Album Notes

What should be described as a true labor of love for drummer Chris G has finally been completed. The recorded work, a tribute CD of the music of his late brother Andrew, is the culmination of nearly four years’ effort devoted to countless studio recording sessions. At its core, the music would fall into the progressive rock category - given some of the elaborate arrangements and instrumentation. A total of eighteen progressive rock players were recorded in twelve different studios located in six different American cities. This host of artists associated with the genre (including Adrian Belew, Nick D’Virgilio, Phil Keaggy, and Mike Keneally) provided the cast of players sought by Chris to re-create Andrew’s music with professional flair and credibility. Thanks to their talents, Andrew’s musical spirit will now endure, accessible to all.

Andrew Dean Gorczyca was born on August 14, 1963. He was raised along with several siblings near Washington, DC, in the comfortable suburbs of Maryland. The family had a somewhat normal middle-class upbringing, typical of the era. Music entered his life at an early age, most likely through the influence of an older sister, distant cousins, and friends in the neighborhood. On one Christmas, his parents gave the three boys their first chance to play music. Andrew chose to learn the guitar, and never lost his fascination with it.

He discovered a sense of versatility by shifting his focus to electric bass, and it was here that Andrew and Chris began playing together as bassist and drummer. Their teenage brotherly rhythm section quickly gained momentum as a solid playing unit in their circle of musician friends. By age twenty, Andrew had devoted himself to creating his own compositions, playing and recording most or all of the parts into his trusty four track machine. Drawing on his love of progressive rock, he crafted songs and lyrics that were challenging, emotional, and honest. He continued to write and record as life moved forward, never concerning himself with trends or music industry distractions. His most prolific period was during the 1980s into the 1990s, though his ideas continued to emerge thereafter.

Andrew passed away during the night in early August 2004, at only forty years of age. As a true artist, his music was his one true passion in life. Soon after his passing, Chris became the caretaker of Andrew’s collection of music. It contained all of his finished songs, demos in various forms of completion, and notebooks with scribbled sections of lyrics. His work was never well documented, so it was quite a challenge to organize everything. Aside from a few exceptions, Andrew never sought out other musicians for collaboration. He never tried to record his songs in a professional studio; preferring the privacy and economy of his home studio. This did affect the sonic quality of his work, but ideas were always the most important thing to Andrew.

As the only other musician in the immediate family, Chris resolved immediately to preserve those ideas. There was a need to do more for the music, rather than just carefully store artifacts. He wanted to celebrate the work by treating it to modern recording techniques and inviting some notable progressive rock players to perform the material. Thus began the epic task of scheduling players, managing studio time, and organizing myriad details. After nearly four years of planning, playing, and producing, the finished work finally saw the light of day. According to Chris – "We strove for a balance of staying true to the songs as written while letting the artists bring something of themselves to the music." Within that framework, Reflections – An Act of Glass was completed as a lasting tribute to Andrew and the music that meant everything to him.