A Four-Pronged Attack on 2026
Coming soon to a platform near you.
This year my intention was to put out four albums that I’ve had lingering for about a decade or decade and a half on the drives and I’d like to think there’s a unity there in all sort of referencing the new-wave or post-punk sounds that tattooed my mind as a teen. They also feature some high-voltage guitarists and other musicians from those adolescent years whom I’ve admired and had the pleasure to collaborate with. All selections were mixed and mastered by Martin Scian.
Although my current tastes lean more towards Afrobeat, Brazilian, Jazz, and Alt-folk, I felt that the songs were demanding a chance to be heard. As I write daily, I honestly don’t remember what was going through my head that prompted many of the individual songs, but I hope you might find them enjoyable. They are currently up on Bandcamp and will be appearing on streaming in the upcoming months.
“Habitus” features Stephen Ulrich on guitars and was created when I worked as a substance abuse counselor in the South Bronx. Many of the lyrics were derived from the fascinating interactions I had with clients and my evenings spent trying to emotionally balance myself in the bars of Lower Manhattan. We’re ably supported by Kevin Cerovich on drums and trombones and Emilia Cataldo on backing vocals.
“Hunger Taken For Thirst” serves up songs written a bit earlier than “Habitus” but were waiting for the right arrangements, which came in the form of Ivan Julian on guitar, Gil Oliveira on drums, and Paulo LePetit on bass. It’s really a thing that sounds like very little else that I’ve recorded, or anyone else for that matter. A few songs were written around the time my father passed away and the rest were coming from the sort of social psychedelia I created for myself by moving from Yokohama to the Bronx. Adventures in high-contrast living, as Shayla Hason would tell us.
“Exactly” came from adventures inspired by Marcos Kuzka Cunha during his stint in Brooklyn. A lot of the ideas came from conversations.
Arrangements were built up in a Jenga style, with Marcos acting like editor, arranger and producer on the tunes, sculpting them into some sort of Brazilian Post-Punk fusion project. Thrown late into the mix are the guitars of Junior Tostoi, a first-rate noisemaker with a heart made of platinum effects pedals.
And we climax with fan service to my 16-year old self, “Rain on a World on Fire”, written during the Covid lockdown with noises by Barry Andrews (keys), Dave Gregory (guitars), and Dave Barbarossa (drums).
Well, this was my four-pronged response to life in 2026. I’ve got more stories to tell as soon as I can address some new credit card debts. In the meantime, catch me playing live around NYC with Shaun Banks and Leon Gruenbaum, as “RobBankswithLeon”. You’ll be sorry you did.
Best,
Bob Gaulke
October 9, 2026
Now Screaming on all Flat Forms
Hunger Taken for Thirst
“Hunger Taken by Thirst” now streaming.
I saw Ivan Julian on stage with Shriekback on their 86 tour of “Oil & Gold”. Couldn’t take my eyes or ears off of him, as he was bouncing and weaving; guitar god version of Yannick Noah, smashing every note into the concrete. Formative hearing these sheets of sound over grooves, entangling the DX-7 onslaught by Andrews and Halliwell. Nineteen-year old brains were on wide-screen record.
Internet-less in that era, information was scarce; moving via British weeklies, mags, vinyl, and tape. It’d be a few years before I’d hear the work with Voidoids that made his name. But I can still see that Syracuse night in my mind now.
Decades later, I’m teaching in NYC, writing and playing; doing the two-borough hop into Brooklyn where Javier Hernandez-Miyares is holding court at 17 Frost. An art gallery performance space connected to Ivan’s studio, Super Giraffe Sound.
I peek Ivan occasionally; silent, deep in thought. I’m too damn shy to gush elegies. Until the work makes things happen.
“Hunger Taken for Thirst”. A meditation on how desire confuses us. Tunes written between Salvador, Yokohama and Bronx, scratched out with eccentric chord extensions, Brazilian funk influences, and spoken word. Just some every day culture clashes, furtive romances, and random psychedelic musings of some dude with my name and face grasping at straws. I started building the arrangements in ProTools. There was a gap in the sound the size of a countrapuntal-Picasso -of-post-punk.
Julian’s guitars go to places I couldn’t see by myself. Ripping dimensions up; painting skyscrapers orange; refusing to connect the dots. I just wrote and mumbled the songs, sketched on a napkin. Ivan and Co. sculpt the marble.
“This reminds be a bit of “Fresh” by Sly and the Family Stone”, he suggests, as he sends me the files. I am flattered and humbled by the comparison. I wish I had the funk and the costumes. The parts are so hot, I have to let them cool on the sill for another decade. You can now touch the still-molten pan and serve yourself.
A meditation on how we misunderstand ourselves and the world. Notes from the underdog, wrapped up in sounds of the night. Trumpets by Rochesterian Emily Champion; keyboards by Leon Gruenbaum; bass by Paulo LePetit, and drums by Gil Oliveira. A stellar group that exists only on my fantasy roster. Guitars by Ivan Julian.
Summer Plans
The end of the rock age
I just turned 59 and am thankful to the goddesses for keeping me thin with hair. I've got too many albums waiting to be released (60) and so I thought I would just put out three this summer made with some rock guitar gods.
The first came out shortly after my birthday, "Habitus" with the great Steven Ulrich, he of Big Lazy and This American Life.
Next out, "Hunger Taken For Thirst" follows in July with Ivan Julian (Richard Hell, Alejandro Escovedo, Matthew Sweet); September will bring "Exactly!!!" onto streaming, with Junior Tostoi (Lenine).
I've enjoyed the luxury of having some time to let these albums cool on the window sill and try to attempt vocals that don't make me cringe in embarrassment listening back.
I'm happy with the songs and hope you'll enjoy them as well.
Stay cool.
Bob
Juneteenth, 2026.
Photo: Pavlo Terekhov
Into the Twenty-Sixes
All the best to you and yours
December 5th, 2025
Dear Friends, Strangers, and Lovers:
…I’m going through a bit of an ordeal at work that’s put the brakes on some releases moving forward. That being said, I continue to write and record daily. I’m trying to move beyond my current sound as what I enjoy listening to now is sounding quite different to the music I’m creating. I would like to close that gap while improving my skillset. I would like to create better vocal melodies and continue to write with groove and poetry.
My current plan is to release 3 albums that I’ve created with three guitarists. I’ve tinkered with them over the years and feel that they still represent something I can stand behind, even if they’re not the sound I’m pursuing in the future. They should be out by June of ’26. In the meantime, I’ll continue to play live in the NYC area and create some new video content. Hope to see you in the new year.
Happy Holidays,
Bob
Yet Even More New Blahblahblah
Tell them what you really feel.
Over the past several years, my friend Dr. Michael Rose has had me guest at his music appreciation class at Bronx Community College to speak about songwriting. I distilled some of the points I'd make, favoring the ones I don't hear other songwriters speak to. They're now available as a set of short clips on my youtube channel, shot as always by the fantastic Pavlo Terekhov.
Ladies and Gentlemen
The Trio is Here
...just returned to playing live...it's sounding great with Leon Gruenbaum and Shawn Banks...see you soon! Photos by Pavlo Terekhov.
