By George Mallas, contributor to HearItThere
Tuesday, September 5, 2023
On Sunday, September 10th at 5pm at The Garrison Institute in Garrison, NY, the final album by duo Open Book will be released at a listening event.
Open Book is comprised of Rick and Michele Gedney. Rick, the love of Michele’s life, passed away in January this year. He was not only a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, but also an amazing landscape painter. Their new album, titled ‘Leaning In,’ is the culmination of both of those talents.
Rick and Michele Gedney ~ “Open Book”
The tracks, recorded remotely during the pandemic, had been completed prior to Rick’s passing. Michele was left with the formidable decision of whether and how to move forward on the project without him. Her decision to continue with mixing, mastering and release was difficult. It was also therapeutic. Michele selected two of Rick’s paintings for the covers of the album. Both are gorgeous.
The album features nine songs and a fantastic group of musicians. Rick led the way with lead and harmony vocals, acoustic guitars and mandolins, collaborating with Michele who wrote seven of the tracks, sang lead and harmony vocals and played acoustic guitars. Billy Masters played electric guitar, produced and mixed the album. Daniel Weiss played keyboard. Lloyd Maines played pedal steel guitar. Marco Giovino played drums on five tracks, Shawn Pelton on three. Zev Katz played bass and Dar Williams added harmony on one track. The album was mastered by Scott Hull at Masterdisk.
I had the opportunity to speak with Michele about the history of Open Book, this album and her life now. Rick and Michele met in 1999 at an open mic (the importance of open mics on so many career musicians reverberates). Rick had just began stepping out to perform again after many years in a banking career. Michele was new to the scene too, having never played in front of an audience. Open mics were also where they met many of the music friends they have remained close with. Rick began backing Michele onstage and the musical collaboration was born.
The name Open Book came from a off-hand remark made by Rick who, before their first gig as a duo quipped “I feel like our songs are an open book. They are just telling the story of our lives.” They quickly realized that they fit together seamlessly.
They first heard their own vocal harmonies while recording Out of Time and felt it was something magical. Those harmonies became a staple in their music and also a large part of what drew fans. Hear them for yourself as Rick and Michele play “Grateful” at Green Kill in this recording from 2020: YouTube.
As their musical relationship developed, so did their emotional connection and, eventually, they were able to make a life together. For both of them this would be a second marriage. They were blessed to get a second chance at love and also for this amazing musical pairing.
Today, Michele is concentrating on getting this truly wonderful album out in the world and preserving Rick’s legacy. What the future holds for her as a solo artist is unknown. She has done a bit of writing and says that when the time is right it will all happen organically.
If you have the opportunity, please listen to Michele and Rick’s catalog. Their website is: www.openbookmusic.com (you can also view some of Rick’s paintings here) and their past albums are also on BandCamp at bandcamp (‘Leaning In’ will be available there after release.) Attend the listening event if you are able – it will be well worth your time. Three of Rick’s paintings will be on display at the event, as well.
Michele will also be appearing on the original music show Sandro, George and the OG on September 19th. The show streams live on Facebook, Youtube and Twitch at 7pm. It’s also available anytime to view after the live broadcast. Audio is available on Sunday September 24 at 8pm on WBXO radio.
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George Mallas is a Singer/Songwriter based in North Salem, NY. He is the host of The Songwriters Block and also co-host of the original music show Sandro, George and the OG.
