A drummer and a long-hair with a NS/Stick (a strange, 8-string, Bass meets Guitar meets Godzilla) take the stage and proceed to kick out a groove, then layer upon layer upon layer of mind blowing riffs and solos. Gary has a wonderful sense of melody, so much so that he'll play two or three at a time in a frenzy of fingers tapping with no regard for bystanders. It's just amazing, the technical ability and musicianship that this one man has.

I suggest you listen to the songs provided later in this article, but more so, if you ever get a chance, you must see him play live to truly understand the mesmerizing power that is Jibilian.

The Big Questions
As a part of this column, the bands featured are asked the same five questions. It's up to them to sell themselves and their music to would-be fans and record labels.

1. How would you describe your music?
It's 100% Zig!!! Zig is a new style of music, and that's what I play. I came up with the word Zig to describe my music, just like the person who came up with the word Funk to describe George Clinton, or the person that came up with the word Jazz to describe Jelly Roll Morton. Who the hell came up with the term "Hip-Hop?" After I pass on, I want to be known as "The Father of Zig!" I'm tired of telling people my music sounds like this or that, because every band does that, and every person's idea of what "Progressive" is, is different. Some people think Progressive music is Rush, and King Crimson, but others consider it to be Supertramp, or Saga. Now there's "Progressive Hip-Hop," and "Progressive Neo-Soul" (Wouldn't that be just plain old "Soul?"). I predict "Progressive Disco" to be the next big thing.

But, of course, to be able to relate to most people, you have to describe your music in terms that they are familiar with, so in order to sum it up in one word, I tell them, "Progressive," but not to emphasize the musical style, but rather in the definition of progressive; "Making use of or interested in new ideas, findings, or opportunities, moving forward or onward" (Merriam Webster's Dictionary definition). I really have to credit the designers of the NS/Stick, Ned Steinberger and Emmett Chapman, for inventing such an amazing instrument that allows me to express myself and get the music out that's been in my head for so many years, which I couldn't do as well in the past playing drums or bass.

Actually, I don't mind what category people put my music in, as long as they give it a listen (then go to see me live, then buy my cd...). It's actually very fun and interesting to hear people tell me what my music reminds them of. Most say the obvious, like Rush, Yes, King Crimson, Dixie Dregs, Satriani, Dream Theater, etc..., but sometimes I'll get Eric Johnson, or Derek Trucks, and one time these two guys from Ethiopia said that my song "Slow Boat to China" sounds exactly like this one traditional Ethiopian tune! Some guys swear that I'm playing Fusion, and don't want me to argue with them about it! That's fine with me. They can call me a Fusion player all day long.

2. Why did you choose to play Progressive Rock, when Pop-Rock is so much more accessible?
I grew up with Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, Prog Rock, etc... I just cannot make the switch from all that to Pop Rock. It physically can't be done (my friends would kick my ass!) If you're raised in Pop, and you've only played in Pop bands growing up, chances are you'll do just fine in that area, but for me, it's just not being true to myself. It's strange though, because some Pop today is yesterday's Heavy Metal. I remember when Faith No More's heavy ass tunes were constantly being played on top 40 stations, and I was like, "Man, this is great!!! Metal is going to take over the airwaves and we won't have to listen to Madonna anymore!" But me and my friends quickly grew tired of those tunes that they played all the time round the clock, and we realized that they killed a cool thing. Now you've got these bands playing their Nu-Metal stuff, and that's ok when compared to all of the "Boy Bands" but they play the heavy bands, some of which I think is ok, all the time until you get sick of hearing it. Just look at Metallica.

3. If someone were looking for new Progressive Rock Music, what would they find in your music that sets it apart?
It will make you think, because there is also a minimalistic aspect to my music, and I don't want to have everything sound the way people are used to hearing music, like here's the bass player playing this, and here's the guitarist playing this, and the keys are doing this, the singer's trying to stay in key while hitting the tambourine on his hip and pointing to the audience with his eyes closed, etc... It's what we're all used to seeing when we check out a band live, and I want to be different. Quite a few people say they can hear a horn line in certain parts, or a violin, or some other instrument in certain tunes, and I tell them that they're supposed to. It's my way of having audience participation without the cheesy "Call & Answer" bit. I paint most of the picture, but leave plenty of room for the listener to fill-in what they think should be there. This, of course, may take people a few times of seeing me live before the initial shock of what I'm doing up there wares off. The first time I saw a live video of myself playing the NS/Stick really freaked me out, and I was like, "Is THIS what people are seeing?!?! Cool!"

4. Imagine I'm a major label representative. Explain why you think I should sign your band.
Because you want to make a ton of money and I do too! :) Seriously though, I've got a unique act where I play this futuristic looking eight string guitar/bass hybrid that I tap with both hands, one hand will sometimes play a bass line, and the other will play a melody, and I use live looping to layer a riff(s), then I solo over the loops, making it sound like there's three or more musician's playing but it's all me and a live (human) drummer who's pretty insane in his own right, and we freak people out. We're ready, willing, and very able to tour, as my past road gigs will prove, and the decent amount of press I've been able to get worldwide is a sign that what I'm doing appeals to a wide variety of music fans. There's so much for me to do business wise, and only a limited amount of time to do it in (yeah, I need to sleep sometimes), that I now need other professionals like yourself to take my music to the next level of promotion, touring, licensing, and distribution. I'll only work with people that share my same vision though, so if you're not hip to my scene (Zig), then perhaps your label is not right for me. Far too many people have told me that I've got something really special going on, and that they've never seen anything like what I'm doing before, for me to treat this as a mere hobby. People freak out when they see me play, and people want to be freaked out when they pay money to be entertained. I'm highly marketable to a very wide range of listeners, and not just one particular style. If Zebra Records releases cds of the "Throat Singers of Tulva," then puts them on the road, then there's a market for JIBILIAN. Another incentive to sign my band is that we're a duo, so there's a lot less to worry about as far as band dynamics/politics/egos go, and it's a breeze to put us on the road, financially as well. Where do I sign? I'm kidding. Don't we need to do lunch first?

5. Where do you see Jibilian in five years.
Touring the world and elsewhere, just like Derek Smalls did with Spinal Tap. For real, I'm hoping to have released two more albums by then, and to continue touring in new areas of the U.S., and hopefully overseas. I love to perform, and though I really dig the recording process and the end result of listening to my cd in my living room, people have to see me live to get the full impact of what I'm all about. It's a great feeling to hear people say that I sound better live than on the cd! I also hope to have a few roadies and a driver by then. And the huge stage show I was talking about earlier should be happening by then. A new area of the biz I've been asked to be a part of is TV/Film, where I did the soundtrack to a trailer for a local slasher film called "Ritual Season." If it gets picked-up, there will be a nice budget for me to work with, so five years from now, I hope I'll be well established as scoring films. I'm also a huge fan of slasher flicks, especially the ones from the early 80's like Maniac, and Mother's Day (Dragged my dad to the theater to see it!!!), so writing the music for this type of film would be a real treat for me.

The Final Test
Ok people, it's up to you as the listener to say whether Gary Jibilian is worth your time and money. To check out the music go here.

Coda
To learn more about Gary Jibilian visit http://www.garyjibilian.com/

For all booking inquiries, except US colleges: gary@garyjibilian.com

For US college bookings only, contact my agent: Stage9Productions, lynn@voyager.net 248-414-7690.