Gish has always had a special place in my heart. From first listen I
fell in love with the album’s rawness, emotion, and power. It pulled at my
Midwestern teenage heart which at the time was full of yearning to get out and experience
the world and it took me on a journey of inspiration and possibility. It brings
me back to a time when things were not so immediate. There was something
special about those times that cannot be replicated in our new digital existence.
Time moved slower and things had time to breathe and grow. The art for Gish was
mesmerizingly simple yet oozed creativity and swagger. Its playful homage to
the Jimi Hendrix Experience album art, the unique way the band was posed and
dressed, and even the hand-written titles and text convinced me that the album
came from a place of love from a group of people eager to prove themselves to
the world.
A few years later I stumbled upon a huge subway sized poster of the
album cover at a local record shop in Des Moines. I knew that I had to have it.
For many years it graced the wall behind my bed almost taking up the entirety of
the wall. At the time I had a cheap faux-wood mirror that was hung on the opposite
wall of the Gish poster. The mirror was hung at this perfect eye-level where
the fisheye shot of the band would take up the entirety of the oval mirror when
passing by it at a certain angle. Almost like it was meant to fit that way. Each
time I would come and go from my bedroom I would catch a glimpse of the reflected
image in that mirror. The band staring back at me like a group of misfit astronauts
from another astral plan ready to take on the world and beckoning me to join
them for the ride.
Unfortunately, the poster suffered some major damage during a recent
move and I no longer have it. Luckily, I was able to pull up some old photos of
it to help me reminisce about this period and celebrate Gish’s 30th Anniversary.
Congratulations to the band on reaching this milestone and still creating new
music for generations to come!