The Rhythm Report
"TOM" beyond the Evanchuck: An interview with The Old Money
In America's popular culture, the frontman is the face of a band. Often times, he (or she) writes the lyrics that connects people to the emotions behind the music; he is the most accessible, vulnerably projecting his voice out to the world. Yet, this man does not stand alone.
Most songs we hear on the radio, in a live music venue, or ringing through our MP3 players are carefully crafted from a single idea, one line of words or music written by an individual and built upon by another or several others. Let's not forget it takes a team to create the sounds that become our favorite tunes. (I have faith that Rhythm Repo
rt readers do not take this whole for granted.)
One of Ohio's most laudable solo acts recognized the power collaboration brings to his music and has spent the better part of the year growing his band from one, to two, and then, to four. Tom Evanchuck released his first electric record, Tom Evanchuck is Back as The Evanchucks, in May, a composition that would not have been possible without Will Nolan's wild key coordination and the drone of G. Patrick Jenkin III's bass to bring out the soul and blues. And, of course, what is a rock 'n' roll record without the crashing beat of the drums?
The group has endured lineup changes since the release. Nolan moved on to pursue a personal project, and, with Jenkins living in Washington D.C., Evanchuck and drummer, Anthony Evanchuck, played gigs on their own throughout the spring and summer. But the band began to solidify its current lineup when Jenkins returned to Ohio to perform with the group full time, and with his homecoming came a new identity – Tom Evanchuck and The Old Money.
To give a voice to the musicians who are helping to guide Evanchuck down a new road away from his acoustic folk roots, The Rhythm Report interviewed Jenkins, A. Evanchuck, and the newest band member to get the instrumentalists' perspective on the band's evolution, its week-long "trial tour" in September, and its extended fall tour this October. (Of course, Tom shared a few words, too.)
Read the full interview here. http://therhythmreport.blogspot.com/2011/10/tom-beyond-evanchuck-interview-with-old.html
A Magnificent Show with Red Wanting Blue
Wasted Talent Media’s Todd Volkmer caught the Red Wanting Blue (RWB) show at Musica in Akron on Saturday, September 10, and released two indieBOX video clips on Vimeo this week. In the first concert clip, the fervent audience waxes lyrical, joining the band in singing "You Are My Las Vegas," a fan favorite off RWB's 2010 release, These Magnificent Miles.
In his Vimeo post, Volkmer wrote, "the energy between the band and the crowd is just amazing in this video!!! Makes me smile every time I watch it!" [sic]
Eager fans anticipating the pending release of Red Wanting Blue's From The Vanishing Point next year, can hear new song "Walking Shoes" in the second video clip from Saturday night's show.
The band officially released "Audition," the first single off From The Vanishing Point, on September 6. According to an announcement on RWB's website, starting on October 1, the band will release a streamed recording of a new track from the record each day through October 13. This will give RWB devotees a first listen of the album, which is due for release on January 10, 2012.
Check out the videos of the concert at Musica below and visit www.ArtsQuestTV.com for more live-recorded concerts and other Wasted Talent Media shows including the site's namesake interview series Arts Quest.
Video links:
Red Wanting Blue performs “You Are My Las Vegas” at Musica http://vimeo.com/28959006
Red Wanting Blue performs “Walking Shoes” at Musica http://vimeo.com/29060880
By Priscilla Tasker the Rhythm Report
Review: Nicholas Wonder makes solo statement with 'My Thesis'
A lone man’s strain (“Moving On”) opens Nicholas Wonder’s debut solo album, My Thesis, in a Bob Seger “Turn The Page” fashion. One might find the brief ballad an unlikely intro to a hip hop album yet the melody is connubially tied, by an untrammeled saxophone, to the title track, which follows.
My Thesis is a commingling of sub-genres grounded in hip hop soul. Wonder’s verbal strategy for this recording flows in the same vein as his socially conscious writing for Vitium, the artist’s internationally acclaimed hip hop, funk project, which he boldly declares a “first class revolution” on a track titled “First Class.”
A true poet, Wonder’s wandering lyrics will make you wonder as he articulates keen observations of disregarded societal flaws, speaking to a degenerating generation on “Prescription Kids” and world at war on “Drifting ...”.
Pure originality is difficult to attain in any art form; hip hop, a genre built on cultural cross-references, is no different. Wonder and his supporting cast of instrumentalists and audio engineers, including Vitium bandmate Jerry (JL) Lang II, New Zealand-based Soulchef, Cleveland-based Adam Korbesmeyer and None Other Than, distinctively repurpose a variety of techniques from defining epochs in hip hop and R&B music, with rhythms on the album reflecting retro and modern styles.
Recommended song: “Trippin’”
Sounds like: Lupe Fiasco, Common, The Roots
Executive producers: None Other Than (mixing) and Nicholas Wonder
Additional production: Adam Korbesmeyer (mixing/engineering, Pro-Plane) and Soulchef
Mastered by: Chris Keffer
Recorded at: Ante Up Audio
Get a free download of the song "My Thesis" or purchase the full album on Nicholas Wonder's Bandcamp site for $5.
Editor's note: "Moving On" is the opening song on the printed version of My Thesis. The online version of the album begins with the title track, "My Thesis."
To read more of the Rhythm Report visit the site by clicking here
The Rhythm Report reviews The Singular, Vinny Vegas and others at The Auricle
The Rhythm Report reviews The Singular, Vinny Vegas and others at The Auricle
Since the launch of The Rhythm Report, I’ve covered a handful of artists from Greater Cleveland and Akron, as well as others who’ve passed through town. For the first time, Saturday night I delved into Canton’s rock scene, which found a new home at The Auricle on Cleveland Avenue NW in the city’s downtown Arts District. Here’s the run down on the four-band lineup, which included The Good 19, The Singular, Vinny Vegas and Air is Watching.
The Good 19
The Good 19 started the evening off with a short psuedo-punk-infused modern rock set, playing to less than 30 people. During “Please Believe Me,” a song frontman Brendan Quine said the band hadn’t played in while, The Good 19 broke out into an instrumental jam as Quine called out to the audience, “Everybody dance.” There was a slight air of awkwardness as a few people unsurely glanced around and began nervously rocking back and forth or side to side.
While the early evening crowd was still cool, The Good 19 was a good warm-up act to jumpstart the kinetic energy. Many of their tunes incorporated mini-movements as the band experimented with a variety of tempos. The stop-and-go rhythm of “Wanderlust” was a case in point. Interestingly, the band’s live set is much heavier than the recorded tracks featured on its Facebook BandPage. Read More...