| CD REVIEW: Dear Diary – Grand Rezerva – Party Tonight – The Barstool Philosophers – The Dirty Marmaduke Flute Band - Wanted |
|
|
TSM/ SLW Promotions special, February 2011: Dear Diary – Grand Rezerva – Party Tonight – The Barstool Philosophers – The Dirty Marmaduke Flute Band - Wanted Hopefully, this will only be Part One this month, as I already have 6 or 7 other releases that came to us through the intermediary of the TSM/ SLW Promotion agency waiting for my critical appraisal. Regretfully, my editor-in-chief also gave me quite a few other releases to be reviewed, and some of them now have to be given attention first. However, for now I dealt with two more Eonian Records albums (return to '80s Hair Metal, baby!), had to make due with a mere 1-track single in another case, and came across three other wacky bands! Enjoy the read! ----------------------------------------------------- With no other info source to go on but the label's (as far as I could find), there's not really many exact facts I can tell you about this Chicago based band, as far as dates are concerned (there's even no data mentioned in the booklet on when or where the recordings for this album were made, see!). The story below is based on that posted at (www.) eonian-records.com. So it's only guessing which sees me return to the mid '80s...which must've been the time when a Chicago guitar instructor introduced two of his student to each other, feeling their combined styles would complement each other perfectly. As it turned out, it would result in a year-long friendship between Dave Schafer and Nick Panos, as the two clicked immediately, and took on the project of turning the teenager dream of starting a Hard Rock band together. Still, the project would take some time getting realized. They jammed together for a couple of years, writing songs and hooking up with several singers, bassists, and drummers...but nothing really stuck! When the opportunity came for Dave to hook up with a Los Angeles band which was supposedly building a tidal wave of buzz, he relocated to the City Of Angels. Unfortunately, the “buzz” turned out to be inconsequential in the music industry of the city in those days, and Dave's new band faded into nothingness. First thing he did when returning to Chicago was to hook up with Nick again, and with the experiences learned from his Los Angeles side-step, the two decided to have a go again at the Rock 'n' Roll dream which had so far eluded them. The first to be recruited was bassist Mike Levin. Not only did he have incredible playing skills, but he was also full of humour, which would make him and Dave the comical duo of the group and partners in crime to lightening up the long hours in the recording studio. A friend of theirs set the trio onto drummer Vince Consolo, and a meeting was arranged at Vince's rehearsal studio. Even before they heard him play, the guys knew they wanted him for the band...for he had the right looks, the right attitude, and just simply got along with everyone instantly. He also turned out to be able to play some mean drums, which was the icing on the proverbial cake. Finding a suitable singer turned out to be a far more difficult job! In an attempt to lure in some higher talent the band took out full-page advertisements to pretend they had big money behind 'em...but all they got to audition was a couple of relatively decent singers followed by “...a long string of piss-poor posers, klutzy clowns, and woeful wanna-bees!” (citation from the label bio). Then one Jeff Evans took a shot at an audition. The guys immediately liked him on a personal note, but he was not your stereotypical Hard Rock screamer, and the band wasn't sure if he would fit in. Well-educated, listening to Marillion, quoting Charles Butowski (that's how it's mentioned in the bio, and I wonder whether it isn't rather the German-American poet, novelist and short story writer Charles Bukowski whom's meant here), he had a unique vocal style with depth and cool phrasing. It took the band several auditions to convince themselves of the fact that Jeff's voice was exactly what they needed to pursue the direction they had envisioned (actually Jeff was about to tell the others to shove the gig where the sun don't shine, but sensing good about the vibe, he decided to come along for the ride). And so, nearly a year after Nick and Dave decided to put together a band, Dear Diary finally had a complete line-up. Occasionally the band struggled to mold their wide range of musical influences (everything from Rush and Styx to Def Leppard, Dokken, and Diving For Pearls), but overall their output had a rather unified character, being that of a calmer and mid-paced Hard Rock with great double lead guitar play. Of course, there wére the couple of generally “harder” songs as well (take “Red Rose Burn”, for instance) but overall the vocal stylings of both the lead and backing singers (a somewhat nasal and soulful one in the first case, a multi-vocal and harmonic type in the second – the latter thoughtfully chosen and preferred above “gang”, or the usual style of backing vocals) ànd the lyrical content of the songs (showing off a lot of sensitivity & sensibility, they were in fact nothing more than make-out songs, perfect for picking up any females foolish enough to be seduced). With a somewhat ballad feel in most of their songs (due to the lyrical content), the band still also played/ recorded one true ballad with the completely acoustic album closer “Plain To See” (I guess that one was also meant as a breather for the drummer – meaning the track has no percussion on it...in fact, there's only need for the singer and one of the guitarists in this song). The band played their first gig away from home, at Akron, Ohio's The Angora and went on to play any venue in their area, occasionally opening for established bands such as Lynch Mob, Lillian Axe, Dream Theater, Bullet Boys, and Galactic Cowboys. They even managed to release two demos, the first self-titled, the second named 2.57 AM...but regrettably they had arrived too late on the scene to benefit from the commercial Metal/ Rock party of the late '80s, and like so many bands of their genre in the early '90s, got stamped underfoot by the growing Grunge scene. The quintet played its last gig at Illinois, River Grove's The Thirsty Whale...and was never heard from again, until now! Now music is a weird thing, because for every negative reviewer, you'll usually find two positive ones! Most of the time however, the negative review will either come from a frustrated musician (could if only the music industry would give him/ her a chance), from a frustrated non-musician (can't and envies those that càn), or a fellow who's got to do the job pushed onto him even though his editor-in-chief knows the style of the band in question doesn't agree with him/ her (actually, some nuance is due here, as female reviewers are usually more honest). Then there's other things to consider, like circumstances at home or at work, stuff some reviewers will react out in their job as a “music critic”...because they're in “the business” for negativity's sake! 88/100 ----------------------------------------------------- This Hard Rock band from the South of Sweden was formed at the beginning of 2009 by 4 friends whom already had some experience in the field, having released albums and done plenty of live performances (I Europe, Asia, and South America): singer Mike C. and drummer Thomas Helgesson (had both been active in Road and Backhander – the latter also with The Itch), guitarist Staffan Österlind (formerly of Merrygold, Paul DiAnno and M.ILL.ION.), and bassist Joacim Sandin (ex-Steevi Jaimz and currently still with Bai Bang). Soon after their formation the band was contacted by US production company Tripaway Music, who were interested in financing the recordings for an EP. The band then recorded a couple of demo songs which the agency liked, and approval for a decent recording session was granted. The agency then contacted Phibble Music, a distribution company they'd worked with before, to see whether they would be interested in working together. Liking the demos, a deal was inked, and as a result the 4-track self-titled EP was released towards the end of the year. However, after the recordings Österlind was made an irresistible offer to move to L.A.. To replace him the band brought in long-time friend Rasmus Ehrnborn, besides being a skilled guitarist (still active with Opposite Turn and Paul DiAnno) also a producer. Upon release the EP garnered the band some small successes in both the US (where songs off it were given extensive radio airplay – on one particular show the band got to #4 most requested band) and Sweden (where the band was featured in many of the big magazines, sometimes with full-page spreads). IN 2010 the band decided to bring in a second guitarist to thicken up their sound even more, and so enter Johan Eklund (formerly of Dollhouse and Casino666). Also, the collaboration with Tripaway Music was continued, this time for the 1-track single “Badlands” (recorded/ engineered by Ehrnborn at Malmö's Rokkfoxstudio in a joined production between him) and Eklund). Now one song is hardly enough to judge a band by, so we can only hope the driven Metal-tingued Classic Rock of this track (you can listen to it at (www.) myspace.com/grandrezerva) is representative for the band's sound. Those among you with the time to do it, might check out the song samples from the EP's page at Amazon.UK...personally I didn't have the time for it! At any rate, “Badlands” is a killer song, which deserves all the airplay (in Spain & the US)/ attention (review on German online 'zine, and now on this Belgian one) it's been getting so far. Regrettably, I don't rate singles, but normally this would get scaled somewhere in the high eighties. ----------------------------------------------------- This Milano based Italian (Hard) Rock 'n' Roll project came to live in 2005, taking its name from something Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver, solo career) once said : “There is a fucking party tonight!”. Their aim, to give new sounds, new colours and new life to a relic R&R scene living on the shoulders of '70s and '80s bands, and bring the audiences unique and special live shows. After playing at many events, the original sextet releases its debut EP C'mon Girls, from which the single “There Is A Party Tonight” was culled. In 2008 comes a slight line-up change with Mike Brazzano taking up position behind the drumkit to join singers Chris Dandy and Michelle (yes indeed, both a male and female singer, the two complementing each other in a joint lead position...although Michelle is also frequently found backing Chris), guitarists elChegue and Jack Ocaine (assuring a constant dueling rhythm/ lead play), and bassist Lanny Lay. Leading up to the recording of their full-length debut album, PT filled the year 2009 with a plenitude of gigs payed all over the North of Italy. The release gig saw the band in support of Crucified Barbara, and besides the many other gigs the band did in support of their album, they also opened for Crashdiet during the Glamattakkfestival events. Right now, the band is looking for opportunities to spread their specific view on the spirit of (Blues-infused and occasionally Punk Rock flavoured) Rock 'n' Roll music in an increased amount of gigging, most preferably also outside their native country. To get acquainted with the complete album(!) you only need to activate the music player at (www.) myspace.com/partytonighthome. You'll immediately notice that the singers are not English-born, and have in fact a typical Italian accent...but the music, and the exhuberance with which the singers do their thing make that little detail a futility. You may also notice that among the 8 songs on the album, the band also did a new version of their EP's “There Is A Party Tonight” (as I was a-unable to find out what the track-list of that EP was, there may be further material from that EP here)...and that occasionally PT go into a more serious mood (just check the longer “Take On The Devil”). Yeah, when push comes to shove, PT have delivered a very nice album here! 88/100 ----------------------------------------------------- For the foundation of this Almelo, Holland based Progressive Rock band, we have to go back all the way to 1997, when original members Ivo Poelman (guitar, now ex-Gracious Souls), René Kroon (keyboards; ex-Stigmatheist and ex-Lack Of Hope, now still active with Sun Caged), Mark Portier (bass; ex-Ulcerate Fester/ Liquid Baby and ex-Jaggannath), and drummer Martin Kuipers (ex-Harrow, ex-Change Of Seasons, then also still in Symmetry, and also known from INRI, Mystrez, and Gate6), whom were all already in another band, felt the need to be part of a unit which would have no musical boundaries. So they started jamming together in a sense of total musical freedom...and liked what came out. However, due to obligations to their respective bands they eventually had to set TBP aside for a couple of years. They came back together in 2001, because they still loved he instrumental tracks they'd written together, and missed the vibe of playing together. So they started to write new material, and eventually also went a-looking for an appropriate singer for the project, while concentrating work on their various bands and other side-projects. With the occasional audition from time to time, the foursome nevertheless failed to find a suitable singer...until Kuipers got a call from Erik de Boer (guitarist/ producer and great friend of the band) to go check out his new band Great Big Lie. So he did, and while he enjoyed the music, he was blown away by the band's vocalist Leon Brouwer. Great Big Lie only lasted for about two years, but in the meantime Brouwer (whom since then also joined the now defunkt Isolation) was enlisted into TBP. Evidently this changed the music of the band somewhat, as it now needed structure to incorporate the vocals...and the band struggled to get the material written which would eventually end up on this album. In 2004 Portier joins Folk band Filthy Nilly and, opting to set his goals towards being a regular live performer, decides to leave the TBP project. Auditions for a new bassist ensue, but no suitable 4-stringer is found. Then Kuipers tells the story to his Symmetry bandmate Bas Hoebink, and it's decided that the latter would play the bass on the Sparrows album. Then, after having been in search for a suitable second guitarist for over 10 years, Symmetry is disbanded, and Hoebink joins TBP on a permanent basis. Kroon was the main recording engineer, but for the vocals, guitars, and drums, he was “assisted” by Erik de Boer (whom also gave the band some great pre-production ideas, some of which were thankfully used). Kroon also mixed the album (with support of the rest of the band for feedback, and especially Poelman's extra pair of ears), and mastered it as well. As far as I can gather, recordings at least were done in 2008, but it took the band until September 2008 to release Sparrows as a private release. Now I've been listening to the album (after having given it a first session during the week) all day yesterday...and haven't been able to stop playing it so far! I mean, the album is thàt good! Not only does Brouwer have a voice to die for (which has already been likened to Geoff Tate of Queensrÿche fame), but also the musicians weave a wonderfully dreamy sound tapestry in which one looses oneself! I mean, as prooven in the two somewhat less “elaborate” songs “Lies” (a piano ballad)and “Fallen Angels” (a second ballad, this time including participation from the whole band, but in a subdued way which focuses on the keyboards...and the vocals) where focus on the singer is slightly easier, the vocalist's abilities alone are enough to get one dreaming, but in combination with the music one really has some difficulty focusing on time goin' by...especially when playing the album on a continuous loop. In contrast to a lot of Progressive bands who feel the need to go into endless solo passages and musical complexity, TBP went for an overall simpler approach, one in which aggression has hardly any place. As a result, you get an overall calmer effect, and for a dreamy introduction to the band's music, you can listen to a medley and samples of the songs at (www.) thebarstoolphilosphers.com. That same medley is also available at (www.) myspace.com/thebarstoolphilosophers, as are 3 full-length tracks (enough to give you an insight to more than 20 minutes of the 59-minute album, which is conceptual in telling the story of Brouwer's divorce from his first wife). In conclusion, I feel it's a disgrace to the music industry at large (and the Dutch one in specific) that this album still hasn't been picked up for decent distribution. I know, and understand, that record labels prefer to work with bands which they can send out on live performances, in order to give their album some necessary promotion, but when considering the quality level this quintet works on, I would think at least sóme labels... Ah well, you know what? The music industry is fault of her own downfall! In an effort to make more and more money, they first digitalized the business, with as a result that hackers have been ripping the music and putting it out onto the Internet, causing the industry to loose revenues. I feel it's great that at the same time they've opened the way for smaller bands to come out with their own material on relatively good quality CDs, but it's a pity that sometimes even these bands will see their music ripped onto the Internet. Some bands actually feel that ain't bad at all, because it spreads their music, but in the end they don't see one cent of revenue in return when a couple more people come see them at live performances! One thing's nice in all of this: vinyl is making a moderate comeback...at least there is a product one prefers to have and hold, rather than have a digital “copy” of! But, getting back to Sparrows...I've had to add space in my 2009 year-lists! Good jolly, I sure hope TBP don't spend another 6 years to bring us a new album! In the meantime, the album (great booklet artwork) is for sale at the band's own website, but also from Musea Records (France), CDBaby& The Laser's Edge (USA), Just For Kicks (Germany), as well as iTunes and Amazon.com. 98/100 ----------------------------------------------------- For a really wacky half hour's worth of music, you're definitely good with the sophomore album from this weird Baltimore based quintet! Besides the fact that they got together to revive the “Costume Rock” genre, the guys also divert into the wackiest styles of music. The story of their formation is simply too wacky, and I therefore simply repeat it for you from the band's website: “The Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad are a band of interstellar misfits who made their way to Baltimore in 2005 after their makeshift cardboard babana spaceship overheated. The ship jettisoned through space and eventually crashed into a Party City in Towson, Maryland, USA, Earth.”! If that ain't wacky enough for y'all, know that the guys [Steve “HorsePower” Thomas is the lead singer and occasionally abuses a kazoo (remember those?), Nike “Hef DR” Miller is the rhythm guitarist and does backing vocals, “Father” Ryan Graham is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist as well, Curtis “King” Crispin is the band's bassist, and Mike “Captain Mediocrity” Bennett is the band's percussionist whom also add his backing vocals to the fray and adds “hype” (no idea what the band means by that) – Additional drums sounds and assorted mayhem is provided by the band's 6th and unofficial “bandmember” Drumbot] use some musical instruments which are really uncommon to the Rock genre, and occasionally use the instruments that are in uncommon ways to the genre as well! The guys gigged hard ever since their formation, and released their debut album Die Humpin' in 2007. According to our info, the album received worldwide radio play, and the band was interviewed by numerous media outlets in support of the album. How much of that is to be seen in relative perspective, is uncertain to me at this moment, but certain is that the album was voted Best Local Album 2007 by the readers of the Baltimore City Paper. That same year the band was also selected among more than 7000 acts, to be one of the 60 top US bands to appear on The Next Great American Band, a show from the producers of American Idol. DMFS were flown into Vegas, where they performed in front of a judge panel including Sheila E, Johnny Rzeznik, and Ian “Dicko” Dickson. They never got further than the first episode of the show, but the band's frantic live show and music saw the band's fanbase grow exponentially, and increased the amount of hits at YouTube. The band's second album was originally released in conjunction with a limited edition comic book featuring the band's members, but you may understand that the band failed to send us that as well. At any rate, I'm afraid the comic book may no longer be available. Not so the wacky Boneslinky! album, all 13 songs of which can be heard (and even downloaded for a fee) at (www.) flutesquad.com. One thing which will immediately become apparent, is the way the guys incorporate humour in their lyrics. When in conjuncture with a change of musical stylistic return to the US' '30s and '40s for the great tune “You're Special”, a reminiscence to Spike Jones pushed itself upon me! During the more electrified songs, I could not get away from a comparison to a mid '70s Todd Rundgren, albeit with the lyrics' humoristic touch, and some more contemporary solo guitar .play to boot. Whatever...I suppose you'll get to read as many comparisons as you'll be reading reviews of this album! Stylistically, no one will be able to get y from the fact that the band's “Costume Rock” is indeed a very progressive, in which is made a very nice use of the backing vocals! My favourite songs on the album? Are you kiddin' in asking me that? I mean, I love each and every track on the album for some reason or other! And that's why I've added this truly great album to my 2010 year-lists! I mean, I love this só much that I'm gonna contact the band about buying both their albums (I' afraid the deal I have with our editor-in-chief will put the copy we got for review into hís collection) 98/100 ----------------------------------------------------- In their on-goin' search for obscure (but locally popular) bands in the late '80s Hair Rock/ Metal genre, Eonian Records stumbled onto Indianapolis (Indiana) based Wanted [not to be confused with the Alabama based Heavy Metal band with the same name...who left us the It's Over Now 7-inch single (issued on the small imprint De Janeiro Records) and the 6-track demo Pray For Dawn (both in 1985)...nor with the Berkeley, California based Power/ Thrash Metal act, who left us a self-titled EP and the full-length Othello's Revenge (both issued through Dark Core Fusion Records, in 1992)], who burst onto the local scene in 1989...just in time to share stages with other talented local acts such as Sweet F.A., Schoolday Crush, Ma Kelley, Snakeskin Cowboy, Felony, and Nova Rex. Twice the band even enjoyed higher profile gigs, opening for Enuff Z'Nuff and Bad English. Funnily enough, the band's members came from all over the US (well, so says the info at the label's website...in actuality 3 of the guys were from Indiana). Singer Bobby Sisk was from Miami (Florida), and had started his musical career at the tender age of 9 when he began playing piano, guitar, and drums. It was at the age of 23 that he joined Wanted and debuted as a singer. Guitarist Eric “Cruise” Saylors was from Kokomo, Indiana (situated some 75 km North of Indianapolis), and began playing his instrument aged 15. After playing in several different bands he met guitarist Tadd Wilson whom originated from Rochester (also in Indiana, situated some 65 km North of Kokomo) and the two set out to form Wanted. Bassist Erikk D. Lee, an Indianapolis native, originally started to play drums, but switched to bass at age 16. Last but not least, drummer Scott Cole, was an experienced musician whom started playing at 14 in Dayton, Ohio (which is really only about 165 km East of Indianapolis) and had already been on the road with other bands. Things started happening for the band after meeting Bob McCutheon (a well-known manager of MCA recording artist Sweet F.A.). Ater a couple of months of hard work and preparation with their new manager, the band hit the road quite actively, and it's then that they opened for Enuff Z'Nuff and Bad English. Showcases with several major labels were done, and eventually Wanted was offered a deal by Geffen Records, who took the band to Hollywood's Cherokee Studios to record the songs “Be Still My Heart” and “Lost In Me Forever”. However, relationships between the band's management and the label soured up, and along with it hopes of the band actually getting signed. The guys tried, but (possibly partly due to word of mouth?), failed to get another deal, and as a result the band dissolved. Stylistically talking, Wanted has been said to blend the sounds of Motley Crue, Skid Row, Tora Tora, and Sweet F.A., but personally I also hear some occasional Guns N Roses influences. In essence, they played good late '80s Hair Metal, and where sóme music journalists may take a pun at the band for having had their influences too close at heart (one reviewer I know but won't mention, put the band down for being a too obvious Skid Row copy – makes one wonder just how well he's been listening to the material at hand), I'm sure most fans of the genre will love what the band did. However, besides the two LA recorded songs, the album only has 5 more studio recordings (some of which were even never played live, apparently), and the rest of the album is filled with 6 live tracks (plus the band's concert intro). Now the sound quality of the live recordings ain't exactly top notch, but you still get a very good idea what the band was about. Again, we '80s Hair Metal lovers can be thankful to Eonian Records for unearthing and releasing these rare gems! To get an idea of how the band sounded, check out the label's MySpace page (one full-length track posted), or listen to the samples posted at the album's Amazon.com page (Too Hot To Handle is also available from other online sales websites, such as iTunes, CDUniverse.com, and eBay.com...as well as through other outlets – check Nightmare Records, for instance)! 87/100 Tony. |
