The Dalliance

Artist Information

Biography

It all started with the idea that we could write better music. That, together, we could agree to be each other’s harshest critics and committed collaborators. Somewhat innocently, it was a dalliance – a step away from what we had all been doing before musically with no set timelines, no preconceived aspirations.

After years of playing together in various projects, drummer Darrell Long and bassist/vocalist Gregry Gilroy played shows together with longtime friend and fellow local musician Barry Mangione and several of his musical endeavors. The performances allowed the three to see the potential for a collaboration that would take their highly varied influences apart and re-assemble them in ways they would put no restrictions on. They’d see what happened and record an EP, maybe more.

Barry Mangione’s strong guitar playing, songwriting prowess and vocal range mashed well with Darrell Long’s dynamic drumming, strong sense of musicality and arrangement, the two blending with Gregry Gilroy’s heavy percussive bass plucking, harmonies, his own cigarette-trained voice and always scribbled-on-a-napkin lyrics. The result has been an organic collaboration that became serious fast.

Exploring subjects of addiction, heartache, loss, faith and other personal experiences, the band added keyboardist/composer and “silent partner” Shawn Finney to craft their self-titled debut EP. The music was dramatic, sonic and sometimes as cold and damp as the basement they recorded it in.

Throughout the last two years The Dalliance have offered new songs for free through their website as a musical litmus test to not only hone their already increasing self-recording abilities, but to get a feeling of what they themselves were building and how their growing number of fans would receive it. Armed now with their own recording/rehearsal studio: DisgraceLand and a sound aesthetic they’ve arrived at through many late night writing and recording experiences, live shows, fan feedback and harsh self-criticism, The Dalliance are proud to be releasing Birth Love Death – their first full-length recording.

Everything to this point has been self-recorded and self-financed. Stream the music for free. Buy it if you like it and, please, share it with your friends.

Contact Information:
The Dalliance
Misadventure Recordings – Publisher
info@thedalliance.org

Instrumentation

Darrell Long - Drums, Backing Vocals
Barry Mangione - Vocals, guitars
Greg Gilroy - Vocals, Bass

Discography

2009 - The Dalliance™ EP

2010 - 2011 One Single Every Month via Bandcamp.com

2012 - Birth Love Death

Official Website

http://www.thedalliance.org

Links

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Bandcamp
• Official

Audio

• Pain Has Gills
  Listen  
• Stay Still
  Listen  
• Leave It All Behind
  Listen  
• What Does Electricity Taste Like?
  Listen  
• Ghost In The Bedroom
  Listen  

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• We Are Listening™ reviews PAIN HAS GILLS [+ Show ]
  

  Song Title: Pain Has Gills 1. What is my strongest element, lyric, melody, or harmony? I th...Song Title: Pain Has Gills
  
  1. What is my strongest element, lyric, melody, or harmony?
  
  
  I think that the strongest element here is the lyrics! It's a really creative title and idea. Upon reading your title, I really had no idea what this song was going to be about, but your chorus took care of that fabulously!
  
  You use a consistent rhyme scheme in both verses, which is great. Some really great rhymes here, too. .....clockwise/realize, tongue/lungs. Great job!! And I like the subtle rhyme in the chorus of veins/away. Also, really nice job at lyrically transitioning into the chorus. Both times you sing the chorus, it feels fresh because of the line in the verse that came before it. Great technique!
  
  Perhaps you want to think of adding a bridge section after the second chorus? Bridges are a great way of adding a new idea or perspective to the song, as well as introducing a new musical idea.
  
  Overall, wonderful job at expressing your thoughts and feelings clearly and creatively. :-)
  
  2. Is this demo commercially viable?
  
  For the most part this demo is commercially viable. At times I wanted to hear the vocal a bit louder, but I'm personally in the "singer/songwriter" vein, where the lead vocal is always upfront. So, perhaps for a rock band mix, it's ok the way it is.
  
  I really like the intro and guitar riff...very memorable! I like the sparsity in the first couple of lines in the first verse, however, have you thought about singing the word(s) and THEN having the guitar strum AFTER you sing, rather than WITH you singing? I'm just curious as to what that would sound like. Again, you might be able to hear the lead vocal and the lyrics better.
  I love how the rest of the band kicks in on the second line of the first verse. Great job at building it. The chorus builds even more with the band, and I think it works great. I also love the spoken back-up vocals. Very cool.
  
  Overall, I think that this demo would hold up well next to other commercial demos. Great job and strong performances!
  
  3. What is my weakest element, lyric, melody, or harmony?
  
  All of the elements here are pretty strong and work really well together. Since I'm forced to pick one, I'd have to say that the melody is the weakest element. Occasionally the melody and phrasing tend to be a little choppy, but I think that's because of how you have written and phrased the lyrics. Be sure that when you write short phrases in one section, you balance it out with longer and smoother phrases in the opposite section. In this case, you balanced out the short phrases in both sections with a smoother production and arrangement in the chorus with the instruments playing through the whole phrase. And, it works in this song! In general, when writing, just be aware that this kind of contrast is really effective, and to strive for that contrast.
  
  The harmony is really strong and unpredictable, yet not foreign to the ear. One more tool to be aware of when creating melody is to not be too guided or trapped by the chords you're playing. Try singing a melody first, and THEN adding the chords. This technique oftentimes can produce really strong melody lines that are not completely influenced by the harmony.
  
  Overall I think that you have a really strong song! Best wishes!

Setlist

The band can play a set of all original music featured on their recordings ranging from 30 to 75 minutes in length.

Basic Requirements

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