32 Years in the Making: The Most Amazing Rock Band Story You've Ever Heard

San Diego and Los Angeles, California and Detroit, Michigan (PRWEB) June 3, 2009

The George-Edwards Group

http://www.TheGeorgeEdwardsGroup.com

One of the most bizarre and unique human interest/music stories you may ever hear:

The year was 1977:

•     Jimmy Carter was president of the U.S.
•     The space shuttle Enterprise made its first test glide from the piggyback of a 747.
•     Rocky won best picture, and

That same year The George-Edwards Group album 38:38 was released. The band has gone from total obscurity for 32 years to sales in 27 countries worldwide---all in less than one year.

Friends since childhood, Ed Balian and Ray George were former members of a 1968 Detroit-based rock band called Andromeda. When the band split up, Balian and George continued to write and record. Hopeful, they pressed 100 copies of 38:38 in vinyl and mailed out 30 of them to record companies, producers and publishers. They heard nothing back except for a handful of reject letters which Ed still has to this day in a red three-ring binder labeled "Reject City."

Fast forward--or more properly, set your turntable to hyper-speed RPM for over 32 years later (!), up to late 2007. Ed opened his email one morning and was astonished to receive fan mail from a student at the University of Texas in Austin who had tracked Ed down on the Internet to tell him how much he and his roommates liked the music. But where had they heard it?

Doing some Internet research of their own, Ray and Ed found numerous listings for the George-Edwards Group on music ratings site http://www.RateYourMusic.com and in Acid Archives, the recognized sourcebook for 1960s-70s underground music.

Fans began to appear out of nowhere--from Atlanta, L.A., Chicago, Detroit, Houston and New Orleans. The album cuts were now being played on WFMU in New York and WCSB in Cleveland. Soon after, requests for the album were coming in from as far as Russia, England, Denmark and Germany. Their music to date has now been sold in 27 countries, worldwide.

After 32 years, exactly how the records got to these radio stations and perhaps others--is still a mystery. The good news is that the original tapes from all the George-Edwards Group recording sessions still exist, and Ed was able to painstakingly transfer the songs from the original 38:38 to CD and later, by Drag City to vinyl.

Meanwhile, on eBay and other sites, the original vinyl album from 1977 is now commanding prices at over $400 a copy and a rare 45-RPM single sells online for $50.

Two CDs are now available, a re-issue of 38:38 and the 38:38 bonus CD which includes additional tracks. And now, best of all, a REISSUE VINYL LP of the exact original recordings, made from the SAME 1976-77 master tapes has become available from Chicago's highly respected label, http://www.DragCity.com

Contacts:
http://www.TheGeorgeEdwardsGroup.com

esbalian (at) gmail (dot) com

About the Band

On 1977's album 38:38, Ed Balian played acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, percussion and does vocals. Ed also did the original engineering and recording. Ray George played drums, acoustic and electric guitars, percussion, occasional keyboards and also did vocals. Both Ed and Ray did the producing, mixing and, of course, all the composing.

Ed and Ray still continue to write, play and record together as The George-Edwards Group. Even after more than 30 years, they're having more fun composing and playing than ever. The Group has additional recordings which hope to be released over the next 12 to 24 months ahead, representing more of their music from the 1980s through to the present.

Ray currently lives in Los Angeles while Ed resides in San Diego. They continue to record both at Silver Sky Recording in San Diego and at the former Beacons Warehouse in Los Angeles under Silver Sky Music Publishing (ASCAP).

To read a Cleveland radio station 2008 interview with Ray and Ed or read the critical acclaim for the album or to view a photo gallery representing 30 years of the Group, please visit:
http://www.TheGeorgeEdwardsGroup.com

ATTACHMENT: 38:38 re-issue (2009) vinyl album cover

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