GANEM

GANEM makes top 5 bands to see at Dfest 2007 out of 150 bands!

Tulsa World Article: By MATT ELLIOTT

If you see any bands at Tulsa's Dfest, see these:

1. The Flaming Lips, 11 p.m. Friday, Main Festival Stage: The Oklahoma City mad-hatters' September show at OKC's Zoo Amphitheatre presented an unequaled visual spectacle and the debut of the band's UFO. My mind is still blown.

2. Crooked X, 1 1 p.m. Friday, First Street Lofts Lounge: Tulsans, and anybody else for that matter, should take any chance they can to see these 13-year-olds, who rock harder than granite. Bring your earplugs.

3. Stevedore, 10 p.m., Friday, Second Festival Stage: Brothers Noah and Jeff Richardson's electro/new wave/pop experiment forges on boldly where no one has gone before.

4. P.D.A., 1 a.m., Sunday, First Street Lofts Lounge: You can't find his musical, Prince-like hip hop album, "Act II: A Different Victim," in stores, but they are available at his shows. This Tulsa hip hop gem seems to have his fingers in almost every local rap album that's worth its weight in gold teeth.

5. GANEM, 8 p.m., Friday, Blank Slate: Newsflash! I.J. Ganem's son Morgan is driven by a burning fire to rock. His band is a modern rock act with three-part harmonies fronted by a guy who can actually sing. Check him out before he's famous. - Tulsa World

By MATT ELLIOTT World Scene Writer
7/25/2007

On a wall in Morgan Ganem's bedroom is an out-of-place wipe board with what the singer dubs "The Plan" written on it.

It's not a plan to chair a Fortune 500 company by the time he's 30 or get elected. It's not a retirement plan. It's a plan to rock.

"I think it's my passion," said Ganem, in an interview also attended by his father and manager, Sand Springs singer I.J. Ganem. "I've always wanted to do this ever since I was born and pretty much don't want to do anything else with my life."

His band, also called Ganem, is one of many local and national acts performing this weekend at Dfest in downtown Tulsa. Ganem performs at 8 p.m. Friday at the Blank Slate, 230 E. First St.

His vocals and songwriting propel the group to a burning and sexy rock 'n' roll edge with a sound that mixes a bit of Oklahoma City's Hinder and a bit of Breaking Benjamin. But this band is more subtle than Hinder and avoids that band's glorification of drugs and sex.

"It's usually about a girl," he said, drawing laughs from his mother and father. "Not every song is about a girl, but they definitely provoke a lot of thought in my life. But sometimes, like 'Let Go,' one of the tracks on there, isn't particularly about a girl or anything. It's more about not letting people tell you you can't do it."

His eight-song CD, available at his Dfest show, takes a futuristic and slicker turn on the modern rock world of Nickelback, while also pulling back for a tender piano ballad, "Just a Word Away."

That song, paired with his signature "What I'd Give," draws from a story about an ended long-distance relationship. "Just a Word Away" is about a girl he met while filming the video for "What I'd Give."

"I wrote this song for her, and I don't know if she really knows that it's for her, but she's going to know now if she reads the paper, which I hope she does," he said, laughing.

Add to that three-part harmonies and the rangy singer's just-gritty-enough-to-be-rock vocals, and it sounds like Ganem could be the next big thing.

"The feeling when I get on stage, it almost makes me high in a sense," Ganem said. "I don't get any better feeling than that."

Naturally, he's looking to keep that going. So he's not sticking to performing locally on weekends.

The band, with U.S. Marine Corps drummer John West, guitarists Kipp Clodfelter and Tyler Andress backed by bassist Ryan Howard, is only six months old but is already touring outside the state.

After an Aug. 4 show in Wichita, Ganem heads back to Tulsa to open for Drowning Pool and the Exies Aug. 14 at the Other Side. - Tulsa World

By MIKE AVERILL World Scene Writer
12/30/2007

Two generations of Ganems are helping partiers ring in the new year Monday night.

I.J. Ganem is performing at the Crowne Plaza Hotel while his son Morgan and his band GANEM is playing at the Blank Slate.

"I think it's kind of cool. This is the first time my band and Morgan's band are both playing on New Year's Eve," I.J. Ganem said.

I.J. Ganem, who is also manager and producer of GANEM, said he's pleased to see his son carrying on the family's musical heritage.

"It's fun for me, it's kind of like history repeating itself," he said.

I.J. will be playing covers of all genres ranging from the 1950s to modern day, while GANEM is a rock band focusing on original material. So the odds are good that one of the Ganems will have some thing to suit your musical tastes.

I.J. Ganem is performing at the Crowne Plaza Tulsa Annual New Year's Eve Gala, at the hotel, 100 E. Second Street.

Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. followed with I.J. Ganem in the Tulsa Ballroom, Imzadi in the Promenade Ballroom and casino style gaming in the Tulsa Foyer. Admission packages start at $239.

For more, call 560-2218.

GANEM kicks off the rock 'n' roll party at the Blank Slate. Doors open at 9 p.m. and music starts at 10 p.m. Also on the bill are Crooked X and Midwest Kings.

Admission is $10 and ages 21 and older can also check out the entertainment at Exit 6C, where Callupsie, Malan Darras Orchestra and the Effects will be performing.
- Tulsa World