Includes bonus disc 'Wasteland For Broken Hearts' exclusive to Escape Music with first pressing with extensive liner notes by Dave Reynolds!
Release Date: 25th August 2017
Hirsh Gardner - Lead & Backing Vocals / Guitars / Bass / Keyboards (New England)
Jimmy Waldo - Keyboards and Backing vocals (New England)
Guest Musicians:
Guitars: Joe Feloni / Ron Bumblefoot Thal / Jodee Frawlee / Joel Burns / Jon Butcher / Richie Ranno / J Rushwell
Bass: Joe Mudarri / Steve Baxter
Keyboards: Gary Smith
Produced & Mixed by: Hirsh Gardner / Mastered by Jeff Lipton
Additional Engineering: Oph Kiltah
Photography: Michael Sparks Keegan
Design: Juan Rocha
CD1: My Brain Needs A Holiday - Lost in the Darkness Tonight / My Brain Needs a Holiday / Git it Back / Love Is / Do Me Do Me / If you need t'talk / Diamond Moon / Shadows / Sister Jane / Whiter shade of Pale
CD2: Wasteland For Broken Hearts (remastered 2017) bonus CD - 1- Wasteland for broken hearts 2- Don't you steal 3- She is love 4- Thunder in her heart 5- Bad cowboy 6- When the sky cries 7- Your love 8- Hold you in my dreams 9- Never love 10- Welcome home 11- More than you'll ever know 12- Welcome home (reprise)
Moving to Boston, Mass in his teens, Hirsh attended the famed Berklee College of Music and studied there for 4 years. Soon afterwards Hirsh joined forces with future New England keyboardist Jimmy Waldo and along the way they also recruited future New Englanders Gary Shea and John Fannon. Initially going under the name Target the foursome felt they needed a different more dramatic moniker that reflected their many and varied influences, thus New England were born.
In the years between 1979 and 1982 Hirsh was an integral part of one of the classiest AOR/Melodic Rock bands on the planet. New England released 3 world class albums (S/T, Explorer Suite and Walking Wild), working with top class producers such as Mike Stone, Todd Rundgren and toured extensively with the likes of KISS, AC/DC and Journey, but all good things come to an end and in 1982 Hirsh found himself looking for another band .
A phone call from Kiss` Gene Simmons would take Hirsh and fellow New Englanders Shea and Waldo to LA to work with upcoming singer songwriter Vinnie Cusano. The band Warrior came to be but this was short lived as Cusano was quickly snatched up by KISS assuming the name Vinnie Vincent, so once more Hirsh found himself looking for a new direction.
Taking on board lessons learned earlier from working with the likes of Stone and Rundgren, Hirsh was soon an 'in demand' producer in and around the Boston area and worked with artists many and varied, Willie Nile, Mass, Shyboy and Vice just some of acts that benefitted from Hirsh`s talents in the producer's chair.
1997 found Hirsh being awarded Producer of the year for the Boston Phoenix as well as being nominated 5 times in the Boston Music awards and winning it once in 1998.
But Hirsh never lost sight of being a musician first and foremost and continued to record in his home studio. 2002 saw the release of his first solo album `Wasteland for Broken Hearts` which was received ecstatically not only by New England fans but also by the wider rock audience.
In the intervening years Hirsh has got back together with former New England colleagues and the band have released their first new music in decades, but not being one to rest on his laurels Hirsh began quietly working once more in his home studio. The result.... `My Brain Needs A Holiday` an album not only chock full of the classic rock music that we have all come to expect from the man, but also with some welcome surprises along the way. Complete with a stellar supporting cast which includes the likes of Jimmy Waldo (New England), Richie Ranno (Starz), Ron `Bumblefoot` Thal (Guns `N` Roses & Art of Anarchy) Jon Butcher and Joe Feloni `My Brain…` is a true rock album for 2017 and beyond.
'It was time for a new album' Gardner quips 'I stay so busy writing and producing other artists that I need to take a holiday (hence the title of the album) and stay in touch with myself as an artist'
