He was an accomplished instrumentalist and composer, who played keyboards, guitars, drums, bass and cellos, as well as singing vocals. His talents also extended to producer. He toured with Eddie Money before winning the Yamaha songwriting competition with his progressive rock group Giraffe. Producer Patrick Leonard was impressed with Gilbert's performance at the competition and invited him to join him in forming a new band which became Toy Matinee. During this time, Gilbert worked on the projects of several established pop musicians, including Madonna, Michael Jackson and produced Keith Emerson's album Changing States.
The lone Toy Matinee album was released in 1990 but effectively shelved by the record company, so Gilbert assembled a new backing band to promote the album, eventually getting two successful singles released: "The Ballad of Jenny Ledge" and "Last Plane Out".
Later, Gilbert was part of a songwriting collective (called "The Tuesday Music Club") that met at producer Bill Bottrell's studio in Pasadena, California. After he began bringing his then girlfriend Sheryl Crow to the sessions, the result was Crow's debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club. Gilbert co-wrote many of the songs on that album, including 1995 Grammy Record of the Year "All I Wanna Do." Crow later acrimoniously split with most of the musicians in the collective and only Bottrell was involved in her follow-up album. Meanwhile the remainder of the collective worked with singer-songwriters Susanna Hoffs and Linda Perry on two more albums.
Gilbert continued to work in television and movie soundtrack work as well as studio work and producing and eventually released his first solo album Thud(1995) as well as partially reforming Giraffe to perform the Genesis masterpiece "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" at Progfest 94. Gilbert's manager sent a copy of the recording to Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford who were searching for a new Genesis front man to replace Phil Collins. His manager was coming to Gilbert's home to tell him that he had managed to get him an audition when he discovered him dead.
Gilbert's second solo album, The Shaming of the True was released posthumously. The album was largely incomplete, but Gilbert's estate asked Spock's Beard drummer Nick D'Virgilio to complete it based on the extant tapes and Gilbert's notes. A live album (composed mostly of songs from Thud), and a compilation of Giraffe material that Gilbert had been working on and an "industrial" album with Gilbert's latest group, Kaviar have also been released in the years since his death. His estate has promised two more posthumous studio albums and a live performance from Gilbert's promotional group for Toy Matinee.
Discography:
N.R.G. - No Reasons Given (1984)
Giraffe - The Power Of Suggestion (1987)
Giraffe - The View From Here (1989)
Toy Matinee - Toy Matinee (1990; remastered & rereleased 2001)
Sheryl Crow - Tuesday Night Music Club (1993)
Kevin Gilbert - Thud (1995)
Giraffe - Giraffe (1999)
Kevin Gilbert & Thud - Live at the Troubadour (1999)
Kevin Gilbert - The Shaming of the True (2000)
Kaviar - The Kaviar Sessions (2002)
Kevin Gilbert - Nuts (2009)
Kevin Gilbert - Bolts (2009)
Kevin Gilbert - Performs Toy Matinee Live (2010)
Kevin Gilbert - Toy Matinee Acoustic Rehearsal (2014)
PARADE
Kevin Gilbert Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I play this here guitar,
I play it for myself.
Got a heart that's full of music
A head that's full of songs
Got a love for nothing else.
Gonna take a look around me
Of the people who have made it
who are never gonna die
My name is Johnny Virgil
And I'm gonna be a Star.
Gonna get my share of fame.
Everybody's gonna love me,
Everybody's gonna care
Everyone will know my name
I've been listening to Dylan
I've been listening to the Dead
I've been listening to the music
that plays inside my head
I've been listening to the Beatles
I've been listening to the Who
And they don't know it yet,
But they're gonna listen to me too
My name is Johnny Virgil
Everybody did you hear
My name is Johnny Virgil
The above lyrics are from the song "Parade" by Kevin Gilbert. The song is about a young aspiring musician named Johnny Virgil who dreams of becoming a star. He has a heart that's full of music, a head that's full of songs, and a love for nothing else. His dreams and aspirations become his everything as he obsessively listens to the music of his idols like Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, The Beatles, and The Who. He believes that one day, everyone will know his name just like these musical legends whose parades are always marching by.
The song is a reflection of the American dream and the pursuit of fame and success. It highlights the importance of music and how it can fuel one's aspirations and dreams. It also touches upon the desire for recognition and the belief that one can achieve greatness if they work hard enough. However, despite its optimistic message, the song also portrays the dark side of fame and the obsession with it. It suggests that in the pursuit of fame, one can lose themselves and forget what really matters in life.
Line by Line Meaning
My name is Johnny Virgil
Introduction of the singer, Johnny Virgil
I play this here guitar
Johnny is a guitarist
I play it for myself.
Johnny plays the guitar for himself
Got a heart that's full of music
Johnny has a passion for music and it's in his heart
A head that's full of songs
Johnny has a lot of songs in his head
Got a love for nothing else.
Johnny loves only music
Gonna take a look around me
Johnny is observing the world around him
Parades are marching by
There are successful people around Johnny
Of the people who have made it
Johnny is surrounded by successful people
who are never gonna die
Successful people live on through their achievements
My name is Johnny Virgil
Reintroduction of Johnny with a purpose
And I'm gonna be a Star.
Johnny has ambitions to become famous
Gonna get my share of fame.
Johnny wants to achieve recognition for his music too
Everybody's gonna love me,
Johnny thinks the world will love his music
Everybody's gonna care
People will pay attention to Johnny's music
Everyone will know my name
Johnny wants to be famous and well-known
I've been listening to Dylan
Johnny has been inspired by Bob Dylan
I've been listening to the Dead
Johnny has been inspired by The Grateful Dead
I've been listening to the music that plays inside my head
Johnny has original music in his head
I've been listening to the Beatles
Johnny has been inspired by The Beatles
I've been listening to the Who
Johnny has been inspired by The Who
And they don't know it yet,
The artists Johnny is inspired by don't know they will be inspired by Johnny
But they're gonna listen to me too
Johnny is confident that he will become successful - even more successful than his idols
My name is Johnny Virgil
Reiteration of Johnny's character
Everybody did you hear
Johnny wants everyone to hear his music
My name is Johnny Virgil
Finishing the song with an emphasis on Johnny's identity
Contributed by Landon O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@BillRayDrums
Thank you for doing this. It's such a great album that is years ahead of its time. You all did it justice.
@schmotown
This is such a pleasure! One of the great albums of all time, heard by so few, and brilliantly interpreted by the Vilgilives. Thank you, thank you, a hundred times thank you.
@eduardoferreira1963
Genial... great. Thanks!🇧🇷🇧🇷 Love this álbum! Kevin FOREVER!
@joeybenoit6269
Kevin still with us you'll never die because of music fans around the world that love him to this day! Thank you!
@gundam2001a
One of my favorite Kevin Gilbert songs. Sooo glad you did this.
@kimbrewer2657
+marklar20 Isn't it awesome?
@brickwilliamsguitar6307
So freaking great. Thanks for this.
@spunkthecombo
This is fantastic!
@driz77
In tears. Thank you. This is brilliant.
@samlibutti
Man this album is impossible to find anywhere online