 The people of Hoboken, New Jersey know Gene D. Plumber as the “singing plumber" because for more than three decades, Gene Turonis has lived a dual life as Gene D. Plumber, plumber by day and musician by night. Now the rest of the world will soon discover Gene when on May 11th he releases his debut album, All the Pretty Girls. Mixing Gene’s originals with covers of songs he cherishes, the 13-song set serves up a charming patchwork of Americana the performer describes as “swinging honkytonk-a-billy.” Ahead of its release, Gene kindly took the time to answer his Essential 8 where he spoke about the album's title, songwriting, musical mentors, and more. Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you? After my infatuation with Rock and Roll my first serious mentor was Jimmie Rodgers-- the father of modern country music. Something in his voice mesmerized me, especially his yodeling. My first song writing mentor was Hank Williams, who in my eyes is still the best song writer in country music. Hank's writing communicates deep, piercing emotion with simple words. With any particular song, was there an “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect? On "Round and Round We Go" in the third verse, the last image of a dancing couple moving “like a twister going slow” punctuated the song with an exclamation point, and I knew the song was now finished. What’s the story behind your album’s title? The song "All The Pretty Girls" was written the morning after a party. My recollection of the party was dominated by memories of women flirting with me in spite of the fact that I was with my girlfriend at the time. In a sense they were actually attracted to the man in the couple, not just to me. They wanted what they couldn't have, and if they could have me they probably wouldn't have wanted me! This incongruity stimulated the writing of the song. The unusual musical frame work coincided with my fascination with the song "Gold Finger." Why did you choose to anchor the album with the songs you did?
At the time of this recording I was particularly enamored with “The Possum”, even to the point of having written a song about him, “George Jones, George Jones”. As a matter of fact, I think the best recording of the album is “Always Get Lucky With You”. Where do you draw inspiration from when writing? I draw inspiration from Charles Bukowski, Hank Williams, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Gabriel García Márquez, Luke Faust (one of my major mentors), and the rest of the world. When/Where did you do your best writing? It’s usually when I am alone playing my guitar, but it could be while driving or engaged in some activity that doesn’t take my full concentration, like painting a wall. Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination? I write about my personal experience-- whatever is stimulating or bothering me at the moment whether it is political, psychological, personal or fantastical, but “I’ve Been A Fool All My Life” was written about a man who shared his life with me over the course of many conversations while I repaired in the plumbing in his broken down building. What’s the best advice you have ever gotten from another musician? This came from Luke Faust pertaining to maintaining your style of writing and presentation. "Watch out for what you listen to, because it will change you" What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out? Play and write everyday even if you don't want to. After a while you will either get tired and no longer do it, or you will be inspired to new levels of concentration and production. Website
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