Citywide Blackout, March 10, 2012

This week we've got comedian Raj Sivaraman, local band Faces in the Floor, filmmaker Rick Dumont from Sweaty Turtle and the Mass Bytes Food Segment.

Faces in the Floor captures the live show sound with “Bones”

Boston-based Faces in the Floor (FIF) said its new album “Bones” sports a stripped-down sound that takes a pass on the endless layers of instrumentation and effects, and aims at reproducing the experience of a true live performance.

The new full-length CD was recorded at Lionsgate Studios in LaFayette, Colo., owned and operated by Steve Turney, longtime friend and former bandmate of drummer Jason Frantz. What used to be a 100-year-old barn was converted into a full-service studio, and the band was given complete creative freedom and all the time they needed to complete the album. The foursome spent months preparing for the recording process, and set a goal of producing two songs per day with a maximum of five takes per song. “Bones” was finished after four days, with three songs completed on the first day. In addition to the new music, old tunes are being re-edited with new ideas and input.

“Some of these songs have been floating around in our repertoire for a while now, and others are brand spanking new,” said Frantz. “Some were slaved over for months, while others like ‘Lucy’ fell together in 30 minutes. The recording was fast and furious, but was a breath of fresh air and a vacation at the same time.”

FIF will release “Bones” on March 16 at McGann’s, located at 197 Portland St., near the TD BankNorth Garden. The show is presented by the Boston-based radio program Citywide Blackout, which airs on Saturday, 6-8 p.m. on UNregularradio.com. Joining FIF are the hardworking and dedicated rock band, The Last of the Independents and progressive rock/metal artists Protean Collective. Frantz said he was especially excited for the show since Protean Collective, who are good friends of FIF, recently released its new EP “Exposed” at the Magic Room Gallery two weeks ago.

“This show is going to be a crazy party,” said guitarist Eddie Konopasek. “Protean Collective is one of my favorite bands around, and it’ll be great to celebrate our release with them. There will be a lot of ‘Zappa moshing,’ and if you don't know what that is, you'll find out on March 16.”

“Bones” is the second musical offering from FIF. 2010 saw the release of the five-song EP “A Conflict in Time,” and since then, the band’s sound has undergone some intense development with the addition of Chris Eckert as the new vocalist. Eckert, Konopasek’s best friend from Chicago, quit his job, sold his car and moved to Boston, all after one phone call.

“We have a great time making music in this band, and it is great to be in a band with people that all respect each other and work together so nicely.” Konopasek said.

A bare-bones approach was the theme of this album, and primary the goal of the band during the recording process. Rather than layer the music with the best bells and whistles that Auto-Tune has to offer, FIF took a different approach, opting for a straightforward sound that brought all the passion and energy of a live performance. Konopasek said he and his bandmates don’t want to hide anything behind layers of instrumentation and sought to capture the sound of real people playing the music that they love.

“The sound matches perfectly with our live show,” Konopasek said. “It’s our sound with all the energy that we have when we play live.”

Frantz put it best, recalling a friend’s advice that good music is like a good woman–naturally beautiful.

“We are not Auto-Tune,” said Frantz. “We’re not a thousand layers of guitars. We are four guys who play our single instruments and sing our single voices. Here we are, live or on record.”

Artist Information

Faces in the Floor

http://www.facebook.com/facesinthefloor

http://www.myspace.com/facesinthefloor

http://www.purevolume.com/facesinthefloor

Protean Collective

http://www.proteancollective.com

http://www.reverbnation.com/proteancollective

http://www.twitter.com/procollective

The Last of The Independents

http://www.thelastoftheindependents.com

Contact Information

Max Bowen-Citywide Blackout

max@citywideblackout.com

citywideblackout.blogspot.com

www.citywideblackout.com

Citywide Blackout, March 3, 2012

This week on the show we talk movies and comedy with Shaun Bedgood, listen to some new tunes from the band Subject 2 Change and preview the Acoustic Reality Tour with Elizabeth Lorrey and Rick Gottlieb.

Citywide Blackout, Feb. 25, 2012

Peter and Andrew from the Doctor Doom Orchestra unveil the band's new album, "Thieves and Robots," we play some new tunes from Protean Collective's new EP, "Exposed," local musician/producer Otto Kinzel chats about his solo project and comedian Justin P. Drew keeps the laughs coming!

Citywide Blackout, Feb. 18, 2012

The Boston Circus Guild, Superbug, Those Wolves Actually Happened and filmmaker Mark Ashton Lund!

Citywide Blackout, Feb. 11, 2012

We've got it all on Citywide Blackout! Comedian John Staley, Boston area natives The Fallen Stars, singer-songwriter Olinde Mandell and the one and only Lloyd Kaufman!

Acoustic Reality Tour with Elizabeth Lorrey and Rick Gottlieb

Rick Gottlieb and Elizabeth Lorrey hit the road for the Acoustic Reality Tour

From the South Shore to the North, folk artists Rick Gottlieb and Elizabeth Lorrey are going to become familiar faces across the Bay State, and even more familiar sounds.

Starting this March, the Acoustic Reality Tour will introduce the songs of these stage veterans to a whole new audience. The four-location tour begins on Friday, March 9, at the Dogwatch in scenic Scituate, and ends on May 6 at Amazing Things in Framingham. Known for an edgy, acoustic style cultivated over the last 20 years, Lorrey said it’s the chance to play before a new audience, but she’s also enjoying the entire process of arranging the tour.

“I've been playing for over 20 years, in bands and as a solo artist, but I haven't done a lot of organized touring with press and radio support and the promotion of several dates at once,” said Lorrey. “It's really fun for the music business geek in me to consider and approach these shows as a collective, rather than a series of one-off performances.”

Gottlieb, a laid-back artist who’s proven to be incredibly approachable, agreed that some fresh ears for his sound are the high point of the tour, but said it’s the interaction and reactions from the audience that he’s really looking forward to.

“Music is like a message in a bottle swept up to the ocean shoreline and when someone picks up and opens that musical ‘bottle’ and listens to what’s inside, well, it says more about the ocean than it does me,” Gottlieb said. “So what I look for in my tour with Elizabeth are the new reactions, the new experiences, the new understanding of the listeners that tell me what my music is really about.”

Both artists are eager to work together and share their styles. Lorrey, plans to release her next album, “Bittersweet” this spring. She remarked that she’s usually very introverted, and finds it funny to be before an audience, let alone strike up a conversation. So instead, she lets the music do it for her. Lorrey said she gets a rush when she can connect with the audience-even if it’s just one person.

Gottlieb, who was “discovered” by Livingston Taylor when he taught Performance Techniques at the Rocky Mountain Song School in 2011 and invited him to attend his Berklee College of Music Class in Stage Performance for free on the strength of his skills, has said each performance is different, with it’s own subtle nuances and the occasional mistake. While some artists may balk at the thought of making an error on stage, Gottlieb said his years as a performer have allowed him to move past the idea of “mistakes”, and even embrace it.

“In fact, my song, ‘Looking For a New Mistake To Make,’ although applied to relationships, is really about giving ourselves permission to be more creative musically,” said Gottlieb.

The tour is presented by Citywide Blackout, a Boston-based music promotions company, owned and operated by music afficionado Max Bowen. He learned of both these artists by listening to their CDs and knew he had to hear the story behind the musicians.

“Rick’s got such an easy-going stage presence, it’s easy to think you’re just sitting with him in a coffee shop, instead of in a packed club,” said Bowen, who also hosts the Citywide Blackout radio show on unregularradio.com. “Elizabeth’s got a dark style all her own, and her music’s got a great story to tell. I’m a huge fan of both artists, and trust me, you will be too.”

Lorrey sees herself as a storyteller, but it’s through the sounds, rather than the words. With her music, she tries to create images and evoke emotions through melody, harmony and rhythm, and let the lyrics reinforce this image.

“I'm telling the story with the sounds - or at least trying to- and the lyrics serve to enhance and strengthen the emotion or atmosphere being explored, not to transcribe it literally,” said Lorrey. “I like to have to think and chew on a song a little bit before I understand it. Sometimes one song will be about many different things.”

Gottlieb said it’s the audience that can sometimes define the story behind the song, rather than the artist themselves. He recalled a tune he wrote called “But For Your Love,” originally written about his wife Cheryl. When he got the chance to play it at his church, however, people later told him how strongly it touched their sense of Christianity.

“Needless to say, I was so surprised,” said Gottlieb. “Which only goes to show you that what a song was intended to be about by the songwriter is not as important as what an audience ultimately believes the song to be about.”

The act of writing his music is a way for Gottlieb to also deal with his own demons. Following the passing of his father, he found it impossible to write a song about the man for many years.

“The emotions associated with him were so strong that it overwhelmed my ability to write or compose music,” Gottlieb said.

In one of his most recent songs, “Waiting For The Train,” Gottlieb finally included a lyrics involving his father indirectly, and said he was so pleased with the outcome of the track,he decided to make it the title track for his next album.

“Like David Wilcox, I see music as embracing metaphor,” said Gottlieb. “Metaphor is naturally meant to be symbolic and I use metaphor in my lyrics to approach issues that everyone struggles with: Finding love, coping with relationships, trying to seek out what makes life really meaningful.”

Artist information

Rick Gottlieb

http://www.rickgottlieb.net/

http://facebook.com/DADGADRick

Elizabeth Lorrey

http://www.elizabethlorrey.com/

http://www.facebook.com/ElizabethLorrey

Contact information

Max Bowen-Citywide Blackout

max@citywideblackout.com

citywideblackout.blogspot.com

www.citywideblackout.com