Eldorado

I am writing this post as I am lying in bed.  These cold days and nights are somewhat weakening, making the nighttime a place to unwind and get into a different element than you were during the day.  I have spent most of the night just hanging around, but as I usually do, I went on Spotify to listen to some relaxing instrumental music.  Some include Disney/Disney-Pixar scores, Alan Silvestri, etc...  But since I have been listening to the same songs for a few days now, I looked elsewhere to find nighttime comfort.  The biggest go-to for me is Electric Light Orchestra.  Jeff Lynne's chilling yet soothing vocal effects, his use of orchestral accompaniments, and transitions between tracks, are all perfect for submitting your mind into a different thought zone, allowing for the dismissal of problems and situations of typical every day life.

Despite these feelings of content and satisfaction, I am never one to listen to an album straight through.  I get distracted and will end up pausing and skipping to the tracks I love the most.  But my tiredness got the best of me tonight, and I did what my dad has been telling me to do for a month:  I am listening to ELO's Eldorado from beginning to end with no interruptions.

[Photo:  Electric Light Orchestra]

It's an album I've known my entire life, but knowing each song individually is different from knowing them all as one piece.  The opening track "Eldorado Overture" flows unnoticeably into the second, "Can't Get It out of My Head."  So unnoticeably, as a matter of fact, that when you are listening to the vinyl, you  would think it is one long track.  So unnoticeably, that when you are listening, your heart and time somewhat stop ticking.  But unlike some other heart-stopping music, your heart doesn't begin again at all until the album is over, and it's only because of the realization that it's over, and life doesn't actually flow that way.

The whole album has one main theme, and the songs are connected somehow, whether it be by the overture or the song before, it almost feels as though you are reading a book.  I have noticed a lot how several albums don't have something tying all of the songs together.  Either the songs are too different in sound or meaning, or they could even all sound too similar, blending all of the pieces together so no songs stick out.  A common occurrence with ELO is balance between differentiation and similarity between tracks.  While "Boy Blue" and "Nobody's Child" sound different within, what connects them is their similar intros (they're also several tracks away from each other).

The album comes to a faded end, with the second to last track being "Eldorado," which is much slower than some of its predecessors.  But once again it transitions flawlessly into the final track, "Eldorado Finale,"  which is symmetrical to the overture; the beginning of the overture is the end of the finale, and the end of the overture is the beginning of the finale.  Lay down, close your eyes, and listen to this album (with headphones, not earbuds) from beginning to end with no interruptions.  It will almost feel as though you are watching an opera, each song presenting a different scene with different emotions being presented and provoked.  Even though there are different emotions, the whole opera makes sense because of one ongoing theme and message.  And if Jeff Lynne and the rest of ELO did not do a phenomenal job of this, then maybe music isn't the field for me.

Christmas in L.A. (... in June)

Funk music peaked in the 1970s with bands like Kool & the Gang and CHIC, who both centered their music on bass lines and even fused the genre with disco.  Recently, there has a been a funk revival that is represented through bands like The Meters and Snarky Puppy.  Leading this revival is the Michigan-born band Vulfpeck.

Vulfpeck is currently considered one of the best and most original funk bands.  Rather than sticking with classic elements of funk, they shift between adding different pieces of jazz and soul, giving their work a unique take on the timeless genre.  A large portion of their songs are instrumental, which represents how talented they are.  All of their songs, both instrumental and vocal, showcase all of the elements equally as to not mask the abilities of the band members individually, along with how well they mesh together.

[Photo:  Vulfpeck]

Very minimalistic, each member and their respective instrument play their role and their role only in the songs.  In "Game Winner" from their 2015 album Thrill of the Arts, singer Charles Jones and guitarist  David T. Walker feature in the song.  The two of them, with Charles also on the rhodes, gives the track a gospel swing.  While the track can appear to be too packed with elements, everything from the synth to the background vocals are distributed evenly, leaving no room for confusion, only room for complete amazement.

The group's talent does not stop at instrumentation and delivery.  They seem to be masters at strategically placing samples throughout their songs.  In "Game Winner," leading out of the bridge with the line "Give me the ball," there is a sample of a basketball swoosh.  Also, the one-minute-long instrumental track "Walkies" on Thrill of the Arts has a dog bark sampled alongside a groovy bass line and a rhodes.

"Christmas in L.A." was first released as an instrumental track on their 2014 EP Fugue State.  The same track was used on Thrill of the Arts, except this time with vocals and the most Christmas-y instrument of all--sleigh bells!  The vocals are often sung by featured artists, however on this track it is sung by Vulfpeck drummer Theo Katzman, who happens to have the perfect funk voice.  The track is also backed by some more gospel-like vocals, giving them a funk-soul fusion.

Vulfpeck is available for purchase and streaming everywhere because they're awesome.  I HIGHLY suggest listening to their albums and EPs in tracklist order.  I mainly say that because "Welcome to Vulf Records" (the first track on Thrill of the Arts) will get you extremely excited for the rest of the album.  The track has an insane piano introduction that really just screams "Opening" and "Listen to me first!"  Listening to it first will only benefit you in the end... I'll place that song below for your convenience.

[Courtesy of Vulfpeck on YouTube]

Purple

Joe Parella, Chris Donofrio, Jon Rodney, and Jozii Cowell may not be familiar names now, but if you wait around a little bit longer, you will know them as the successful and up-and-coming group, Deal Casino.  This alternative rock band has formulated a sound that is unique to them, rather than conforming to the norms of the genre.

[L-R:  Joe P., Jozii, Chris, Jon / Photo: Cody Cutter]

Between 2014 and now, Deal Casino has held residencies at the most popular venues at the Jersey Shore--specifically Asbury Park--quickly earning them recognition as one of the hardest working bands in the scene.  All of their hard work has paid off, giving them a whopping 612,000 streams of their song "Anything That's Bad" on Spotify.  And if that wasn't good enough, their songs have been streamed on Spotify over 1.5 million times.  With a following as large as theirs, what is it about Deal Casino that has drawn so many people in?

Over the past five years, the band has recorded five EPs:  Cocaine Love, The Runaways, Heck, Nika, and their most recent, Human Cannonball.  All recorded at Asbury's Lakehouse Recording Studios, their team includes audio engineer Erik Kase Romero and producer Jon Leidersdorff (aka the owner of Lakehouse).  It is not uncommon for bands to venture into different studios with different producers and engineers to help release their work.  With Deal Casino, however, keeping things consistent has definitely helped their sound naturally progress and mature.  Since the beginning, their recordings have achieved a polished sound, despite their desire to have them sound as if they are live recordings.  For a four-man band, they put out a sound that is well-developed, rich, and are as high in quality as any monumental rock band.

One of my favorite songs by them is "Purple" off of Human Cannonball (the new video was just released so I'll post it below for your convenience).  The song is lined with country-like guitar licks between the stanzas, and pulled together with "Ol' '55" Eagles harmonies in the chorus.  While their musical style is no where close to that of a southwestern / country rock band (like the Eagles), they have strategically placed elements of those genres in their songs.  "Panama Papers" (my personal favorite) has obvious '70s and '80s rock influences, with blaring guitar bends throughout the chorus as well as in individual parts of the song.  The guitar existence in all of their songs is very prominent, which was a common characteristic in 1970s music, regardless of genre.  "Bare Hands," from 2015 EP Nika, the guitar in the chorus and second verse has a groovy vibe, which when followed by "Purple" on a playlist, it is apparent that their signature style has merely just matured, rather than changed

You can purchase their EPs Heck, Nika, and Human Cannonball on iTunes, Amazon, and Bandcamp, as well as stream them on streaming services.

["Purple" Official Video / Courtesy of Deal Casino on YouTube]

All These Wolves

Flammable Animals, the band that debuted with What Lies Beneath the Parkway North last year, just released All These Wolves, a new EP that exemplifies the main components of alternative rock.  Fast rock tempos, clever hooks, jarring guitar work, and lyrics that make you think instead of just tapping your foot, are just a few of the several things Flammable Animals have seemed to perfect.

Flammable Animals' Debut EP 'What Lies Beneath the Parkway North'

A few months back, bassist Pat Napurano approached me about conducting an interview for this EP, and of course I said yes.  I compiled a list of questions and sat down with Pat in their living room to get a behind-the-scenes look at All These Wolves.

[Artwork:  Michael Burke, Samantha Bastone, and Erin Holmes]

How is this album different from What Lies Beneath the Parkway North?

First off, the production on this is way better - the quality is certainly there.  I think that everyone really pulled together on this one and we all just did our jobs really well.  I think it differs in the fact that it's mature and the songs are just better.

Is there any song in particular that you're really excited for everyone to hear?  And is there any one that you're really excited to play live?

If it's a song I want people to hear, probably "Due North" (Kevin's song).  That's the one I want everybody to hear.  But playing live, probably right now is "Ordinary Threat," 'cause I've been having the most fun with that one live.

Why do you want everyone to hear Kevin's song?

It's totally different in the fact that if you listen to our first EP, and then listen to this one and get to that track, it's just way different than anything we've ever done before.  That's the only song of ours that sounds like that.

I'm going to branch off a little bit from the album.  As a band in general, what would you say your ending goal is as a band?

End goal right now obviously for us is to get signed at some point and really try to do some heavy touring - really get our names out there.  That's pretty much it for right now.  You can't become complacent in what you're doing.  We want to go as far as we can with it.

Bands sometimes change their identities to try to reach that kind of goal and I know you said there's nothing in mind right now, but would you guys ever consider changing who you are in order to get to that point?

No, not at all.  We really love each other, and if you really want to get down to it, sometimes we'll fight like idiots but we do love each other, and that's why I like being in the band, because of who we are when we're around each other.  It works really well for us, so I don't think that will ever change and we will never change who we are, what we do. . .

So even musically you wouldn't change anything?

That's a different story.  Identity is one thing, but changing our sound. . . who knows?  I think this one sounds way different than the last one, and I like that.  I don't want to do two things in a row that are the same.  That was our goal, to really go in the opposite direction.  We targeted a bunch of areas last time to hit, like things we wanted it to sound like, but we also had the mind set of, "Let's stay from things we don't want to sound like," which is just as important, I think.  That's what really came into play here.

When you were writing the album, was there anything you were hoping to achieve with it?

At least on the business end of things, we would like this one to make a bigger impact than the last one did.  Everyone who has heard it liked it so far, so all positive reactions.  I'm interested to see how everyone else feels now.  We wanna see if it makes a bigger splash - there are more people paying attention now.  Artistically, I think this is exactly what we needed production and writing-wise.  I can't wait for everyone to hear this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Boyfriend's Car," the second track on the extended play, was recently released as a music video that you can watch by clicking this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UTvnKEEsD4.

Be sure to get your hands on a copy of All These Wolves, available for purchase NOW on iTunes, Bandcamp HERE, CD Baby HERE, and is also available to stream on Spotify.

Beautiful to Me

So it's the end of the semester, which means that Blue Hawk Records has released another compilation album.  Our seventh album featured four unique artists, each of them expressing their talents in different ways.

My personal favorite has to be Dan Amato's "Beautiful to Me."  After auditioning acoustically, it was settled that a trumpet, saxophone, drums, and bass would be added.  His song is soul pop, the soul mainly coming from the brass and woodwind instruments.

Next, we have rock band Thanks Genie's song "Run."  The song has vibes like Paramore with the female lead singer and eminent guitar.

Blue Hawk Records' Fifth Album 'Blue Hawk Five'

Kellen Brennan's song is perfect for those who love a jazz tune.  Listening to this song takes you to an intimate jazz club in Greenwich Village.

Finally, there's Dan & Jackson.  The duo's song is what you'd listen to on your drive to the beach with your convertible top down.  Like Dan Amato's track, something was added to this song last-minute.  Background vocals were added by six of us (yes, I am part of that six) in the last minute or so of the song, giving the track a little extra of a wow factor.

The album is available for purchase on iTunes here and also available to stream on Spotify.