Gramercy Arms - The Making Of The Making Of

Made up of members from New York and New Jersey, indie pop-rock collective Gramercy Arms presents their fourth album 'The Making Of The Making Of', released via Montclair, NJ-based Magic Door Record Label, along with a new video for 'Never Say Anything (Magic Door Session)'.

Gramercy Arms is a revolving collective of musicians and artists, masterminded by Dave Derby (The Dambuilders, Lloyd Cole) and producer Ray Ketchem (Guided by Voices, Luna, Elk City). Inspired by the artistic heyday of ‘70s and ‘80s New York, Gramercy Arms makes addictive indie pop - exquisite hook-laden melodies filled with lyrics that will have you floating back in time and remembering your favorite mistake.

With many of the songs recorded during the same sessions for the band’s 2023 'Deleted Scenes' album, 'The Making Of …' is decidedly more of a band album with a looser and more raucous approach featuring live in-studio performances and an even wider array of contributors.

Produced, recorded and mixed by Ketchem at Magic Door Recording in Montclair, NJ, this album was mastered by Ketchem and award-winning engineer Greg Calbi (John Lennon, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, Tom Petty).

Earlier, Gramercy Arms released 'Never Say Anything', a gorgeously performed paean to paranoid times featuring Lysa Opfer (Aeon Station) and Mark Lizotte (Diesel), and 'After the After Party', a rueful power pop gem about chances missed and taken, featuring longtime collaborators Kevin March (Guided by Voices, The Dambuilders, Shudder to Think), Hilken Mancini (Fuzzy, the Monsieurs), Rainy Orteca (Joan As Police Woman, Dead Air) and Mike Errico.

Both albums are loaded with talent, involving Doug Gillard (Guided by Voices, Nada Surf, Cobra Verde, Death of Samantha), Sean Eden (Luna), Phoebe Summersquash (Small Factory), Renée LoBue (Elk City, Flowers of America), Kendall Meade (Mascott), Verena Wiesendanger (Semi Gloss), Claudia Chopek (Bright Eyes, The Little River Band, Echo of the Ghost), John Leon (Roky Erickson, Royal Arctic Institute), Rafa Maciejak (Lloyd Cole and the Negatives, Ivy), Jules Verdone, Richard Alwyn-Fisher (King Canutes, The Winter Drinks), Steve Hurley (Gigolo Aunts), Carl Baggaley (Elk City, Royal Arctic Institute), Peter Hess (Phillip Glass Ensemble, Slavic Soul Party) and Gary Burton (Dovedale). 'Deleted Scenes' also involves the legendary Lloyd Cole.

"I initially thought about doing a double album and then decided against it. To me 'Deleted Scenes' and 'The Making Of The Making Of' are companion pieces and part of a larger work. I think of them as two sides of a double album and may release them as a double vinyl album in the future. To me, there is an understated, almost dark horse element to “The Making Of …”  that gives it a special charm. In many ways 'Deleted Scenes' was more of the ‘obvious’ A-tracks, whereas 'The Making Of …' is just more fun. Songs like 'Lux', 'Susan' and 'The Long Game' capture that for me. The fact that the album has 4 different drummers with different feels and approaches has a lot to do with that because it still hangs together," says Dave Derby.

"Even though these songs came from the same sessions, this album was much more of a band record whereas “Deleted Scenes” was more about me and Kevin March building the tracks up together. Many of these songs were live full-band takes. I think that approach shows up in the final versions."

As of April 26, 'The Making Of the Making Of' album is available from fine music platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. Their record release party takes place that evening at Berlin NYC, also featuring performances by Hilken Mancini Band and The Gershwin Brothers.