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Music saved Gregory Urman. Through bad times and good, it was the
one thing that was always there for him.
“Growing up, (music)was my outlet for all the things that went
wrong in my life. Turning on Manson, Metallica, NIN, Nirvana - hell
even The Offspring was my way of coping with a bad home environment,
depression, rejection, other stuff,” said Urman.
Urman grew up in Jursk, Russia and came to the United States in 1993.
Now the 20-year-old Metro student lives in Denver, close to Glendale.
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by William C. Moore - The Metropolitan
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| Metro student
and musician Gregory Urman displays the CD he will release entitled
"Chronicles of Change." Gregory, who plays guitar, wrote
most of the songs for the album, with a few covers including Nine
Inch Nails, Tears for Fears, and Hole. |
Recently, Urman recorded and self-released an album called, “Chronicles
of Change.” According to Urman, the process has taken nearly
a year, with eight months of recording and three months of mastering.
The recording was done at his guitar tutor’s home-studio. Urman
regards his tutor, Gregory Nisnevich, as a “phenomenal teacher
and engineer.” As for the actual trials of recording, Urman
describes it uniquely.
“Recording is a challenging process. At first, I was so nervous
that the only experience that caused me more anxiety was dating. I
eventually got used to it and realized that most parts could be edited
or redone,” said Urman.
Urman has been playing guitar for four years. In the 9th grade he
started writing poetry, and by the 11th grade he was writing songs.
Most of the songs on his album deal a lot with growing up during
those teen years. As stated by Urman, most of the songs were written
before the age of 18 or discuss events that took place before the
age of 18.
“‘Star in Heaven’ and ‘Pedestal’ deal
with falling for the wrong girl in high school. ‘Growing Up
in Hell’ talks about my childhood back in Russia and hints at
events that plagued me for many years. ‘Meaningless’ deals
with an overwhelming sense of depression while ‘Life Goes On’
and ‘Someday Soon’ are about the search for brighter days,”
said Urman.
On his album he also does several covers, including Nine Inch Nails’
“Something I Can Never Have,” “Tears For Fears,”
“Mad World,” Hole’s “Northern Star,”
and even a simplified “Für Elise” by Ludwig van Beethoven.
His reasons for covering songs vary from song to song. Some he chose
because they fit the mood of the album while others, like the Nine
Inch Nails and Hole songs, he felt were “so hauntingly painful
and beautiful,” he just had to cover them.
When asked about his influences and what kinds of music he enjoys,
Urman doesn’t hesitate to discuss his eclectic tastes. His varying
list of favorite bands goes all the way from 90s bands like Nirvana
and Tool to classic rock like Pink Floyd and The Beatles. He cites
Nine Inch Nails as his favorite band and also says that he listens
to classical music.
“Music is one of the most vital parts of my life; barely a
day goes by when I don’t go through at least two albums. ...
The significance of music to me is that it’s not only well played
and catchy but also deep and emotional. My collection of over 80 albums
serves as an outlet for my frustrations and certain CDs mirror past
periods in my life,” said Urman.
His future as a musician is not something that worries Urman.
“I’d love to get a record deal, but if I don’t,
that’s fine too. It’s more important to me that my music
give me satisfaction than earn applause from others,” Urman
continued, “My basic message is: Yes, life sucks; it’s
unfair and brutal, but if you don’t give up, you have a chance
for something better. And then one day you’ll look back and
say, ‘It’s worth it!’ It’s never easy, but
having gone through so much pain, the good things gain a higher value.
So, never stop trying.”
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