Gibraltar: I'm The One

Passion. Energy. Intensity. Power. These are all words that can describe early 80’s hard rock band Gibraltar. However, if you look deep into its inner core, you will see that the aforementioned adjectives really stem from the nucleus – and that nucleus is lead singer Roy. Cathey, who learned early on of the “high” and the “adrenaline rush” that came from playing sports (and being a jock) was eventually stung by the music bug after hearing bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Van Halen. He soon learned that he could get that same “high” and “adrenaline rush” from singing – which also yielded an outlet for his emotions, feelings, and creativity. Now it’s no secret that Roy Cathey is a powerhouse vocalist, but if it weren’t for the other members of Gibraltar, history may have very well been written differently for this Fayetteville, North Carolina hard rock quintet. Gibraltar consisted of Roy Cathey on vocals, Frank Fournier on Bass, Eric Page on Guitars, Jerry Everly on Drums, and David Garcia on Keyboards. Gibraltar worked, and they worked hard! They took every gig that was offered to them, whether it be a club show, a keg party, the county fair (Fort Bragg), or even someone’s garage. Word started to spread and spread it did. The fan base was growing rapidly with every new gig and the name Gibraltar was becoming well known amongst the early Gen Xer’s who were hungry for a new sound that would eventually define an era which gave life to a new phrase,” The Decline of the Western Civilization.” Quiet Riot, Van Halen, Def Leppard, Ratt and many others were seeing great success – and Gibraltar had the tools including the look to follow suit. Perhap’s Gibraltar’s greatest strength was its live show. As described by Sid Starling of SRO Magazine (whom was present from the humble beginnings of the Gibraltar legacy), “ Every time they (Gibraltar) took the stage, they blew me away! The rhythm section was the backbone of this quintet - Solid drums from my good friend, Jerry Everly, along with the thundering bass from the Devil Dog himselfquintet - Solid drums from my good friend, Jerry Everly, along with the thundering bass from the Devil Dog himself, Frankie Fournier, really cemented the foundation to build upon. Take that and add in Eric Page's screaming guitar along with David Garcia's all killer, no filler keyboards plus a well thought out stage show, and this was a band that could hold its own with any band out there.” When those four played together it was magic. When you added Roy Cathey to the mix, everything rose to a whole other level. Cathey, who was playing the clubs since the age of 14, made no secret of his intent to emulate his influences. He feels strongly that peoples influences live deep with inside themselves and come out when one strives to create and grow. Cathey sees himself as a dichotomy; a ying and yang if you will. At any given moment you are only getting half of who he really is. Offstage, Roy exudes a mid-level disposition embedded with a state of inner calmness; on stage Roy transcends into the darkest parts of who he is. A concoction of raw emotion, beliefs, and heart-felt feelings where control and loss of control intersect giving way to controlled chaos. “I am a true Gemini”, Roy will clearly let you know – and he makes no apologies for it - nor any excuses. His voice is a weapon, his heart is a shield, and his mind is a tool that is used to allow him to bring the artist and the audience closer together. It’s always been this way, and why he was the stepping stone that propelled Gibraltar foreward. As Gibraltar’s notoriety grew, the next logical step was to enter the studio and lay down some tracks. Gibraltar cut no corners and paid to have high quality recordings (usually unheard of for an unsigned local band). Well-written songs along with slick production and a decent budget garnered radio-friendly songs that the fans requested on a nightly basis. Local radio stations like WQSM and Q98 held “Rock Fights” on Friday nights where Gibraltar would routinely beat out not just the local competition but national acts as well. Gibraltar’s climbing popularity created a buzz – and where there’s a buzz – there’s demand. Gibraltar took to the road, with raw intensity and no record label handing out tour support. The road was rough, but lucrative; audiences were won over and the band jettisoned across the country. The road is easy for some and a bitch for others. Eventually Jerry and David succumbed to the wears of the road and were replaced by Bevan Davies and Troy MacLawhorn. Tours came and went, and the years passed by without ever securing that major label record deal. A chance meeting while on the road with Marc Ferrari (formerly of the band Keel and now with a band of his own namesake – Ferrari) led to an invitation for Roy to join the band Ferrari. The acceptance of this invitation led to Roy’s most documented time in the music business under the band Cold Sweat. Cold Sweat was signed to MCA Records and released an album that contained two Roy Cathey co-writes (Long Way Down" and "Killing Floor") plus and an MTV music video for the song "Lets Make Love Tonight”. Roy Cathey and Marc Ferrari would go on to form Sweatin’ Bullets. Ultimately, Gibraltar could not survive without their lead singer and ultimately disbanded; but not before leaving hard rock fans with a solid nine track album entitled I’m The One . This one-and-only highly sought after album is finally receiving its first release on CD via FnA Records (www. FnARecords.net), one of the genres most respected and fastest growing indie hard rock labels.