I had this EP all mapped out in my head when I heard former Ten Cent Redemption guitarist Johnny Waggoner was starting his own project. Having heard his work in Three Miles West, Ten Cent, and as a guest player from notables from Angie Stevens to Badpenny I predicted his soaring guitar style, and visits to his heavy nineties influence. would deliver some sort of Silversun Pickups vibe. I thought i could pull out every influence in the projects mix of influences, from riff to verse. From hook to arrangement. I could not have been more wrong.
Carmelita's Lovers "Haunted" is marked by Waggoners guitar style, but his influences are more mature and meld into something less predictable. It is rare an EP shows such diversity. The most notable asset is J.T Nething covering punctuated pop rock and soaring ballads with effortless reach. Most listeners will be struck by the number of directions this band could navigate successfully. Heavy on guitar and progression choice is "Ride You Down", a curious mix of melodies reminiscent of Sixteen Horsepower layered onto traditional stoner rock or heroine rock. Bottom line is it really works. Equally adept at the rowdy trash pop,
"What's Behind the Door?" hooks, moves quickly to chorus and sucks you in. Damn pop songs. But from the same band? Yes, and Yes.
What i arrived at is - this is a band that reflects its founder quite well. Waggoner is known for attacking a song from many style and influence angles to preserve creative input. Now that he has the call on what a song will ultimately look like in its whole, it feels like an album from a band yet to get its feedback from the essential source: its fans and its track sales. Time will dictate what ultimately arises. What is rare here is the band has little to worry about in terms of pulling it off. A blessing and a curse scenario, but an enviable spot by most standards. Whether it was Nethings vocals or some other less evident voice in my head, I kept coming back to what Pearl Jam must have sounded like a year before we all knew who Pearl Jam was.
There are several undeniable moments created by the reuniting of Tony Burke and John Waggoner...the atypical intros to Haunted and Not the One provide tension, buildup, and resolution between bass and guitars before the songs even lift off. It seems there are few limits for these two working together. And Mark Kosta has shown he has the drum skills necessary to put his own signature on their work in the future. It is a nice addition to his more traditional role in New Ben Franklins, a noteworthy project he still calls home.
Word has it there is more material. It's Johnny- There is and always will be good material as solid and diverse as the current offering in a giant notebook in his head. But Carmelita's Lovers is not aiming at good and solid, and have hurdled that in their first effort. Great may just be around the corner.
I love this EP, even after it caught me off guard intially. But the real dose is onstage with this outfit. December 3rd at Three Kings...with even more material and some of his west coast band on stage as well. See you there.
-russ
9.3.11
Ryan Chrys: Journeyman steps to the forefront
If you somehow managed to not notice Ryan Chrys as he has made his way around the country and chewed up the front range, you simply were blinded by the company he has kept. But for many musicians on the front range, you mention his stage presence and charisma, or the sylish guitar sounds he crafts and you get it. You get the head nod. The one that says, "Yeah, that boy can play".
I began to notice a common denominator in bands I was running to see, and it wasn't a trademark sound. It was Ryan Chrys was in the band. It was a mark of rock and roll credibility. You see, if you are gonna have a guitaris or bass player in the band like that, and want the band not to be about THAT guitar player, you have to have it goin on. And so Ryan has found his place with standouts from Aubrey Collins, to Chris Barber of SPIV, US Pipe, to his most recent work with Angie Stevens, because they can tap into that energy and make it a part of their own. That's what makes them noteworthy and powerful performance bands in their own right.
Don't get me wrong. He is not a steal the spotlight kind of guy by some 'look at me' needy nature. Nope. Just the opposite. He was often called to lay back and make music the song calls for, the band needs, make it about the song- and he does that brilliantly. But soon, you just begin to gravitate your attention to Ryan. He can't help that. Just ask the gal or guy next to you at a show. Another head nod moment. "Dude's a rock star". Yep. And that's comin from guys who can play a lick or two themselves. Luckily for those in the audience, he does not tap into his guitar in some restrained music conservatory posture- with his guitar hiked up to his armpits, eyes fixed on the fretboard. It's prowess wrapped in low slung familiarity, punctuated by flying jump kicks in the middle of a nice string bend. Just writing it reminds me of being five years old listening to KISS records and mauling a tennis racket as I catapulted off of the clothes hamper...nevermind. I may or may not have done such things.
So, why go on about Ryan? Because he is puting his stamp on a project in a way he has never done before. He is owning it by name. Crafting the tunes, holding down the show and claiming it as what he wants to bring and announce- this is what i am about. I've seen a musician or two do this because being in the band was not enough, and the results were usually catastrophic. No chance of that happening here. Ryan has the songcraft and the performace to carry it. This time he can let go of all the conflict involved with the compromises, good and bad, that comes with that team group dynamic thing. This time, it's his. And by my first listen to opening tracks, he should be proud to stamp his name on it. And deserves to.
Just go back to the list of folks he has shared the stage, and the spotlight with. They would be the first to say the same. I'll say it for them...You own every stage you are on, Ryan. And have played all the roles well. There's plenty of stars in their own right ready to back you up, on stage or on the sidelines.
See what I mean. April 7. Walnut Room. Denver.
his pals in SUG, Angie Stevens, and the host of folks he always helps to shine will be pushing the spotlight even brighter.
Then Ryan Chrys will release his solo album. Word.
PS- oh, and some folksy songwriter dude will awkwardly take stage too. Be nice to him
Don't miss it.
-russ
I began to notice a common denominator in bands I was running to see, and it wasn't a trademark sound. It was Ryan Chrys was in the band. It was a mark of rock and roll credibility. You see, if you are gonna have a guitaris or bass player in the band like that, and want the band not to be about THAT guitar player, you have to have it goin on. And so Ryan has found his place with standouts from Aubrey Collins, to Chris Barber of SPIV, US Pipe, to his most recent work with Angie Stevens, because they can tap into that energy and make it a part of their own. That's what makes them noteworthy and powerful performance bands in their own right.
Don't get me wrong. He is not a steal the spotlight kind of guy by some 'look at me' needy nature. Nope. Just the opposite. He was often called to lay back and make music the song calls for, the band needs, make it about the song- and he does that brilliantly. But soon, you just begin to gravitate your attention to Ryan. He can't help that. Just ask the gal or guy next to you at a show. Another head nod moment. "Dude's a rock star". Yep. And that's comin from guys who can play a lick or two themselves. Luckily for those in the audience, he does not tap into his guitar in some restrained music conservatory posture- with his guitar hiked up to his armpits, eyes fixed on the fretboard. It's prowess wrapped in low slung familiarity, punctuated by flying jump kicks in the middle of a nice string bend. Just writing it reminds me of being five years old listening to KISS records and mauling a tennis racket as I catapulted off of the clothes hamper...nevermind. I may or may not have done such things.
So, why go on about Ryan? Because he is puting his stamp on a project in a way he has never done before. He is owning it by name. Crafting the tunes, holding down the show and claiming it as what he wants to bring and announce- this is what i am about. I've seen a musician or two do this because being in the band was not enough, and the results were usually catastrophic. No chance of that happening here. Ryan has the songcraft and the performace to carry it. This time he can let go of all the conflict involved with the compromises, good and bad, that comes with that team group dynamic thing. This time, it's his. And by my first listen to opening tracks, he should be proud to stamp his name on it. And deserves to.
Just go back to the list of folks he has shared the stage, and the spotlight with. They would be the first to say the same. I'll say it for them...You own every stage you are on, Ryan. And have played all the roles well. There's plenty of stars in their own right ready to back you up, on stage or on the sidelines.
See what I mean. April 7. Walnut Room. Denver.
his pals in SUG, Angie Stevens, and the host of folks he always helps to shine will be pushing the spotlight even brighter.
Then Ryan Chrys will release his solo album. Word.
PS- oh, and some folksy songwriter dude will awkwardly take stage too. Be nice to him
Don't miss it.
-russ
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