Jeremy Gross (Desperate Sounds) “I Remain” - Eighty Unplugged Episode 10


Music, Expression and Desperation: The Jeremy Gross Interview


Live music has become an integral part of the bar, brewery, and distillery scene in Central PA. So much so that local venues seek out musicians who can draw a crowd and speak to their real emotions. Jeremy Gross is one such songwriter. Jeremy can perform at the Dead Canary in Phillipsburg to a captivated audience. He can work out the nuances of writing lyrics from his living room. Regardless, Jeremy wants to make music that helps people process their feelings. With an acoustic and a voice built for Broadway, he gives us a glimpse into his process in his performance of "I Remain" for Eighty Unplugged.

Stories Untold

The Woodland, PA native is a favorite of the local singer-songwriter culture. He grew up loving music and started writing songs in high school while teaching himself guitar. He's experienced a lot, and that experience informs his process. 12 years in the Army took him to both Iraq and Afghanistan. He's been married three times. But through all the time, he'd been songwriting on and off for 27 years. Jeremy doesn't describe himself as a generally happy person, but he believes in holding on to the positive things. People inspire him, refuel him when he feels empty. It's that connection that keeps him writing and bringing energy to live shows. Paradoxically, his personal experiences are what make his listeners feel validated.

Clinging Desperately

He records under the name "Desperate Sounds," a moniker that was originally meant for a band. That's what Jeremy believes his songs are, what he's doing as an artist. It's this desperation that connects the listener to the artist he is. Being the one to write those songs is a burden he's willing to bear. But Jeremy's music is just as much for him as everyone else. He's written songs so personal he's never performed them. It's the desire to express himself combined with his feeling of responsibility to his listeners that keeps him writing. 

In These Hands

Jeremy Gross is an artist best enjoyed live. Nicknamed "The Voice," his singing is only outdone by the power of his acoustic electric guitar. The music he's most proud of he's written more recently. He feels the music scene in Central PA doesn't address some of the desperate emotions and experiences of life. His lyrical choices have created a style of acknowledgement, in a sense. The musicians who inspire him like Cory Branan, Chuck Ragan, and Tony Sly project the same eloquent and melodic grittiness.


“I Remain”

Digging into the grit and holding on is the foundation of the song "I Remain." Life takes you where it takes you, and it often takes from you. Jeremy believes in holding on to the parts of you that are left. These parts, the positive things and what they mean to you, have the power to keep you where you are. It's often the sentiment of the world that a person is only whole when they've achieved a so-called "future version" of themselves. Sometimes, staying where you are in spite of the things that get taken away is an achievement in itself. "I Remain" is not a passive state. It is an active stance when life is difficult.

  • Written by Jeremy Gross

    I used to have dreams

    'cause I was told I could achieve anything.

    But I've learned

    That life's a collection of times you get burned

    And I won't

    Watch all I've built go in ashes and smoke

    While I stay

    Stuck where I am here until I decay

    So I'm clinging desperately to what I've got

    Through pain and the sorrow, the heartache and loss

    While I still have breath and blood in my veins

    I remain....

    I remain

    I can't accept

    That what little I have is all I can expect

    'cause I gave

    So much of myself now so freely away

    Just to find

    So little to replace what I left behind

    While I fade

    Into obscurity further each day

    So I'm clinging desperately to what I've got

    Through pain and the sorrow, the heartache and loss

    While I still have breath and blood in my veins

    I remain....

    I remain

    I remain steadfast and I remain sure of the ground that I've chosen to stand

    And I'm holding on to what little I've got

    Till I've got no more strength in these hands

    In these hands...

    In my hands

    I can't move on

    'cause the things I would leave don't deserve to be gone

    And I hold

    The weight weight on my shoulders of stories untold

    And I bear

    The words of the ones who thought no one could care

    If I fall

    Then what was any of this worth after all?


    So I'm clinging desperately to what I've got

    Through pain and the sorrow, the heartache and loss

    While I still have breath and blood in my veins

    I remain....

    I remain...

    I remain

 

A Podcast for Music Lovers! 

Our goal with Eighty Unplugged is to create a space where songwriters from all levels of success and all backgrounds can discuss their art! We hope to grow into a community of musicians supporting each other's creations; and of course, hear some great live music! 

 

Stay plugged in to Eighty Unplugged by subscribing to the podcast and following on all socials. I want to give a big thank you to Jeremy Gross and all the fans for making this episode possible.

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Jimmy Mowery  "Damaged Goods” - Eighty Unplugged Episode 11

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Alea Reid “Georgia” - Eighty Unplugged Episode 9