Neil McGettigan and The Eleventh Hour

Overall Impression:
With its quirky lyrical edge and spirited performances, Neil McGettigan and The Eleventh Hour's "Emilia Clarke" is a truly charming track that is both high on energy and big on heart, giving listeners a rousing piece of songwriting that blends oodles of catchy hooks with a staggering level of accomplished musicianship, ensuring listeners are given both a wholesome and rewarding listening experience that will undoubtedly keep them coming back for more. There's something particularly whimsical and innocently natured about "Emilia Clarke" that I'm sure will capture the hearts of many, it's abundant in personality and because the writing is so inspired, this is a track that will appeal to a broad range of listeners and I'll be honest and say that I can certainly see myself having this on repeat for some time to come!


Strongest Point(s):
It's crystal clear from the very few opening bars of "Emilia Clarke" that Neil and his musical crew gel with one another extremely well, there's a definite sense of energy and fun to the performances that really help strengthen the track's delightful sense of character. From the highly expressive and melodically intriguing slide guitar to the thoroughly pleasant vocal performances and the rousing rhythm section to the continuously exciting arrangement, "Emilia Clarke" presents listeners with plenty of engaging ideas to keep them thoroughly entertained and transfixed by the music throughout. Speaking of the arrangement, there are some fantastic twists and turns here and there, take the well-handled key change from the tracks main predominant key of A Major to A Dorian at 2:08 for instance, this is executed in such a graceful way that the song is able to retain its overall character whilst still managing to subtly change colour with regards to tonality. Another interesting spark of unexpectedness in the arrangement comes in the outro where the song adopts a more ambient and texturally expansive persona, once again effectively morphing the track into a fascinating new iteration of itself.


Target Audience Appeal:
Fans of power-pop and alternative styles will undoubtedly find "Emilia Clarke" to be a solid listening experience.


Artist target suggestions:
Counting Crows, R.E.M. Gin Blossoms, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Fastball, Hootie & The Blowfish, Semisonic, Sister Hazel, Soul Asylum, Matchbox Twenty, Blues Traveler, Stroke 9

About The Reviewer:
Andre Avanessian is a freelance session musician, composer, and sound engineer based in the U.K. Having studied music production and composition at a degree level, he has taken his passion for all things audio-related to a level that has allowed him to become both a competent musician and performer. Being a self-confessed "Guitar Nerd" Andre has been continually studying the guitar, as well as teaching it, helping students both learn the instrument, develop their songwriting, and how to become proficient in home recording. - RadioAirplay.com

NEIL MCGETTIGAN : things you already know
By Jim Allford

NEIL MCGETTIGAN hails from Ardmore, Pa and has played with several bands such as: Redhead Betty Takeout and Field of Play, before forming the band, The Eleventh Hour.

The band members are: NEIL MCGETTIGAN: Lead/background vocals, Acoustic and 12 string guitar, percussion; JOHN GATTONE: Electric guitar; RYAN VALOTTA: Electric guitar; BEN SLATER; Piano and Keyboards; DAVE 'SHMADE' CALABRIA; Bass, background vocals and Matt 'The MACHINE' DECARLO; Drums.

The band included several guests to appear on this CD. This 12 song CD was Produced by Brian Bricklin and Neil Mcgettigan and Mastered by Ryan Schwabe.

AMBER kicks off this CD which is a sweet, high energy song with an interesting storyline about a post Neil saw on Facebook. This song has great hooks and reminds me a bit of the band, Barenaked Ladies.

LET YOU DOWN has a great melody with some sweet lyrics. They have a great intro to this song before it kicks in. The harmonies are great to hear, too.

EMILIA CLARKE has another great storyline and someone he'd like to meet. A love story with a rock and rock flair. You'll love this song.

A GOOD WIN has a sweet reggae feel to it with a dose of pop music added into it which is an excellent mixture. The keyboards and lead guitar is a nice highlight to this song. Check it out.

DISAVOW has a sweet acoustic intro as the vocals remind me of Leonard Cohan. The song slowly progresses with great harmonies as he is singing with all his heart and soul. I find the song quite interesting.

You can find the band at: Bandcamp, Tiktok, Facebook, Spotify, You tube, https://neilmcgettiganandtheeleventhhour.com. Apple Music, Amazon Music, Twitter and iHeart. ROCK ON, JIM ALLFORD [www.steelnotesmagazine.com] - Steel Notes Magazine

“Listen to the things you already know”.

Neil J. McGettigan


We at R1V were excited to spend some time speaking with Neil McGettigan about his debut album, Things You Already Know, released in December 2021. The retro-sounding 11 song album will grab you with the first melody and keep you with the lyrics.

McGettigan, along with The Eleventh Hour band from Ardmore, just outside of Philadelphia took some time sharing what inspired a couple of the songs on the album, what inspires him as a musician, and what’s next.



AJ:

How did you come up with the album title?



NM:

Well, that was one of the songs I had written. I guess I was making it open to everybody, but it was sort of directed at myself. There are so many times when you’re writing, you’re doing different things and you just are so frustrated, and I started to think, if somebody were approaching me about this stuff, the advice that I would give to them would come so naturally and easily. So these are the things I already know. Why am I struggling with how to go about doing these things? So when you’re living your life and you’re struggling with decisions or, how do I do this, or can I do this? You already know the answer. It’s so much easier to give that advice to somebody else than to yourself. So I just said, “listen to the things you already know”.



The opening line is: “Brand new day, same old place, in your head, occupying too much space.” It’s just the same thing every day. You’re just in your head, “Well, you already know the answers, but why aren’t you doing it?” As I said, it’s so much easier to give this advice to somebody else than to yourself.



AJ:

What inspires your songwriting overall and the style that you have?



NM:

I would say it has a slightly retro feel. I grew up, of course with older siblings and everything, so at a very early age, I knew about the Beatles. The Beatles were always one of my favorites, and that seems like it’s such a common expression from most musicians, “It’s the Beatles,” but I am a big Bruce Springsteen fan. Then there was a band called Fountains of Wayne and they’re very famous for their song Stacy’s Mom. They would say it was a blessing and a curse, that song, because they have such an amazing catalog of music that that song, as funny as it is and catchy and it’s a good song and everything, some of their stuff is just incredible.



NM:



So I was a big Fountains of Wayne fan. Unfortunately, one of their members died of COVID a couple of years ago, but I get a lot of inspiration from acts like that, They’re very melodic. There are certain bands out there that I know are great, but it doesn’t stick with me as much, like Pink Floyd or Radiohead. I might like certain songs, but overall their catalog of music does not really stick with me so much as a melodic type of music. So I guess that’s why I wrote in that vein.



AJ:

How COVID has affected you and do you feel that the live music scene has recovered from the COVID slump. Are you getting out there more and finding that things are getting a little bit back to normal?



NM:



Yes, 100%.

It was early to mid-March of 2020 is when I played an outside show at a winery and it was warm enough that we could do it outside and then everything shut down. I was down from March, probably, through late May, early June, I didn’t play a show, and that’s when I started to write. I’m like, “I’m just going to start writing,” and I had written a song called Amber and it’s just a funny story with that song. This girl Amber said to this guy, “Come see me on Facebook.” It was a friend of mine, this guy, “No.” She was attractive, so I’m like, “Oh, just say yes,” as a joke, and I wrote this whole song about when Amber says come see me, you just say yes. And I’m like, you know what? I’m going to keep writing.



So I just wrote this whole album. That June it started to pick up and it was great through November, even in early December, it was okay. And then everything of December 2020 into maybe March 2021 it was slow again, like really slow. Then gradually things started picking up. Vaccinations we’re going up, everyone’s getting vaccinated. Eventually, things for me got a whole lot better and I don’t think it’s slowed down since.



AJ:

What’s next for you?



NM:



I’m playing on April 9 at a place that’s local to me here in Ardmore, as well as a place in Lansdowne on October 1. It’s hard right now getting the full band for this original thing because it seems like everyone is so busy with their own things. So it’s hard to get everybody together. I’m trying to book some more things. But yes, as far as me out there playing, I’m out there, as you could see, very frequently, but as far as the original music, not quite as much. Not right now and I’m hoping to accelerate that over the next few months.



AJ:

Are you already thinking about another album or are you going to play this one for a bit and then when the mood strikes you, how does that work?



NM:

This was an 11 song album and I think the next one will be four or five songs, just an EP as opposed to an LP, something to that effect. I already have ideas of things I want to write about. I just haven’t had a chance to do it, but the weather’s getting a little nicer so I can sit out on this porch now. It’s a little quieter and I can do that. That is something I definitely want to do. I just want to keep adding songs to the repertoire as opposed to just riding this. It’s brand new. The album is really, really brand new.



AJ:

Is there anything else that I have missed that I should have asked you or that you’re just dying to share?



NM:

I don’t think so. Just that I’m very excited about this. I’m very excited about this music. I think that the album came out great. With all the musicians that I had to play on this album and the guy that produced it, Brian Bricklin, everybody contributed in such a fantastic way that I think that it really reflects on the recording. - Route 1 Views

Review of our album from Mike Post:
- Lyrics are honest, and you wear your heart on your sleeve
- Vocals are VERY strong, and just great work on the tunes
- Production, arrangement, and musicians are great
- "Emilia Clarke" is an absolute earworm - Mike Post - Musician, Producer