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 Coney Island (2008)
Produced by Koji Mabuchi
Nine "audience favorite" songs, including Devil's
Bluff, Witness, Elliott, and Censor The Wind, produced
with drum loops, samples, beats, and sequencing.
mail order: $12 ‡
order online at CD Baby
buy downloads at iTunes
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 Gone Gone Gone (2006)
First full-length CD since 2001. I actually recorded
this CD, threw it out, and recorded it again. I hope
to never take so long with a record again, but I'm
glad I did...
mail order: $13 ‡
order online at CD Baby
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 Hope Machine "March" (2006)
After over two years of various forms of Hope Machine
performing shows, first as a Woody Guthrie tribute,
then as a loose, wide-open, in-the-moment happening,
we finally recorded 10 songs. 10 songs for peace and
justice... Fred Gillen Jr., Steve Kirkman, and Steve
Chizmadia with special guests Laurie McAllister and
Abbie Gardner from the band Red Molly.
order online at CD Baby
listen at MySpace
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 Steal This Compilation (Various Artists, 2005)
This is the second chicken coop compilation, featuring
a new version of my song "Censor The Wind," which
first appeared on the CD Grace in solo-acoustic form.
I love this hip-hop, drum-loop version of "Censor The
Wind." There are some new artists here, as well as
some of the people from the "Standing Room"
compilation.
Get a copy at Chicken Coop Records
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 We The People (2004)
This is an e.p. I made quickly to release before the
presidential election. It features "Killing Machine"
and "We The People" plus three other social-commentary
songs, one love song, and one spoken-word piece. I
recorded some of it live-in-the-studio with my friend
Chris Black playing guitar and singing, and some solo.
I also had a great guitarist Mark Barden come in for
one song, "Blue Collar."
Mail order: $10 ‡
order online at CD Baby
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 Standing Room (Various artists, 2004)
The first of two Chicken Coop Records Compilations I
have songs on. My song "Coffee, Cocain, Bed" is on
this, and I recorded Chris Black doing a song of his
called "War Of The Worlds" for this at my studio. It
features fourteen artists of various genres from
northern Westchester. Koji Mabuchi, the producer of
this calls my song CCB an "evil road song."
mail order: $5 ‡
chicken coop website
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 Tumbleweed Mile (2003)
I was in this band with Chris Merola from Rain
Deputies in 2000 & 2001, and the 8 songs I played on
were recorded in 2001, at my studio and Chris's
apartment in Tarrytown. Chris sings lead on and wrote
the 10 songs, and they pick up where the Rain Deputies
left off...
to listen/ get a copy: Tumbleweed Mile
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 Grace (2001)
Ten songs, live-in-the-studio, solo-acoustic. The
cover art by Linda Jean Fisher was criticized by many
because the front cover doesn't even have my name on
it, but I think it is beautiful... This CD received my
favorite review I've ever gotten. Here's an excerpt:
"The slow infiltration of evil in the world.
Alcoholism and drug addiction. He holds everything up
and exposes it to the light. It's a hard truth, but I
just want to keep listening. There's a vulnerability
in his voice and a refusal to step down in the face of
fear. I keep thinking of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie.
After a while, I get the feeling of hope that always
emerges when the ugly truth is stared down." -Jennifer
Layton, Indie Music.com
mail order: $13 ‡
order online at CD Baby
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 Nervous Laughter (2000)
The third full-length CD... I played all of the
instruments on this one myself. I had just read a
book about the making of Sgt. Peppers and wanted to
see if I could do everything myself on 8-tracks. Plus
I was in a lonely time in my life... the CD has some
happy moments anyway, and is kind of all over the
map...which is understandable with 16 songs...
Emotionally- charged singer/ songwriter material with
deep resonating guitar. This meaty offering from Fred
pokes at some raw soul sores, questions life and love,
and screams in rage. 'Plane Shot Down In A War' is the
high point." - Allan Foster, Songwriters' Monthly
mail order: $13 ‡
order online at CD Baby
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 Tales Of The Misplaced (1998)
Most of the songs on this one were written in a block
after my first year on the road, and after reading
"Bound For Glory" by Woody Guthrie. "New York singer/
songwriter Fred Gillen Jr. may have east coast
origins, but his style and intensity reflect a down
home sensibility. Gillen's current release, 'Tales Of
The Misplaced,' offers passionate, issues-oriented
selections, the type of material seldom heard on
commercial radio; his guitar work mixes bluesy
refrains and arresting licks."
-- Ron Wynne, Nashville Scene
mail order: $13 ‡
order online at CD Baby
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 Intentions As Big As The Sky (1997)
The first solo CD release. Recorded by my friend Jake
Hess in his grandmother's basement with a 20-bit,
digital 8-track machine, so it was also lo-fi. "Don't
expect the hands-off, antiseptic quality of a big,
slick, 68-track studio album. This CD has an earthy,
straw-like smell for your ears. It has the grazing
touch of a brick wall against the back of your hand.
It has very ball-point- pen-on-blue-lined- paper
written lyrics. It's honest and quirky."
-- Craig Gilbert, New Haven Advocate
mail order, $12 ‡
order online at CD Baby
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 A Mind Is A Terrible Thing,
Chris Black & The Dirty
Folk Revolution (1997)
On about half of the songs on the record, and on the
road, I was the band here for a while. Chris heard my
CD "Intentions" and said "I want to do that." so I
loaned him my four-track cassette recordedr and he
laid some stuff down, but most of this CD ended up
being recorded in my living room in my basement in
Verplanck, and I toured with him some, playing trash
percussion and guitar. Black's music is dark, angry,
and brooding yet melodic and full of energy. His
subject matter is manic-depression, alcoholism, God,
love and missed or broken connections.
mail order: $12 ‡
order online at CD Baby
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 Blame It On My Dead Brother (1995)
cassette only, out of print
My first full-length, solo recording. I sold this
home-recorded tape at coffeehouse shows for a while.
I made it with a 1/2 inch tape machine... "The
recording isn't exactly high-tech, but it's good
enough and Gillen's songs are memorable. Highlights
are the oddball, rap-like 'Impermanence,' the
haunting, folk- tinged title cut and the sparse ''A
Million Holes'
-Mick Skidmore, Relix Magazine
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