Salem, Massachusetts. Calls to mind visions of witchcraft and stake burnings and, for those in the know, one of the hottest independent record labels, Rykodisc. And, Rykodisc, who is one of the strongest indies around, has claims to one of the hottest acts to ever come from Harrisburg, Jeffrey Gaines. Gaines, a native of Harrisburg, resides on Rykodisc among other national favorites such as Bob Mould, Frank Zappa and Mission of Burma.

And why shouldn’t he be among such greats? Gaines is on his third record, Galore, which happens to be a masterpiece. He’s receiving top-notch reviews and has a large amount of airplay. From all indications, Jeffrey can still command a crowd like no other artist from Central Pennsylvania. For, how could such a strong effort fail with input from super-talents Reeves Gabrels, Gail Ann Dorsey, Zachary Alford and Martini Brothers’ drummer, Rej Troupe. With all those quality people and an incredible song writing collaboration with pop icon Jules Shear, Galore is justifiably acclaimed by many industry critics.

Of working with Jules Shear, Jeffrey says, “Jules is real laid back. He’s calm and happy all the time. We’ve been playing on the same bill for years. We often played at the same places at the same time and with that being the case, we started hanging out. The last time we played together was at The Round with Freedy Johnston. But for the purposes of this album, I went up to his house in Woodstock and we wrote ‘Step by Step’.”

In the promotional copy of Galore that MODE received, there was a bonus CD with several tracks of covers of Peter Gabriel, Elvis Costello and Bowie to name a few. “The songs included only on the first pressing of Galore were just funny accidents. I started playing in Europe when I was touring with Tom Petty. When you play to 10,000 people, you have to find some link to them. I just wanted to make sure that we went away from the concert with a shared moment. I felt that an international song was the best choice.”

For those familiar with Jeffrey Gaines, it’s obvious who his influences are. Upon the first listen of Galore, it’s easy to hear Elvis Costello, David Bowie and even a little bit of Zeppelin. But Jeffrey doesn’t stop there when discussing those who made him the musical talent he is in 1998. “I’ve been influenced by everything I’ve ever heard. When I was younger, I heard a lot of R&B music – Jackson 5 – and stuff like that.” He goes on, “There was a song off of my first album where I actually copied the way an artist named Millie Jackson sang. I was so familiar with the delivery and diction and sound that I said to myself, ‘let’s do it like Millie’. An English guy like Elvis Costello, who was also inspired by a lot of R&B vocalists, is doing the same thing I’m doing. There are often times when I try to do a song like my mom’s Johnny Taylor record.”

Born and raised in Harrisburg, Jeff got his start many years ago and has been on the slow road to success ever since he got the itch during his teenage years. While beginning his career here in Harrisburg, Jeff would play anyplace he could just to get the performance experience. During our conversation, he recalled (with a chuckle) playing at a local strip club called The Flintlock, “I was changing strings while women were changing g-strings. They called us baby and honey.” He continues, “Our band was called the Simple Beat, but we changed names often. We were a cover band playing songs by artists like The Clash and Joe Jackson.”

Eventually, the strip club nights ended and he went on to play with several other area bands in an attempt to soak up as much experience as he could. Some long time locals may remember him from a band called Tonight Guns, which includes other well-known Central PA musicians such as Mike Sgrignoli and Vince Gregoritz. “At a Tonight Guns practice, I wrote my first song. I found this great guitar sound. It was awesome.”

Excited about our conversation and taking a walk down memory lane, Gaines reminisces about many things in his Central Pennsylvania past. He’s not shy about discussing Harrisburg icons, The Sharks, “The stage should be reserved for bands who do a show for people who want to be awestruck; looking up with their eyes saying, ‘Wow! I’ve never seen anything like that’. The Sharks were probably my first experience locally where you just had to give it up to them. They got it right.”

“Then there was a band called Kix. They were so choreographed and they were absolutely tight, perfect and synchronized.” He continued, “Each song when it ends, no one was up there tuning their guitar. As soon as one song ended, the drummer was kicking off the next one. That’s how you do it. They blew my mind.”

And of course, who could forget The Pikers. Gaines raved, “They were quality. They were another brand of quality music. They were playing heavy stuff. ”

As evidenced on his new album, Galore, Gaines expresses the sheer joy of songwriting by touching on major issues – war, self-love (and loathing), the ache of loneliness, and the hope of rescue – with typical Jeff-like poetry. “I wrote this record hearing its pattern,” he says, “as if one song was the answer to the question brought up in the one before it.” Galore is a compilation of everything that has inspired Jeffrey from childhood and contains an obvious love of music, a respect for beauty, a keen interest in humanity and human relationships and a pure enjoyment of melody and music. Obviously, he’s an artist who’s unafraid to touch on the heart of a tough subject.

Galore is a “must have” to add that touch of class to every music lovers collection. For those few who haven’t had the awesome opportunity to hear Jeffrey perform, Media Play is offering a free showcase on September 12th at 2 p.m.. Be sure to check him out.