Goodbye to Girlyman

Tylan and Nate by Wo.

About one and a half year ago I wound up one evening at the Q-Bus in Leiden. If I remember correctly I was invited to come and did not even have to pay, as a filler, in fear of an empty venue. It was not one of the best attended shows, but something happened. I sort of fell in love with the music and presentation of a band called Girlyman. While I was surprised by more than the music, as you can read in my review (click here), I stood closer and closer to the stage not to miss a thing.

Then ane e-mail was sent on the e-maillist I had subscribed to, saying that the band was close to bankruptcy because of the UK and Netherlands tour. Followed by another saying that Tylan was crowdsourcing a solo album. The other three started to work on an album with songs for children. In the meantime I did a very personal interview with Doris for this blog and reviewed 'Supernova'. What however did not happen, was news on a new album or coming back together to make music. This worried me some, as a new fan.

Nate and JJ, byWo.

Then, a few weeks back, I received an e-mail by Doris announcing, what I sort of knew was coming, Girlyman was no more. I am very happy that I was talked into coming that night in May of 2012 and saw something of such great beauty. Of intense, beautiful and serene singing, intricate playing and people who seemed to love to be on stage together sharing their music with the people in the audience. With modesty, with a lot of dignity, but also a keen sense of (musical) humour. I was very lucky to have been able to have seen this show. Now that it is all over, I notice that this evening with Girlyman has added something, very small but valuable to my life: the true joy of music and singing. Thank you Girlyman and Doris, JJ, Nate and Ty: I wish you all the best.

Doris' e-mail holds a link to her blog, explaining it all. If you care to read it you can find it here. Google a little bit and you can find the whole Q-Bus show on You Tube.

Wo.