MY HEART BREAKS (REGRETS): Reflecting On the Past...

“I admit to many unforced errors in life that led to regret.”

— Garry Manuel

CLICK ON PHOTO to listen to MY HEART BREAKS (REGRETS) by GARRY MANUEL

Have you caught yourself pondering your own indiscretions throughout life? You pause for a moment, then, dismiss any notion to amend those situations because either 1) you can’t figure out how you’d go about it, or 2) the process and pain of having to revisit those moments is deemed fearful and just too difficult.

Perhaps there are a slew of people who have never confronted moments from the past, for fear that it might haunt them if they thought seriously about venturing back in time.

In reflecting on the song Garry states, “I’m probably like many people, who never intentionally set out to hurt anyone with my tongue; however, for whatever reason, we lash out, or didn’t have a lot of discipline on how we might better handle an issue. We might have had one drink too much and spouted off? I admit to many unforced errors in life that led to regret. For those that I have little or no connection with any longer, and have never received an apology from me - this song is for them. At this point in life, it will have to suffice. I can say with all sincerity, it is heartfelt.”

After having listened to the song or reading through this explanation, there might be many who start to contemplate the core meaning of the song.

MUSICIANS:

• Garry Manuel: vocals, acoustic guitar, writer & producer

• Chuck Bianchi: electric 5 string bass

• Ben Gramm: drums, percussion

• Brian Soule: piano

• Marshall Manuel: electric guitar, recording & mastering engineer

• Recorded at RAMP (Rochester Area Music Project) Fairport, NY

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Garry Ben Gramm Marshall Brian Soule Chuck Bianchi

ONLY YOU by Garry Manuel

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO LISTEN:

ONLY YOU by GARRY MANUEL

Garry’s Cover for the single

This song will eventually be included on the album or EP called, TIMELESS. Why? Because the songs are timeless and all were recorded from about 1979 through 1982 (with possibly one exception.

ONLY YOU digs deep into the sadness felt when a relationship caves, where it seems regaining that love and trust has slipped into the darkness of loneliness and a sense of desperation. Garry’s vocal brings that unsettling awareness to the forefront.

Helping to deliver the effectiveness of the song’s stark sadness are longtime friends and Sunup members, Brian Soule on piano and Kerry Peterson playing bass. The drummer is David Accorso. Garry is responsible for the writing, vocals and acoustic and nylon string guitars. The recording engineer was Craig Fennessy, who Garry did many recordings with as a solo artist and with Sunup.

Unfortunately the sadness of the song goes beyond the tune itself, and also to the fact that Kerry and David are no longer with us. While many musicians are often a bit intimidated by the recording process, that never seemed to be the case with Kerry. He always seemed to carve out intricate and harmonic bass lines that strongly supported the song. Kerry’s dry sense of humor, warm personality, and bass prowess has been sorely missed.

David Accorso was a skillful drummer who really knew how to achieve the ideal sound from the drum set. Each time we utilized Dave’s talent on a session, he came in and immediately got to work fine tuning each drum to perfection. Back in the 70’s and 80’s it often seemed to take an eternity to have the drums tuned for a session, but Dave typically had things ready to go in 20 minutes or so. Dave performed and recorded with Don Potter, Julio Iglesias, and with the very talented and popular Rochester NY band, Saratoga.

Brian Soule’s piano playing was an understated evocation of the stark realities being delivered in the lyric content. The delicate background of the Oberheim that Brian adds, enhances the mood even more. His playing did not distract, but supported the fragile quality of the song. Even though this recording took place over 40 years ago, Brian and Garry have had a unique chemistry in the recording studio and in live performances.

You may be able to sense the comfort and confidence level in Garry’s vocal, which had to do with the qualities of the song, but even more so with the sense of ease that Craig provided as the recording engineer.

Another sidebar to the remastering process for this release has to do with transforming the tape to digital. The actual master recording had accidentally been tossed out. For whatever reason, the bass sound was thin, and the piano track was suffering a bit as well. Through an AI app, we were able to isolate most of the tracks, with the exception of the piano. In that process we were able to restore the full sound of Kerry’s bass. Garry’s son, Marshall (who is the recording engineer for the majority of his music currently), is an excellent digital editor and recording engineer worked on getting the song sonically back into shape. The piano was reshaped slightly, but there was leakage of other instrumentation on the track so Marshall was limited as to what was possible in that regard.

At the Cabin by Garry Manuel

To stream At the Cabin on your preferred music platform click link:

https://www.submithub.com/link/garry-manuel-at-the-cabin

“As a songwriter you are looking to marry the lyrics with the melody, and use the chord changes to paint the images, setting the tone for what you are hoping to communicate to your audience. I'm pleased with how the song and video turned out and I hope that everyone is able to find their precious spot, where the treasured memories are stored". ~Garry  

Garry at age 14 with his very first Kent electric guitar

A SPECIAL PLACE

As one can tell, there are MANY years between these photos. Yup, same cabin, same porch, same guy, and different guitars.

At the Cabin is a very personal song that encapsulates years of experiences and delight in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountain region in New York State. Everyone needs their own special place where memories are strung together, both in the heart and mind. You need a place where love, sorrow, joy, and the magnificence of life is lived and celebrated fully. You CAN find that place where you share all these treasures in life. This song aims to give you a glimpse into what that might look like, and especially for people who haven’t quite found their special place.

LOVE SICK - Garry Manuel - A Retro Pop/Disco Hit

On February 28th, 2025 Love Sick was released, but, that’s not the whole story!

In February, forty six years ago (to the month) Garry was performing in a Top 40/Disco cover band; however, he figured disco was here to stay for a time and he set out to write a hit song. While the band he was with performed the song almost nightly, the group never did any recording. Garry did. There were a couple times during that year that the band had some down time and that’s when the recording took place, with Craig Fennessy being the recording engineer at his studio in Hilton. Garry cut three tracks that day. Two of those songs have been re-recorded and released (Pray for Rain & Romantic Knots). Love Sick has NOT been redone! It is the original track with the same musicians.

Garry speaks about the track: “It was a hot track that I thought could be a hit. Kerry, who played with us in Sunup, played his ass off on the bass. Since we were playing disco nightly at the time, he had this groove down and played it so well. Also, drummer, Ben Gramm, (Lou Gramm and numerous other Rochester bands) had played on many of the Sunup recording sessions and on their live shows was on drums and one of Ben’s former bandmates, Jack Ortolani, was on keys and you’ll note how he had those disco sprinkles down.” Garry goes on to talk about alterations on the the tune today: “I tried playing congas. There is a portion of the song where we just let the drums keep the groove and I played congas in that spot and near the end. My conga playing was absolutely horrible. So, when my son started working on editing the track and remastering, we tried to isolate the conga track, but other instruments leaked. We couldn’t erase the congas and wound up cutting that section out of the tune, making it even shorter than it was.”

You can listen here: LOVE SICK - Garry Manuel

TRAINING for LIFE A glimpse into the world of trainers in thoroughbred horse racing

TRAINING FOR LIFE - by Garry Manuel/Sunflare Songs

Music: Sunup & Garry Manuel

Narration: James Wilson

There is no question that horses have long captivated our attention due to their majestic and powerful nature. This lifestyle along with both the toughness and beauty of the sport of horse racing drew us in as far back as 1978, with the Triple Crown battle between Affirmed and Alydar. But as you might have already noted, we have songs and a video about Hall of Fame trainer, Woody Stephens and we have music videos representing the horses and horse men and women at the Saratoga Race Course.

In this film/video we pull back the curtain and give a behind the scenes look at what goes into training a race horse. Three trainers are interviewed as they describe their lives, as well as the types of training techniques that are used daily. You will also hear about some of the hardships that can be encountered for the horses and workers.

Trainers interviewed: John Grabowski, Orlando Noda & Rachel Sells

THE KEY IS LOVE ALBUM - AN INTRODUCTION by GARRY

Here is a brief explanation of Sunup’s, “The Key Is Love” album by Garry Manuel

SUNUP’S ALBUM IS AVAILABLE ON NEARLY ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS. PLEASE FIND A FEW LINKS BELOW!

APPLE MUSIC Link

SPOTIFY Link

YouTube Link

TIDAL Link

PANDORA Link

THE KEY IS LOVE - SUNUP's 50th Anniversary Album!

Some Notes & Facts About the Album

At the 50 year mark Sunup began to record The Key Is Love album, with Garry Manuel leading the charge of organizing and producing the recording. The music pays homage to early Sunup followers with the inclusion of a number of songs from their set list in the early 70’s, which crosses into Americana, folk-rock, singer-songwriter genres. The album also builds in some freshly penned songs, like the title track, and a rare original by James Wilson from ‘74, that was never previously recorded. You’ll also find a few covers ( 2 by John Prine) the group played for years. The Sunup brand of vocal harmonies and acoustic instrumentation remain prominent throughout. They’ve brought an uplifting vibe to this recording; however, a few songs do reach in to touch on some of the raw emotions of life’s upheavals.

Sunup has enlisted some incredibly talented guests for their recording. Drummer, Billy Goodness, who played in a group with Garry and Kerry 40 + years ago, also performed with country artist, Ricky van Shelton, and currently performs with a Steely Dan cover band, Bad Sneakers, adds his tasteful playing and experience to these tracks.

Also on drums is Ben Gramm, who has played with a number of top artists, including his brother, Lou Gramm, for the past 25 years. He also played on the song Back To My Soul, recorded from a live broadcast on WCMF, in Rochester, NY, back in 1974! Ben also played with Sunup on several special dates both live and in the recording studio. In fact, you’ll hear him on the bonus track!

Other guests include the very talented, Aaron Lipp, who is a multi-instrumentalist that performs solo and with bluegrass groups in the Finger Lakes area of NY, as well as touring with the Sam Grisman Project. You’ll hear him tearing it up on the dobro, electric lap steel and fiddle. He provided the perfect ingredients to add the spice to these tunes. Bernie Heveron, a gifted musical talent and former school music teacher, lent his support by playing banjo and dobro on the song Early Life Jangle.

Sunup was also fortunate to have the wonderfully gifted cellist, Genevieve Tabby, from the all-female string quartet, Atlys, grace the recording of the song, Someday. This piece, written by Garry, is a call to express your feelings to people before that chance slips away. The cello puts an exquisite touch on the song’s expression.

Laura Wilson happens to be the sister-in-law of James and good friends with Garry. They had done some songs together at church in the past and asked her if she’d be kind enough to sing harmonies on Standing At the Edge of Life.

The icing on the cake has been having Garry’s son, Marshall, Manuel, who is also an accomplished musician, instuctor, producer and recording engineer be an integral part of the entire recording process from beginning to end.

Let the music shine!

MUSIC GUESTS: Marshall Manuel, Genevieve Tabby (Atlys), Ben Gramm (Lou Gramm & others, Laura Wilson, Aaron Lipp (Sam Grisman Project & others, Billy Goodness (Bad Sneakers & others, John McNeill (formerly with Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Sunup (90’s), Bernie Heveron (solo artist & P V Nunes Band, former basist for Bat McGrath.

BONUS TRACK - FRIENDLY EASTBOUND TRAIN - TRIBUTE TO KERRY PETERSON

KERRY PETERSON

In 2007 Sunup played a reunion show in Victor NY. It was a wonderful evening of music, greeting Sunup followers, family and friends. In addition, Garry and Goon’s sons were part of the musical night making it even more special.

Some logistics and dealing with the club almost scrapped the plans, but thankfully that was not the case. We could not have anticipated that two years later Kerry would be taken from us with a bout from cancer. Garry states, “It’s difficult to put into words how much that evening has meant to us. Unfortunately, it would be the last real gig that we would play with Kerry. I will always remember our conversations nearing the final days of his life on earth - they were deep and meaningful.

After Charlie left Sunup in 1974, Kerry became the bassist. You can hear his stellar bass performances on so many Sunup recordings. For this special recording of our 50th Anniversary of playing and recording music we pulled out this song, “Friendly Eastbound Train” which was recorded at PCI Studios in Rochester, NY, with Mick Guzauski. While this is a pretty straightforward country tune, you can hear the genius of Kerry’s bass playing.

Also on the track, besides Garry, Goon and Kerry are: Jimmy Duvall on pedal steel and Ben Gramm on drums. This song was sidelined for a couple reasons: 1) it was country and Sunup was not a country band, 2) the lyrics of the song were a little off the beaten path, being a song about being enamored as a kid with trains and engineers, while your family traveled to buy fresh eggs, and 3) the band was told they didn’t have an '“identifiable sound”, so this track further obscured what the band was about.

Kerry contributed so much to Sunup. He was a staunch supporter of our original tunes and provided both a critical ear for the group’s songs, as well as, a witty and dry sense of humor that was so prevalent in the rehearsals. He can also be found on a number of Garry’s solo recordings.

Who knew that nearly 50 years later “Friendly Eastbound Train” would provide a showcase for an uplifting, fun and well-played track that would be a tribute to Kerry?!

Garry recently reconnected with Jimmy Duvall, who absolutely hits it outta the park on this tune, playing some dazzling pedal steel. Explaining the reconnection, “I became friends with Ryan Duvall and his wife in our hometown, and I happened to ask him if he was any relation to Jimmy Duvall?” That is how the reconnection transpired.

Ben Gramm played drums on those 1975 recording sessions with Sunup and many other special shows as well. Consequently, the bonus track supplies a perfect closer that will bring a few smiles and joy to listeners.

At this point in Sunup’s journey having to cater of a specific genre or music style is not a worry or consideratiion,

Ben Gramm - drums and Jimmy Duvall - pedal stell guitar

WARM 101-FM INTERVIEW with Goon and Garry

While in the Adirondack Mountains at the Great Sacandaga Lake, Goon and Garry were interviewed one morning by Jon Goehring for station WARM 101 in Rochester, NY. Here is a link to that interview:

STANDING AT THE EDGE OF LIFE - Bringing it back one more time.

You find yourself recovering from one of those blows that life delivers every once in a while. As you begin to search deep for answers, many people want to chime in to offer an opinion as to what you should do and how to resolve your issues. But, you just need time to sort it out, because underneath it all, there is a glimmer of hope.

Vocal harmonies, acoustic & electric guitars, piano and percussion are the instruments Sunup uses to deliver the message of this song.

Vocals: Garry Manuel, James "Goon" Wilson, Brian Soule, Laura Wilson

Guitars, Bass & Percussion: Garry Manuel

Piano: Brian Soule

Recording Engineer & Mastering: Marshall Manuel

It was also a joy as we enlisted the help of our good friend and Goon's sister-in-law, Laura Wilson, for the high harmonies.

Apple:: https://music.apple.com/.../standing-at-the.../1748272647

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/6AJ1A3z1SEP94emcoNLoIf...

Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/track/364644148?u

Pandora: https://pandora.app.link/Vos86zNseKb

SUNUP - Brian Soule, James “Goon” Wilson, Garry Manuel, Charlie Castilano

If you think you may have heard this song before - you might have?! It's on the Sunup, Passion & Politics record. We have a live version from the Wine Press in August 1976, broadcasted and recorded live on WCMF, Rochester, NY. The recording was not up to our usual recording standards, but we put it out there despite the issues because, there are certain moments in time that you can't get back or have captured a moment that just should not be allowed to evaporate. So, why re-record it? It always bugged me that we screwed up the timing in one spot and that Kerry's bass part was missing the clarity it should have had, through no fault of his own. Dee Carstensen added a really beautifully harmonized vocal to the song as well. We always loved the message and the harmonies. To be candid, during that period in time we were knocked out by the harmonies of a group called, Howdy Moon, which I got to interview before they played on WCMF. Valerie Carter was part of that group and after the group split up, went on to cut a couple albums under her own name, then sang back up for James Taylor for quite some time. She was a treasure. All this to give a little background to the tune. I’ve also sung the song for people going through some ultra-challenging stuff in their lives, much as I was at the time of writing the tune. We hope you fully absorb our latest rendition. ~Garry

SUNUP GOES BACK INTO THE COUNTRY with Country Basics

SUNUP heads to the country once again…

Back in 1973 we weren't concerned with what style or genre of music we were playing. To be perfectly honest, we are not concerned now either. What we are trying to do is finish the arc of music from 1973 to the present with our 50th Anniversary Sunup album. You will be hearing a good number of songs from the 70's that we didn't record, but that we played at our live shows and club appearances. There are a couple songs that we rarely or never played live, but they'll be included in this upcoming collection. One example is our song, Country Basics. It was kind of a sleeper. We rarely played the song live, but when Goon was asked, "Were there any tunes that were surprisingly good?" His answer was "Country Basics." Garry agreed. It IS a song about living in the country. It's a very laid back country/Americana/bluegrassy tune, that describes the beauty and simplicity of living life in the country and the relationships that exist in that environment. We thought of living on a farm in the Bristol Hills in upstate New York. Our early promo shots were taken mostly at a farm in Fairport, NY. Do you remember climbing up on a wooden fence and as you gripped the top of the fence you found yourself with a sliver in your finger.? You found a pin, lit a match to sterilize it, then began to pry the needle out from under your skin. And do you remember going over to a neighbor’s house unannounced? You’d often grab a beer and chat. Conversations were effortless, either fun or deep. This song brings those memories back and beckons to recreate that vibe today.

The song is definitely NOT in the style of the "new" country. Helping to bring this vibe to the forefront, Garry brought in Naples, NY, multi-instrumentalist, Aaron Lipp Music to lay down a dobro and fiddle track. Also, back on drums is our good friend and talented drummer, Billy Goodness.

We are REALLY happy with how the song turned out and hope you enjoy it. So any time after midnight check your favorite streaming service for Sunup - Country Basics!

Apple Music: APPLE MUSIC - COUNTRY BASICS

Available under nearly all streaming devices under SUNUP - Country Basics

SPOTIFY - COUNTRY BASICS

Brian Soule, James “Goon” Wilson, Garry Manuel & Charlie Castilano

Aaron Lipp

SPANISH PIPEDREAM - Sunup covers one of John Prine's most memorable tunes

Spanish Pipedream (cover tune written by John Prine & Jeff Kent). This happens to be one of the first cover songs Sunup performed at their live gigs as far back as 1973! The only difference from Sunup's earlier version is that we added drums, played by Billy Goodness, electric lap steel, performed by Aaron Lipp and Garry threw some electric guitar riffs into the mix. The song was recorded by Marshall Manuel at RAMP.

Goon (Ethan Carey in CT) throws down a really fun and vibrant lead vocal, Charlie Castilano plays electric bass and Garry does vocal harmonies, acoustic & electric guitar, harmonica and is the producer on the tune.

Even though Garry and Goon have not performed together as Sunup in a VERY long time, every summer when at the Great Sacandaga Lake, folks pull up a chair around the campfire and you’ll hear, “Blow up your TV, throw away your paper. Go into the country and build you a home.”

It’s obvious when listening to the song that the the group brings the upbeat “Sunup vibe” of the early ‘70’s to the forefront with this song. The integrity of Prine’s rendition is upheld while Sunup puts their personal stamp on the song, that includes harmonies, harmonica along with the sarcasm and humor that John Prine had originally infused in the lyric.

Apple:
Spanish Pipedream - Single by Sunup on Apple Music
Apple - Spanish Pipedream by Sunup

Spotify: Spotify - Spanish Pipedream by Sunup

YouTube; YouTube - Spanish Pipedream by Sunup

SUNUP - Garry, Charlie & Goon - the 3 original members of Sunup at the Springwater Inn in Saratoga.

Aaron Lipp - multi-instrumentalists, performing at Hollerhhorn Distillery in Naples, NY. Aaron played electric lap steel on Spanish Pipedream.

Billy Goodness

SOMEDAY by Sunup

Streaming links for Someday:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/0vrw3GdHtEI1Q8oSWqkRpw?si=dc541f9e39be4610

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/someday-feat-genevieve-tabby-single/1728195557

Pandora: https://pandora.app.link/CmgbG6mUpHb

Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/track/342342717

Amazon: https://amazon.com/music/player/albums/B0CTF55MW3?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER&musicTerritory=US&ref=dm_sh_zjLZMrkh4sO8Ok8OMJCFOl4TU&trackAsin=B0CTF76R1B

SUNUP 2024. Brian Soule. James ‘“Goon” Wilson. Garry Manuel Charlie Castiliano

"Someday, it will be over. Someday, though we don't know when." True, these are solemn lyrics - purposely provocative - that drill down inside. We're inviting YOU to go there with us. Often the initial pain leads to a triumphant healing. We sincerely hope you will FEEL this song resonating deep within your heart. It's a fact of life we know well, but often avoid, because it causes consternation and there is no schooling in life (except life itself) on how we are to respond or react.

SUNUP will soon be releasing tunes that are upbeat, celebratory and joyful, that we performed in the 1970's. But, we are also offering up new music that is reflective and that looks more seriously toward the future. How can we not? ! After all, this upcoming album (The Key Is Love) celebrates 50 years of Sunup! To add to that joyfulness and more particularly - 50 years of friendships.

What were our dreams then, and what are our dreams now? Did we ever completely lose those dreams? We find the most satisfying joy and meaningful friendships in conversations that go deep, and that doesn't necessarily mean they're all dark or negative. It's also VERY much about the love, interaction, helping each other through tough times and the incredible experiences that we have SHARED.

The music is here to lay down the carpet for a celebration, but also to teach us about what is important in our lives and NOT to miss it.

We hope you'll be there with us streaming the song and reflecting on it's meaning as well.

Garry Manuel - composer, lead vocal, guitar, string arrangement, producer

James “Goon” Wilson - vocals

Brian Soule - keyboards

Charlie Castilano - bass

John McNeill - percussion

Genevieve Tabby (special featured guest) - cello

Marshall Manuel - recording engineer, edits, mastering

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SOMEDAY by SUNUP - Music/Video

Some Irony Here!

by Garry Manuel

When I began writing this song all the ingredients came together quite fast. This isn’t always the case, as most songwriters will tell you. In this instance there were many people in our circles going through severe health challenges. I That intensity in life continued for a while. So, as I sewed the song together I opted to write the chorus/bridge as if I were singing that portion of the song to my wife. I also imagined it could be entirely possible for someone else to express that same sentiment to someone they deeply cared about as well. Over the past couple years I had spoken to people who regretted not saying or doing certain things while their loved one or dear friend was alive.

Once I had finished writing the song and after we had begun to record a number of the tracks, I realized that the form of the song was nearly the same as Yesterday (The Beatles). So, here’s the title - Someday and we’re comparing it to Yesterday! It turns out the format of the song is nearly identical. There is an A & B section - that’s it! They are both short tunes. I assure you, it was NOT intentional, but it’s ironic that unfolded in that manner.

Offering up a few thoughts to contemplate…

They’ve been buried in a box, silenced by the busyness of life, trampled by the stress of politics, fear of war, sparring religions, as well as the ills caused by poverty, abusive power and nearly forgotten with the daily routines we have prescribed for ourselves. I’m referring to the treasures of life. They were sparkling, beautiful, and sometimes needed to be buffed due to scrapes or neglect. The shine was always there, but often hidden.

 Suddenly one day, there is a stirring in the heart.  It could be because someone close passes away. Perhaps you were sorting through your office desk and found an old photo buried beneath a stack of papers. Or maybe you bumped into an old friend that you haven’t seen in years or decades. The conversation begins rustling memories of great times or meaningful friendships you once had, but somehow you allowed them to slip through the cracks of time.

Remember? Those conversations were deep. Your truths were laid bare and your life was naked and sometimes ashamed. Other times, the sharing was deep, strong, unapologetic, loving, full of passion, which often penetrates into the deepest chambers of our soul. Those times made an indelible impact for life, even though we may have taken them for granted or at the very least, allowed them to be drowned out by the urgency of now and/or the mundane daily formalities that render a false sense of comfort.

 But…now the treasures are being rediscovered. They’re coming out of the box. We realize the value of the meaningful and beautiful gifts we once shared. Our senses have become reawakened and we begin clamoring for those treasures, like searching for a pair of eyeglasses in the night. Your heart cries out, “Let me see and feel these treasures once again. I loved them!” The feeling we had back then was pure and strong, but more importantly, filled with a love that was so honest and unmanufactured that we may have missed the underlying message. We were open - so vulnerable at times. These treasures were present in our lives to steer us back to the meaning we may have lost for a moment. We didn’t even think about it. It all came as what some would describe as a “stream of consciousness.”  Really, this journey is finding a path to God, whether you know it or not.

 At this stage of life I’ve been reminded more frequently about these treasures. Just recently there has been a march of friends reentering my life. As they saunter in I’m able to see how very connected they all are. Being a songwriter, I may have a slightly more keen awareness due to the fact that I’m often searching for a story or some meaning that I can write a song about. But honestly, the connections are very real. And now, I’m sensing that these reconnections can lift up these hidden treasures. We have been watching friends, family and our personal heroes pass away. Too often we’re finding loved ones in situations so dark that we could never have imagined them experiencing. This is causing us to uncover these wonderful hidden treasures. These treasures are gifts from God and are acting as a key to the mystical magic that we have begun to recall from a distant time. We desire to reclaim these deep seeded feelings. The treasures are within our grasp. Our hunger for that honesty, love, tenderness, laughter and even the indescribable closeness that we painfully acquired through sharing our troubled times together, is fast becoming a growing need to fill. No, the emptiness cannot be allowed to remain when we have these treasures within in each of us. Be aware of these treasures. Shine them. Hold them in the light. Reclaim them today!

©Garry Manuel (11/28/2022)

ONE LAST PRAYER by Garry Manuel

There was a day I sat down to practice guitar and what often happens is that I get sidetracked by merely playing a couple chords, trying to put some color in the tone or even experiment with a different tuning. In this instance I was in Drop D and just looking for rich sounding chords. After just a couple minutes I was drawn to the two chords that turn out to be the opening of the acoustic guitar part and began lacing the melody into the chord progression. Things came together pretty quickly and then I could hear bagpipes playing the melody in the back of my mind. I mentioned that to my wife and then she said that one of her former colleagues played them.

So, I contacted Hannah and asked if she would be kind enough to play the bagpipes on the tune. She gave me a heads up about the instrument being  in one key. That was easy! The key was the same as I had written the song in. What Hannah told me later was that the bagpipes don’t always hold pitch. In other words, just slapping on my electronic tuner wasn’t going to suffice in playing with this instrument.

I had Hannah record the melody first and then I would tune my guitar to the bagpipes. The other problem was that she had to alter the melody slightly because every note in the melody was not available on the bagpipes.

I tuned as closely as I could to the bagpipes; however, I needed to tune all the strings up, so the tension on the strings was much tougher than I’m used to playing. In hindsight, it would have been better if I had put a capo on the first fret and then slightly adjusted the tuning from there, but that idea only came after I had finished recording the first acoustic guitar.

For me the song provoked images of an open field with the wind creating waves in the tall grasses as it blew across the landscape. I envisioned one standing there making an appeal to God to relieve either themselves or someone they knew of some pressing burden on their life. On a personal level, there were a number of people we knew that were facing extreme health issues and going through very tough challenges.

My hope is that this piece of music speaks to you in a similar fashion and will give you a sense of peace or offer a spiritual connection.

~Garry

Click the link below to listen:

Spotify - One Last Prayer

Apple Music - One Last Prayer

Tidal - One Last Prayer - https://tidal.com/browse/track/342379569

SUNUP's Recording of their 50th Anniversary Album

The Recording

Charlie Castilano, Goon (James) Wilson, Garry Manuel & Brian Soule

The 50th Anniversary recording of Sunup’s album titled, “The Key Is Love” is underway, with a majority of the tracks nearly completed; however, it is often the final subtleties, mixing and additional instrumentation that eat up more time than anyone anticipates. That is indeed the case with this Sunup project.

Sunup = Goon & Gar

Our original promo picture after recording our first two songs in 1973.

Garry & Goon

Meeting in Saratoga Springs, NY at the OBI.

The Concept

Fifty years is a long time for a group to be together. The truth is that in the last 25 years we have rarely played or performed together. In 2007 we played a Sunup reunion show with a packed house. It was a wonderful evening of music, along with the opportunity of seeing and performing before an audience of Sunup followers, friends, family and others. Our sons also performed solo and Marshall (Manuel) with his band at the time. Goon and I (typically without rehearsing) usually play once or twice a year in front of a campfire at a lake in the Adirondacks Mountains. For fun on Goon’s 70th birthday, we sat in for a couple songs at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs. We’ve also had a couple jam sessions at Charlie and Barb’s vacation home in S. Carolina, but other than that, there hasn’t been music we performed together.

So what songs should help commemorate our 50th Anniversary album? We didn’t want to just record all the older songs from the 1970’s or try to prepare only new songs, so we did a little of both. The first two releases from the album set the tone for what is to come. We started off with a cover of John Prine’s, “Hello In There” and followed with the title track, which featured all the  Sunup members, with the exception of our dear friend, Kerry Peterson, who passed from cancer in 2009. “The Key Is Love” is an uplifting song that speaks to the political chaos and craziness that exists around us in this time period. It speaks directly to the point that the only way to resolve this mess is for us all to make an effort to love one another. Not to wish for it to happen or just talk about it, but to do our best to put love into action.

The Key Is Love

The Key Is Love lyric/music video

To sum up the album, it will contain new songs of reflection and wisdom as well as including a few of the uplifting songs that we played in the early days - songs you can readily sing along with that will make you feel good and bring back some memorable times. We’ll also include a bittersweet song that Goon wrote about a failed relationship that I had back in the early 70’s. We should have recorded the tune back then. Truthfully, we did record a rough version of it just before he moved to Connecticut. He left to take on a DJ job (which he currently still has) at a leading classic rock station in Danbury.

The album will conjure up old memories and stir thoughts for the future. Our hope is that it will inspire and delight listeners.

The Process

Recording has changed over the years, and to share honestly I will confess to missing the camaraderie during rehearsals, interacting with other musicians and testing out parts that might work for a song. There was an element of being together aside from the music that often enjoyable as well. Clearly we were not able to reestablish the methods of the past to accomplish this project.

The first step was having me lay down acoustic guitar tracks to a click track (metronome type sound) to be a guide for all the other instrumentation that would be layered. On occasion I’d sing and play guitar onto a track with the click keeping me on the beat. Every once in a while I’d have to play against the beat to slow a section up, and then be able to get back on the beat within several seconds. This method can present challenges. I managed to do fairly well playing against the beat; however, there were a couple spots where I dropped a couple measures, but didn’t realize it until it was too late to entertain making the changes. So the answer at that point was just to adapt to what had been recorded.

Garry Manuel

On the shore of the Great Sacandaga Lake in the Adirondack Mountains..

Once all the basic acoustic tracks were down, I sent out the chord charts and notes, along with the raw recordings of each song so that the other band members could rehearse with their instruments and practice their vocals.

First up in mid-June, Goon drove up from Connecticut to lay down his vocal tracks and acoustic guitar parts. We recorded for three days. In fact, the recording took place right up to his departure on Sunday around 3pm. We did manage dinner and some fun in the mix too!

If we had time, we most likely would have patched up a few things and recorded a few more acoustic guitar parts, but it did not happen.

James (Goon) Wilson

Soon after, Marshall and I began doing rough mixes of the tunes and sent them along to Charlie so he could have more updated versions to rehearse his bass parts. In the meantime I laid down some electric guitar parts and did some refining of the acoustic guitar.

Marshall Manuel - Recording Engineer

In July, Charlie flew in from Ohio to record his bass tracks. While we had a couple Fender basses to use, we opted to use Fret King 4-string bass. It has depth, clarity and a well-rounded tone. Charlie had prepped well, but in the beginning seemed a tad nervous, which probably grew from the fact that he hadn’t done any serious recording since he left Sunup in the 70’s. I was not worried about the fact that it had been such an extended time period that he had played serious, because Charlie was always meticulous in nearly everything he pursued and I knew that he had been rehearsing the songs. The sessions did go well and we even had extra time to hang out and meet his talented brother, Ed (who plays bass with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra) for dinner in Geneva. It was a great evening and the food was good too!

Charlie

Castiliano was the original bassist for Sunup and had previously played in several bands with Garry Manuel

We were aiming to get two songs released by early August; however, we only were able to throw one out there - “Hello In There”. I was super excited to get this tune out the door because I was anxious in getting the ball rolling. Goon had done such a wonderful job on the vocal. As well, I thought we had captured the very essence of Prine’s message in the song and was proud of the production and the job Marshall had done with the editing and the final mix.

In September I sent Brian Soule some rough mixes of four tunes. We were searching for a day to record that would work for his schedule and Marshall’s. We eventually settled on the last Saturday in October. Brian had played keyboards with Sunup from the early 1980’s, until we no longer were doing live gigs. He had also been recording piano and keys on the solo tracks I was releasing from time to time. Covid definitely put a crimp in the ability and willingness to record. But joyfully, here we were recording once again under the Sunup umbrella again. It was a wonderful session with Brian not only playing piano and keyboards, but lending lead and backup vocals on four of the tracks. We had limited the day to four tracks as a matter of practicality. Some songs he never knew he’d be singing on, so he was literally just putting the vocal parts together at the spur of the moment.

In the case of “The Key Is Love” we had sent the tracks to drummer and friend, Billy Goodness, before Brian had recorded the piano and vocals. Billy has done a great job on my solo projects and we anticipate using his drum skills for a few other upcoming tracks. Everything turned out well; however, there is still more work to be done on the other tunes.

Brian Soule

Played keyboards and sang with Sunup in the early 1980’s and through the present day. You can also hear him on Garry’s solo recordings and with Liar’s Moon.

Now we await the holiday season to conclude and then we’ll be back to business. This will have us circling back and having some special guests perform on instruments that will complement the songs. These are the subtle embellishments to round out the recordings that are outside our area of expertise. In addition, we’ll be having some guest vocalists and I’ll be recording some guitar parts to fill in the blanks.

Goon, Charlie and Garry performing live at the Bungalow Inn on Mt. Hope Ave. in Rochester, NY. The club is no longer in existence and now has a MacDonald’s sitting in its place.

Charlie, Garry & Goon in Saratoga Springs in late Fall of 2019.

The best part of the Sunup story is that we have remained best of friends throughout this time period. We have some terrific memories, as well as some not so terrific. This would happen with any band, right?! Those experiences have paved the path in this journey, helped in the creation of some of our songs and made our friendships even more remarkable. To cap it off, having my son, Marshall, recording us and being part of the experience has made the journey priceless. It is a path I could not have imagined and one that is so very special.

Goon (James), Kerry & Garry (1976)

We sincerely hope you enjoy the album. Topping things off we’re going to include a bonus track that will include Kerry Peterson on bass that we recorded at PCI studios with Mick Guzauski in 1975. It is our way of paying tribute to Kerry. In addition, Jimmy Duvall played pedal steel and Ben Gramm was the drummer. I’ll also add that it doesn’t happen to be one of our best tracks, but it sure is fun to listen to the song. The song is called “The Friendly Eastbound Train” and it could easily be a song for kids. But, we’re all kids, aren’t we?!

This album is dedicated to friends, former band mates and the folks who followed and remain following our music from the  1970’s. Thanks for being on the journey with us… ~Garry

THE KEY IS LOVE

Goon (Jame/Ethan) Wilson, Charlie Castilian and Garry Manuel are the three original members of Sunup and have remained best of friends for over 50 years plus! Keyboardist, Brian Soule, began playing with Sunup and on Garry's solo recordings in the early 80's, up through present day.

Additionally, Garry’s son, Marshall, has been the recording engineer, editor and mastered the latest sessions. He also was involved in the remastering of the older recordings.

Providing drums on the tune is talented friend, Billy Goodness, who played in a Top 40 Club band in 1979-80 with long-time Sunup bassist, Kerry Peterson (RIP) and Garry . So the connections reach back and are meaningful. There is an old, very short Sunup song that sums up this project: "The sun lights up like a bright orange lamp, to give you peace, to give you hope, to give you love.”

We sincerely hope the music you're about to be hearing will bring all those things to your hearts and minds. This album is intended to give long time followers of Sunup a taste of fun from the early days while also bringing new inspirations and thoughts of reflection with the newly written material. The songs will be both upbeat and fun, as well as thoughtful and poignant.

It is acknowledged that there are days that even though we sing ”The Key of Love” with all sincerity, it is very difficult to maintain the thoughts and impact of love in our daily lives, with all the chaos and hate that abound. Still, we DO strive to be about that vibe. One of the lines describes that feeling: "Oh the battles are raging. It's often hard not to give up. Your nerves have kept you pacing, while you look around to find some luck, but THE KEY IS LOVE.”

Please join us on the journey…

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6BbEw6Aac1PkzQzg3mmukZ?si=gJP9CCUkRbCc5GnfxVlWfw
Apple Music:
https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-key-is-love-single/1716016804 Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/track/328061910

LOOKING FOR SOME UNIQUE GIFT ITEMS?!

There are a couple good reasons to pick up some of our unique gift selections: 1) They are unique and many utilize Garry’s photography skills, which produce gifts that you won’t find elsewhere and 2) You are helping to support the production of music from Sunflare Songs artists.

Click this link: Sunflare Songs Gift & Memorabilia

Adirondack Mountain and Great Sacandaga Lake Gifts - Click this link for: Adirondack Gift Items

SUNUP COVERS JOHN PRINE'S CLASSIC "HELLO IN THERE"

We hope you enjoy out Sunup’s first release from the Sunup 50th Anniversary Album. This is a poignant tune written by John Prine that Sunup performed in the 1970’s. The song features Goon (James/Ethan) on lead vocals & acoustic guitar, Garry on acoustic & electric guitar and harmonies and Charlie Castilano on bass. These are the original 3 members of Sunup from 1973!

*BTW - yes, Goon has 3 names! If you're in CT, people know him as Ethan due to his radio gig on the I-95 Morning Show, and if you're family or friends or in upstate NY - it's Goon (which goes back to HS) and then there is James/Jim, which hardly anyone uses, unless they’re find it too awkward to cal him “Goon”.

We invite you to stream this tune and all those that will be released in the next several months.

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/track/7kSvth5PwSAXntAso64AiX...

Apple Music:

https://music.apple.com/.../hello-in-there/1700420784...

ROMANTIC KNOTS (Special Version - remix) by Garry Manuel

Romantic Knots was released a few years ago, but the process was a bit disjointed due to the pandemic hitting. Of course, we’ve never heard that before. There were some things missing in that original release. Although it was evident to Garry, it was an email exchange between his good friend and fellow bandmate, Brian Soule, that prompted him to step forward to make the changes. When Brian commented that while the song was one of his favorite tunes, he found the recording “disappointing.” He wasn’t wrong. In fact, the same was true with a song that he had played piano on, Words Won’t Do. After a short time of debating with himself as to whether to make the changes or not, Garry did. You can read about Words Won’t Do below; however, he went a couple steps further on Romantic Knots. Garry asked long time friend and former bandmate, Billy Goodness to play drums on the track. Billy heads up and plays with a Steely Dan cover band (Bad Sneakers) and at one time toured with country artist Ricky Van Shelton. Garry and Billy had played together in a Top 40 cover band in Rochester, NY called, Sweet Feelin’. The reuniting was wonderfully pleasant and successful. Billy laid down some absolutely terrific drum tracks, as you’ll note when listening to the song.

Billy Goodness

Additionally, we brought back the extraordinarily talented saxophonist/educator, Bill Tiberio, to stimulate the track to a greater degree, by having him take the second solo in the break to further amplify the conflict that is being set up by the lyric. Spontaneously, he added some harmonies with the guitar at the key change and they were HOT! We also had Bill play Garry’s lead guitar lines in unison. The results are evident…

Dan Dovideo

To round out the tune we wanted to add a piano and include some solid chording to strengthen the foundation and inject some added arpeggiated chords, also to add tension where the lyric demanded.. We brought in long time friend, Dan Dovideo, who was responsible for bringing on Garry to teach guitar at his store, Perinton Hills Music. They also played in a rock band together in high school. Garry often says that Dan, “was the only one in the band that really knew what he was doing.” Dan has recently been recording his own compositions with Marshall Manuel at RAMP (Rochester Area Music Project). Garry has wanted to have Dan be a guest on his recordings for some time. The timing seemed perfect, as many aspects of this project have turned out to be.

After Billy recorded the drums, Garry opted to re-record the acoustic guitar. His vocal pretty much remained in place.

We did not touch Chuck Bianchi’s bass track, as it was incredibly solid and lyrical, supplying a wonderful ingredient that often goes unnoticed. However, if that bass line wasn’t there the song would not be as effective .

Once again recorded at RAMP (Rochester Area Music Project), Marshall did an incredible job editing and leading people through the session. His ears on this project have been invaluable.

LAKESIDE AFTERNOON by Garry Manuel

Acoustic guitar instrumental

We're going to take you to a lake, with a peaceful setting, where the sun is shining and all your problems or cares seem to be swept away in the summer breeze and with the sound of waves. The simplistic nature of the acoustic guitar and the openness given to the tune are intentional. Relax...

Go to this place where your mind clears, your heart speaks and dreams come alive.

The setting for this music is the Great Sacaandaga Lake in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains of NY.

Garry performs Lakeside Afternoon on the beach where the song was inspired and composed. you’ll hear the sounds of summer and get a very authentic view of the meaning of the song. It is aimed to contain the same ingredients of a tone poem, but without a symphony. Instead, the natural sounds of summer provide the symphonic orchestration.

Words Won't Do - Garry Manuel (remix)

Stream now - links below!

Streaming on nearly all music platforms.

On Spotify

On Apple Music

The recording of this song began in 2019; however, as many stories have pointed out, the pandemic put some hurdles before us in accomplishing that task. The original track had drum plug-ins, (fake, for non-musicians). While Garry was pleased with the track, he knew it would be better with actual drums and percussion added. The drums and percussion were added by Ben Gramm. Ben had played on the early Sunup recordings and live concerts, so it was a logical fit. Garry admitted that, “It was so great to have Ben play on the track! I have so many meaningful relationships in the music world that extend quite a ways back.”

Garry plays all the guitars on the tracks, which include: several electrics, a nylon string and an acoustic steel string. He is responsible for the writing and production as well.

Chuck Bianchi, who has been a long time instructor at Manuel’s Music Studio, now Rochester Area Music Project, has laid down an absolutely perfect bass track.

Brian Soule, long time keyboardist with Sunup and former instructor at Manuel’s Music Studio played some tasteful piano.

And the recording engineer was once again, Garry’s son, Marshall, who has proved to be an excellent and brilliant technician, but who also, has great ears. The last point being perhaps the most important.

*An incredible video is on the way soon!

Words Won’t Do - Garry Manuel - Words Won't Do - Spotify

Words Won’t Do - Garry Manuel - Words Won't Do - Apple Music

Something Old and Something New - Back In Your Driveway

It was a notion that had been kicking around for some time. A number of years ago someone asked, “Are you going to release, Back In Your Driveway?” There really was no answer at the time, but a few others asked if some of the older recordings would be made available? Finally, after some deliberation, the answer is YES! Back In Your Driveway is now on most streaming platforms AND you can check out the video below.

Spotify:

Back In Your Driveway on Spotify

Apple Music:

Back In Your Driveway on Apple Music

Pandora

Back In Your Driveway on Pandora

The Dream Again EP

The Dream Again EP by Garry Manuel was released on September 16, 2022

Songs included:

• The Dream Again

• Pray for Rain

• Words Won't Do

• Romantic Knots

• Spontaneously Deep