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Time for Tempus
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Time for Tempus?
Thursday, May 22, 2008
BY ROBERT BIESELIN
STAFF WRITER
For a band named after t...Time for Tempus?
Thursday, May 22, 2008
BY ROBERT BIESELIN
STAFF WRITER
For a band named after the Latin word for “time,” Tempus doesn’t seem to have a lot of it.
“Outside of music, we all have day jobs,” said lead guitarist-vocalist Chris Harvey of Old Tappan. “Two of the guys have full-time jobs, and myself and the bass player go to school full time and work part time.”
In the seven busy years since Harvey and best friend Jose Rosario decided to start a band in Bogota, they have, however, found the time to record three albums of original music — albeit not the music you might imagine from their early influences.
“We were both in the [school] band in high school, and we had just gotten into music and bands like Yes and Rush,” Harvey said. “You don’t really hear that in our music, but they really inspired us.”
Harvey eventually traded his trumpet for a guitar, while his pal Rosario refined his pop drumming. After teaming up with keyboardist Robert Paul and bassist Greg Colacino, they swapped their progressive rock sound for the more acoustic music that would come to fill their two professionally recorded albums, 2001’s “Lie Like We Do” and 2004’s “Keep Burning.” Then they decided it was time for another change.
“After our first album, we did another studio attempt, and we found that we just didn’t have the money and the time to really focus on the recording process,” Harvey said. “This time around, with the new album, we bought a bunch of equipment and recorded in my basement and then had it professionally mixed.”
In September the band released this homemade effort, “Got a Good Feeling,” an optimistically titled collection of “denser” acoustic rock.
“We had all the time in the world to throw around ideas and produce the songs the way we wanted them to sound,” Harvey added. “It was a lot more relaxed and a lot more fun. We ended up with a product we’re happy with.”
They also ended up with a product that wasn’t exactly what they expected.
“We tried to scratch out something new with this album,” Harvey said. “We use a whole bunch of effects pedals on guitar and tried to incorporate some bass effects that give the album a different dimension. Our keyboard player also went from using just piano to organ, too. So we’re messing around with everything.”
The foursome will share their good feelings tonight at their “favorite place to play,” Mexicali Live in Teaneck. Fans may also be able to hear a song or two at Tempus’ favorite place to drink lattes.
“Our bass player works [at Starbucks], so we played there to promote our bigger show at Mexicali,” Harvey said of a recent performance in Hasbrouck Heights. “It worked out very nicely. We played a small show and handed out fliers and stickers and actually sold a bunch of CDs.”
As Harvey says, they’ll do anything they can — when they have the time — to get their name out there.
“You need people in high places to make it anywhere in this world,” Harvey said with a chuckle, “but you gotta start somewhere — even if it’s Starbucks.”
E-mail: bieselin@northjersey.com
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Tempus Gives Off a "Good Feeling" Playing Acoustic Show in Starbucks
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Bernadette Marciniak
Issue date: 2/28/08
Section: Arts and Entertainment
Think you can only ro...Bernadette Marciniak
Issue date: 2/28/08
Section: Arts and Entertainment
Think you can only rock out with booze, drugs and sex?
Try lattes, muffins and an overall "good feeling" type of atmosphere.
Performing against the backdrop of a colorful mural that painted expressions of music and words, the Bergen County-based pop rock/alternative band Tempus played an acoustic show last Thursday, Feb. 21 at the Hasbrouck Heights Starbucks.
Arranged by bassist and future MSU student Greg Colacino, an employee of the 'Bux, the show was just another way for the band to promote their new CD, Got a Good Feeling, and to give onlookers a taste of their sound.
"We usually don't do shows like this," said lead vocalist Chris Harvey. "It's a nice change of pace."
Tempus has a sound similar to John Mayer and Dave Matthews combined with subtle elements of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. The latter style though, really only shines through when they perform at their regular venues, like Mexicali Blues in Teaneck.
However, Colacino organized this acoustic performance at his local Starbucks to show that Tempus can cater to any type of atmosphere and audience, and to give the band a chance to add another date to their tour schedule.
The café was packed and many people were left standing. But all of them were smiling and swaying along to the band's lax and intriguing sound.
Tempus fan and 2006 MSU graduate Katie Western was one of them.
"Tonight was nice because it was more intimate. You get more of their personality ... they can just relax."
"It's cool to adapt our sound to a low-key setting," said percussionist Jose Rosario, who, instead of beating on his regular set of drums, sat atop and played a cajon - a wooden box that sounds a lot like a tap dancer on the ballet floor.
They played many fan favorites from their new album, such as "Got a Good Feeling," and "If I Could," which is one of their most crowd-engaging pieces with a hip, more upbeat sound that calls for the audience to clap and sing along to the song.
In addition to his musical ambition and part-time work to keep the lights on, Colacino also plans to enroll at MSU in the near future.
His ultimate goal, however, is just to play music for a living.
"I'd play for a room full of fat kindergarteners if the sound is good," said Colacino.
You can hear their music on their website, www.tempusband.com.
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Tempus brings ‘A Good Feeling’ to area residents
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By Jeff Fucci
Reporter
HASBROUCK HEIGHTS (Feb. 28, 2007) — If the concept of a working musician ...By Jeff Fucci
Reporter
HASBROUCK HEIGHTS (Feb. 28, 2007) — If the concept of a working musician isn’t new to the New Jersey music scene, the thought of a Starbucks barista bringing his band to work might be. But that didn’t stop Tempus bassist Greg Colacino from scaling down the performance of the Bergen County rockers Feb. 21 to provide area residents some entertainment with their lattes.
“We’re used to improvising,” said 22-year-old bassist Colacino when asked about playing a shorter acoustic set. “During our tour last summer, we drove a rented mini-van to Virginia Beach to find out that the venue that booked us was closed. We spent the day passing out flyers on the beach instead.”
Colacino waged a similar campaign during his part-time work at the coffee shop, handing out homemade postcards and a CD sampler with songs from “Got A Good Feeling,” the band’s August 2007 release, to daily customers.
For his efforts, a packed café listened while his bass guitar and harmony supported frontman Chris Harvey’s smooth vocals and jamming riffs. The tempered passion in their life-affirming lyrics were joined by Robert Paul on keyboards and Jose Rosario tapping a wooden board as percussion.
“We just want to get the music out there,” Harvey said. “We’ve got no problem playing a gig with a couple of sticks and a board or bringing all our instruments to a larger stage.”
Harvey and Rosario formed Tempus five years ago, drawing Colacino and Paul to Harvey’s basement in Old Tappan to practice a variety of songs that range from acoustic to radio-friendly pop rock and picking up fans during tours up and down the Mid-Atlantic Coast. Among the local faithful in attendance at the show was East Rutherford resident Katie Western.
“It was different than their typical sets, more fun and intimate,” said Western, who’s seen Tempus a number of times at their self-proclaimed “home base” of Mexicali Blues in Teaneck.
Wood-Ridge resident Tom Kida, who like Colacino had to work before he came to the show, described the band’s music as a cathartic way to end the day.
“I felt like I was taken away, sometimes by the words and at other times by the lyrics,” Kida said. “I loved it. It’s the kind of music you can listen to and close your eyes and just be happy.”
For more information, log on to www.tempusband.com.
