NOTES ON THE CORRIDOR

NOTES

ALONG THE Corridor

by RICK REILEY

Sibliing Revelry: The MUSIC of FIVE YEAR GAP

I tuned into KOSU FM radio on a recent Friday night to listen to the Oklahoma Rock Show. Ryan LaCroix hosts the 2 hour show and he mentioned he had carved out a sizable block of time for new works by a new band, ‘Five Year Gap’ . The band is actually a sister/brother duo from Tonkawa. The excellent music combined with the fact that it was from rural Oklahoma, immediately grabbed my attention.That seems to be where my heart lies.

This is as good as anything pop/rock I’ve heard this year. I found the music to be hopeful, refreshing and lightly tinged with pleasant mystery.

Who are these people?

I explored.

It turns out that Ciara Brooke has been a pop solo artist for the past five years. I went on to listen to a few of those recordings and wondered why on Earth hadn’t I heard of her before now?

Solid, organic voice, always in complete control of the lyric. Perhaps that’s because she sings her own songs and knows where she’s singing from and where she’s singing to. She is passionate about conveying her experience and she is gifted with a well rounded musical vision, as well as the abilities and voice to do it right.

Her pop songs such as ‘Bother Me’, ‘Messy Parts’, ‘Pick Up’, ‘High School’ are filled with good vibes and youthful energy that I remember from my days of listening to AM radio. Refreshing! Especially in this new age I find myself living in.

Ciara Brooke says of ‘Five Year Gap’;

“We are a brother/sister alt rock duo from Tonkawa, OK. We like board games, movies, DND and LOTR. We are both pretty introverted except for when on the stage. We are five years apart but look like twins!”

As CIara Brooke she has been playing with younger brother Brody Farrow as an accompanist. This past year (we all know about this last year don’t we??!!!) they concentrated their time, talents, frustrations and energies morphing into this more heavily collaborative effort resulting in the fresh, new music and a name: ‘Five Year Gap’.

Here’s a little more from Ciara about their musical and family background;

“I have been singing my whole life, and Brody started playing drums when he was 10 and then guitar shortly after that. I attended ACM@UCO where I got my bachelors degree in music production, and now Brody is attending the same school for music business.

“We come from a somewhat musical family. Our great grandma played piano completely by ear and it was amazing. We think that’s where Brody got his natural talent. Our dad and his brother are both musical, which is super fun. Uncle John has played on a few of our recordings.”

She’s been performing for years on stages at state fairs and festivals in Oklahoma, Arizona and California and many places in between. She said that during these past five years her brother Brody ...played drums for me. That was the extent of our collaboration as a band really. This past year, however, I went through a pretty serious season of depression and anxiety and had to reevaluate a lot of things, one of those being the direction I wanted my music to go. Brody and I got a lot closer during that time (he lives with me and my husband), and we started writing together a lot more and our development as a band just kind of happened naturally. We both feel a lot more at ease and happy with guitar licks and then I write most of the lyrics and melody. We both sit down and think about what we want the song to be about, though. We approached this first batch of songs with a theme of who we are as people and looking back on our childhood. The songs are personal to both of us which makes it really special.’

One such song, ‘Chalk Houses,’ has been turned into a video and I highly recommend it. Here’s a link: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3uJl0Ojn9s (or search for FIve Year Gap Chalk Houses Youtube)

Who among us hasn’t had a memory of a once cherished, inseparable childhood friend who seemed to have completely disappeared when adulthood stepped in?

Here’s the lyric from ‘Chalk Houses’-

Chalk houses in the driveway

Sweatin’ in the Oklahoma sun all day Never stoppin’ for a minute, itchin’ to grow up But we had no idea We were living fast years

(Chorus) Us against the world Couple a girls just playin’ pretend Back when we were friends, Back when we were friends

Ridin’ bikes on red brick roads Race against the street lights To get home on time Silent whispers under covers Now I can’t remember The last time we talked One day it just stopped

As for music they listen to...“We both love The Killers and Twenty One Pilots. We are trying to find our own sound by blending different elements of those two bands. Right now pre-show or road trips you can find us listening to The Killers Pressure Machine album or Twenty One Pilots Car Radio on loop!” For more information, you can find them on social media as @fiveyeargap. And you can subscribe to their mailing list on their website: fygband.com

Don’t forget to check out their Youtube channel as well.

Five Year Gap will also be performing in Edmond during ‘Edmond Vibes’ on October 7th from 5-9.

They plan to be touring and gigging next spring with their new EP.

Treat yourself to some new, youthful, energetic music that may just fill in those gaps in your life you didn’t know were there! And please tell them I sent you! n THE CORRIDOR MAGAZINE / OCTOBER 2021 37