The Gathering Field Story  

In late 1991, Pittsburgh music critic John Hayes pointed to a young, relatively unknown Pittsburgh singer/songwriter named Bill Deasy as the artist to watch out for in the years to come. Four years later, with a wealth of seasoned material and a variety of musical accomplishments behind him, Bill Deasy has answered that call with his new band, The Gathering Field.

Bill has been a mainstay on the western Pennsylvania music scene since he emerged six years ago as an aspiring, solo acoustic artist. His engaging introspective songwriting and charismatic stage presence quickly caught the attention of fans, critics, and fellow musicians. In 1991, Bill put together his first band, Shiloh, which took top honors at the Graffiti Rock Challenge, a showcase of Pittsburgh's best musical talent.

The Gathering Field began to evolve when Deasy united with Dave Brown, a multi-talented guitarist and producer. Dave's outstanding guitar work has led numerous rock bands over the years, including the critically acclaimed progressive quintet, The Dave Harger Group. He has also played with jazz greats Herbie Hancock, James Moody, and Larry Coryell. As a producer, Dave is perhaps best known for Rusted Root's popular Cruel Sun CD, which vaulted the Pittsburgh band to a recording contract with Mercury Records. Rusted Root just completed a national tour with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. The Gathering Field recently appeared on second stage at the Coca Cola StarLake Amphitheater where Rusted Root took the headline spotlight for the night on tour with Toad The Wet Sprocket.

In addition to Deasy and Brown, The Gathering Field consists of drummer Ray DeFade, a relocated Nashville session player and bassist Eric Riebling, formerly of The Affordable Floors, with the occasional special appearance by Hammond organist John Burgh, also a founding member of The Dave Harger Group.

The Gathering Field introduced its self-titled debut CD in September, 1994. The CD reatures twelve Deasy originals, which range from the roots, garage rock of "Bordertown" and "I Want To Be With You" to the stark, acoustic ballads of "the Reservoir" and "Slightly Aimless". The project was produced and engineered by Dave Brown and includes appearances by Jim DiSpirito and Liz Berlin of Rusted Root and Scott Blasey of The Clarks.

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