York (in the dance style of "1987") and Jill surprised audience members by getting up on stage to sing along.[16]

Jeremy Gloff's visibility has increased recently on the Tampa Bay scene. His song "Losing Fahrenheit" was featured in the soundtrack from 2009's independent documentary Strip Club King: The story of Joe Redner. Jeremy was in attendance at the film's March 2009 premier in Ybor City.[17]

Jeremy is also a visual artist, well known for pulling visual pranks on locals and protesters in Ybor City. In June 2009, the Tampa Bay Times named him "Artist of the Day": "Simultaneously funny, twisted, spunky and inspirational, Jeremy Gloff is an icon in Tampa Bay. Whether he dazzles audiences via his ever-changing performance styles, "Rickrolls" passersby in Ybor City or provides insight by way of his advice column, "Dear Gloffy," in Reax Magazine, he hasn't failed to entertain and surprise his fans."[5]

Tampa Bay's WMNF 88.5FM has had similar comments about Gloff's eccentric and engaging performance style: "With a voice that recalls Michael Stipe in a helium cloud and a piano-driven songwriting style that hovers somewhere between Ben Folds' snarky epics and R.E.M.'s rolling diary entries, one of Tampa's favorite eccentrics is often a breathtaking talent, a man capable of gut-wrenching crescendos and swoony melodies. That said, Gloff is also a bit of a nutter. And I mean that in a good way, too."[18]


[19]

Discography

Albums

True Stories (1993)
Still Feel It (1994)
Heavy Machinery (1995)
Below The Velvet (1996)
Midnight Blooming (1996)
Songs About Stupid People (1997)
Jeremy's Wonderland (1997)
Autumn (1998)
Jeremy Gloff (1998)
Spin Girl Spin (2000)
America Is Lonely Tonight (2001)
Romantico (2003)
The Orange Songs (2004)
Now's The Right Time To Feel Good (2006)
1987 (2008)
21st Century Love Songs (2009)
THIS (2011)
Inside Of Blue Buildings (2013)
Hurricane Lullabies: The Best Of Jeremy Gloff (2015)
Those Who Survived (2016)

References

  1. ↑ http://www.jeremygloff.com/straightfemme.html
  2. ↑ http://www.jeremygloff.com/greenarrow.html
  3. ↑ http://www.jeremygloff.com/leaving.html
  4. ↑ http://www.fearofablankplanet.com/artists/rock/emo/jeremy_gloff_spin_girl_spin.html
  5. 1 2 http://blogs.tampabay.com/tbt/2009/06/artist-of-the-day-jeremy-gloff.html
  6. ↑ http://www.ink19.com/issues_F/99_03/wet_ink/music_di/052_jeremy_gloff.shtml
  7. ↑ http://www.queerradio.org/OutMusicians.htm
  8. ↑ http://www.jeremygloff.com/westcoast04.html
  9. ↑ http://losslessrecords.com/whatslossless.html
  10. ↑ http://outvoice.net/top402006chart.htm
  11. ↑ http://www.babalupictures.com/hooked/Pages/credits.htm
  12. ↑ http://www.akpress.org/2006/items/kitestringingcd
  13. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS35zlAdaSQ
  14. ↑ http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=153246449
  15. ↑ http://www.sho.com/site/ptbs/episodes.do?episodeid=130995&ep=610
  16. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYmNv3dsraM
  17. ↑ http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=165701781&blogId=475402161
  18. ↑ http://www.wmnf.org/events/442
  19. ↑ http://www.jeremygloff.com/news.html

External links

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