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Review - Myth About Real Life EP
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To describe Aficionado as a sudden output of energy would probably the most accurate, as I doubt man...To describe Aficionado as a sudden output of energy would probably the most accurate, as I doubt many bands possess the cumulative energy of this aspiring ten-piece from upstate New York. Ten members who play everything from exotic woodwind instruments to roaring guitars is not a common group composition after all, so when Aficionado takes the stage I can only imagine what goes through the audience’s minds. It would appear to have such a high potential for sloppiness or thematic pretentiousness based on the visual presentation alone. Laura Carrozza, backing vocalist and flute player, stands apart from the rest of her band members, most of them looking like a mixture of truckers and ’70s revivalists with their long bears and sloppy exterior. What resonates from this collective turns out to be to the contrary though, as this group impresses through a series of highly excitable tracks that embody original ideas and delicious hooks without ever treading too long or too intricately.
Taking a cue from punk acts of the early ’90s like At the Drive-In, Aficionado may initially impose whispers of post-hardcore and/or emo that may scare off many listeners accustomed to indie-rock. What I hope is that listeners give Aficionado a chance, as further listening shows that their ambition spreading across several genres makes them more comparable to groups like Slint, The Pixies, and Chavez. These, of course, are all artists that were integral to the development of today’s indie-rock. Aficionado are simply infusing a slight touch of early ’90s punk (though only the good kind). They make it easy for the desperate journalists by calling their special blend “progressive-indie”. Forming in 2004 amongst a group of close friends, Aficionado blended these influences with tight chemistry and emerged with a well-received album, Circus Music, in 2008. Critics noted the release for its enjoyable energy and strong musicianship, even if the songwriting did not correlate with the potential quite yet.
Their new EP, The Myth About Real Life, was produced by Don Fury in Troy, New York, which is about a ten minute drive from their native Albany. The opening, self-titled track is one that possesses the energy of favorites from Circus Music, with an even more expansive approach that results in newly cohesive song structures in alignment with the impressive multi-instrumentation. The initial brass sounds like an intro to a ska track with its thumping progression, only until a saxophone emerges with a seductive whimper to accentuate the jazz influence. The lead vocals of Nick Warchol emit a nasally, whimpery croon that shows a surprising amount of range among the powerfully alternating structures. The group’s ability to sound anthemic is inarguable. Carozza’s backing vocals apply to this standard on both the self-titled cut and “The Same Original Idea”.
“The Same Original Idea” increases the dramatics with its introduction as Carozza frequents more solos and verses over the fragile progression of a piano and delicate woodwinds. What sounds like a potential ballad eventually turns into the same balls-out, rock-filled atmosphere of “The Myth About Real Life”’s heightened moments, only this time with more unpredictable guitar-based transitions that resemble the progressive-rock of Yes, King Crimson, and other prog-rock forefathers. “It was a million and one of the same goddamn thing,” Warchol gripes. The intensity is raw and pure, only eclipsed by the powerful instrumentation and angelic interruptions from Carozza. “I Don’t Believe We Met” continues in this fusion of post-hardcore, indie-rock, and progressive-rock, showing some epic ambitiousness in the use of keyboards and guitars similar to “The Same Original Ideas”. And although some ideas on the songs tend to repeat themselves in use, the varying approaches make it impressive enough to enjoy with ease. Catchiness and musical chops may eclipse groundbreaking stylistic intregration for Aficionado, but with the chops of ten similarly-minded musicians at your disposal it is probably for the better.
RIYL: Slint, At the Drive-In, Yes, Kansas, The Hold Steady, King Crimson
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EP Review - The Myth About Real Life
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Either TDP has gained a fast reputation on the basis of my friendliness to the obscure and progres...
Either TDP has gained a fast reputation on the basis of my friendliness to the obscure and progressive (O RLY?), or prog is the next big thing… because hell knows I’m hearing a lot of proggy music pass through my office of late. Latest example? Albany, NY’sAficionado, whose bio tells me they started out as an ATDI-influenced hardcore band before glomming on to the big names of seventies prog as fresh influences. This EP is the first recorded result of this alchemical marriage, and you’ve seriously never heard anything like it.
The thing to bear in mind here is that when we talk about prog in terms relevant toAficionado, we’re not talking about Tool and Opeth; we’re talking about Focus and Yes and King Crimson. For example, title track “The Myth About Real Life” starts with bluesy hard-rawk guitar, rattly snare rhythms, weird but catchy melodies… and suddenly gains brass leads, flutes, punk-esque “2, 3, 4!” count-ins, and Farfisa organ tones? Like, WTF, y’know? But it’s a positive WTF, at least for my money. The boldness of it, the sense of high theatre and fun and don’t-care-what-you-think… that’s not something I hear often, and hearing it now reminds me how important a precursor of excitement about a band it is. Aficionado sound like a blast, and now I want to see them do this stuff live. Like, now.
And The Myth About Real Life EP just keeps delivering .“I Don’t Believe We’ve Met” is like a seventies cop-show theme-tune studio band doing The Mars Volta, with momentary background vocal interjections from moonlighting members of the voice cast of Sesame Street. It’s surreal, almost technicolour, but with a sinister subtext… think of the original Willy Wonka movie, and then imagine a missing scene where the Oompah-Loompahs are having some sort of spaghetti-western-themed post-hardcore gig in one of the back rooms. It’s nothing like that at all, of course… but once you’ve heard it you’ll see why I said it. Seriously.
Next, “Naysayers” is the Fraggle Rock Big Band doing desert rock covers in a Broadway stylee, and “The Same Original Idea” is like the climactic end to a movie musical written by Fucked Up and Les Savy Fav in an early and Ecstasy-blurred morning at the fairground cabaret tent. It’s bombastic, silly, epic, grin-inducing… and I want Aficionado to play my wedding reception. And when you consider that I don’t intend to ever marry, that’s pretty high praise. Go find out why.
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Song of the Day - "Same Original Idea"
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Song of the Day: Aficionado-"The Same Original Idea"
Aficionado is one of those bands that instantl...Song of the Day: Aficionado-"The Same Original Idea"
Aficionado is one of those bands that instantly catches your eye and your ear. Visually, Aficionado are a group of 8 people that look like they belong in a rock band, and they all give off that “I’ve been rocking out since I was 4 years old” vibe. Their vintage, no-frills look makes them appear as if they could have toured with CSNY in the early ‘70’s, and I love them for it. Also, you may have noticed that I said “group of 8 people”. You read that correctly. They’re a large band, but it works out well for them.
Sonically, Aficionado fucking ROCK. Being an 8 piece band, they certainly have a capability to bring the noise. With so many instruments, however, you might think that the band would have a tendency to be too epic, and pack too much melody and instrumentation into one song. Not the case. Also, if you are expecting Aficionado to be an art-rock group based on the fact that they have mandolins, trumpets, and flutes making up part of their sound, you would be wrong as well. Aficionado is one of the most energetic bands I can recall hearing in recent memory, and it’s with good reason that their sound has been described by other music blogs as “a sudden output of energy”.
Formed in New York in 2004, Aficionado released their debut album, Circus Music, in 2008. Generally well-received, critics praised Aficionado’s seemingly effortless ability to write songs full of “enjoyable energy and strong musicianship”, but felt the overall songwriting had room for development. If their recently released EP The Myth About Real Life is any indication, Aficionado got the memo and took it very seriously. Although brief even by EP standards (3 songs), The Myth About Real Life shows glimpses of greatness. Whatever songwriting kinks the band had seem to be in the past, and the band appears to be reaching its potential and finding “the sound”.
What is that “sound”, you ask? Good question. Largely influenced by 70’s prog rock (King Crimson) and mid-90’s bands like At the Drive-In, Aficionado also have drawn comparisons to The Pixies and The Hold Steady. I chose to spotlight “The Same Original Idea” because I believe that it does a good job of showcasing these diverse influences. The song starts off with a gentle guitar riff, and then works in some mellow piano and even a soft yet jittery flute before breaking into a HUGE chorus tailor-made for the summer festival circuit. The song even throws in a quick Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite-esque organ segment, then gets right back to business. Loud guitars, flutes, bashing drums, anthemic choruses, it’s all there for you to digest. I wouldn’t recommend putting it on if you’re trying to go for a nice, relaxed atmosphere as you’re studying for a test, but if you’re just hanging out and happen to enjoy rock ’ n roll, do yourself a favor and crank this one up.
Aficonado is quickly becoming one of those “bands to watch” (in my book, at least). They are developing as a band, and songs like “The Same Original Idea” will probably be stuck in your head for days upon hearing them. Aficionado may not be on the verge of discovering some new genre of music, but they can write some great, fun songs. Life doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom, and Aficonado wants to make sure you take the time to rock out every once in a while.
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Top 15 EPs of 2009...
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NUMBER FOUUUUUR....
4. Aficionado- The Myth About Real Life
Self-released?
8-piece band. Keys...NUMBER FOUUUUUR....
4. Aficionado- The Myth About Real Life
Self-released?
8-piece band. Keys. Mandolin. Trumpet. Flute. Now that's a band! I love the instrumentation on this release. Experimental punk, perhaps. I'm not sure what to call this band. The songs sound trippy, groovy, and jammy. They're like a bigger version of Kiss Kiss, who by the way released a killer album with The Meek Shall Inherit What's Left.
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Aficionado:The Myth About Real Life
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Following up their 2008 full length debut album, Aficionado return with a four track EP that conta...
Following up their 2008 full length debut album, Aficionado return with a four track EP that contains the same fun infused miss mash of styles to release something that whilst having flavours of everyone from King Crimson or My Life Story to Polyphonic Spree or Jethro Tull, really sounds like no one other than Aficionado! All four of the tracks on the disc are jingly jangly, trumpet parpy, flute filled, quirky romps.
The title track bounds along with shouty vocals and a trumpet line that often apes the guitars without every actually coming together with it. Always sounding like it's a nanosecond away from falling apart this is not a "comfortable" listen, however the jaunty pop vibe and joyous vocal exclamations ensure that this good time, if complicated, music that rewards perseverance.
"I Don't Believe We've Met" has some wonderful keyboard stabs punctuating a dirty meandering riff and vocal wise it's just huge. Goodness knows how many people actually are singing on this at any one time, but it certainly sounds like each one of the eight members is screaming for their lives. Then we get a beautiful gentle passage that calms everything down before we are off on the merry madness again. It's hard not to sing along and harder not writhe around the room to.
Monstrously large guitars introduce
"Naysayers" and they continue to thrive throughout the track while trading licks with the trumpet of Chris Tenerowicz and jostling with Craig Dutra's keyboards. There are hints of jazz, fusion, prog and metal all in the space of a few seconds and the ability to whizz all these styles in the musical blender makes it a track that releases new joys on every play.
Closing "The Same Original Idea" shows a far mellower side to Aficionado, with a flute section that could have been lifted from Lord of the Rings soundtrack making way for another breakneck romp with Yes like guitars, Dresden Dolls like piano and another enigmatic vocal from Nick Warchol whipping up a tasty little concoction.
The Myth About Real Life is an EP that needs more than a couple of listens to digest and appreciate, and it would be fair to suggest that you need a reasonably sunny disposition to cope with extremely "up" nature of the songs, however there is some excellent musicianship and song writing to be discovered if you are willing to give yourself to the music and once you have it's hard to wipe the smile off your face!!
Track list:
1. The Myth About Real Life
2. I Don't Believe We've Met
3. Naysayers
4. The Same Original Idea
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Best Nouveau Prog Band 2007
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We couldn’t think of a more succinct way to classify a band who sound like the Minutemen, the Beach ...We couldn’t think of a more succinct way to classify a band who sound like the Minutemen, the Beach Boys, the Mars Volta, King Crimson, Dashboard Confessional and Kansas, all in the course of one four-minute song. This seven-piece army of sound (eight, if you count the lighting guy) is one of the Capital Region’s most original acts. Catch them the next time they’re home between tours.
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Local Bands Rock the Haunt - Show Review
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Monday night (yes, I know it's an weird night for a show), three (mostly) local bands lit up the sta...Monday night (yes, I know it's an weird night for a show), three (mostly) local bands lit up the stage at the Haunt, drawing in an audience despite a long day, piles of work and a looming Tuesday morning. The night started off rather slowly, the floor oddly populated by young girls (we're talking tweens here, maybe 15 years old) and a few punk rockers. But as each band did their thang, the crowd picked up, leading to a rockin' finale by Another Day Late. [1]
The night began with Fairway, a band of local youths, two of whom attended my high school in nearby Trumansburg, N.Y. (woo-hoo, shout out for T-burg!!) — members are Zach Schoedel, bass and lead vocals, Aaron Spinks, guitar and vocals, Travis Methany, guitar and Greg McClure, on drums. As usual, the guys were rockin' out, clearly having a great time going nuts.
Although Fairway has a pretty generic punk-rock vibe, what made this particular show cool was a slew of new songs straight off their soon-to-be-released album (circa April 2008). The new songs had the usual intense, head-banging, noise-making sound, but nevertheless featured really great vocal harmonies, amped-up guitar solos and some stupendous, albeit very, very loud, drumming. I feared, actually, for the drumhead's on Another Day Late's set — Greg has never been known to hold back on the drums, and on Monday he rocked the sticks right out of his own grip several times. Overall, the band's set was really tight, and the new songs included some less pound-y, more complicated and more melodic intros that made for a really cool step out of the genre. Semi-screechy, semi-echoing guitar riffs further added to the rockin-ness, for a really fun performance.
Second up was Aficionado, a ten-piece (yes, really, ten-piece) storm of chaos from Albany, New York, featuring the following: six long-haired guys, one shorter-haired, one mohawked, one who never took his hood off, and one (long-haired) girl, all indie-d out. In real terms the band is Nick, August, James, Dustin, Mark, Richard, Marissa, Craig, Chris and Face, on vocals, guitar, guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, flute, trumpet/synth, trumpet and 'lights,' respectively. Aficionado was one of the craziest and most fun bands I have ever had the pleasure of watching and despite a raging cold and a mountain of work waiting at home, I found myself wishing that the set was longer. This is where Face, the lights guy, comes in. Aficionado brought their own light boards with them, in varying colors, and … wait for it … a smoke machine. It was awesome, so much fun to watch. Adding to the chaos was the fact that 10 people barely fit on stage, and all 10 were bouncing around, in time and in unison.
Music-wise, Aficionado matches it's stage presence — loud, fast and intense, kind-of Decembrists meets Led Zeppelin, meets Metallica. The flute, though, really set these guys (and guy-ette) apart, by accenting and contrasting with the heavy pounding and the unusual vocals. Speaking of vocals, the lead singer was awesome to watch — he had a tendency to bug his eyes and act out the lyrics — but more awesome to listen to. Several of the songs featured really, really cool four-part harmonies (and believe me, folks, that is not easy to do).
The third song, entitled "Deaf Ears" was my favorite, I think. It began with eerie, Middle-Eastern folk-song-esque flute, drums and tambourine, becoming progressively more intense (with more instruments chiming in), but keeping the same eerie melody on the flute. Layered over a constantly pounding bass and two constantly rocking guitars, it really sounded great.
Last but not least was the much-heralded Another Day Late, though I have to say, the stage looked quite sparse after storm Aficionado blew through. Another Day Late also played a great set, though unfortunately, as noted in the interview, two-a-day shows were starting to take their toll, especially on Kohl's voice. Although the vocals were still impressively high, and often neatly a-rhythmic, his voice did sound noticeably strained. Oh, the trials of tour-dom (aka: superstar-dom).
The music was, as per the night's theme, rockin,' though, in this case, slightly more melodic, and with a bunch of neat off-beats, random riffs and complex intros. The music was further enhanced by pounding cymbals (the drummer, by the way, looks eerily like Vinz from La Haine), intricate bass parts, and screaming guitar solos layered over the music in a super-high register … which was awesome.
The band was unfortunately pretty clearly tired, and not as tight as I know they usually are, but their unusual vocal melodies and minor chord progressions still made the music interesting. At the show, they were selling their brand new CD, not available in stores until March, and I, for one, picked up a copy. I would recommend that you do so too.
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Aficionado and others rock Valentines
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On Tuseday, November 20th, Step Up presented The Colour Revolt, Aficionado, The Nightlife and Astron...On Tuseday, November 20th, Step Up presented The Colour Revolt, Aficionado, The Nightlife and Astronauts at Valentines, on New Scotland Avenue. Astronauts, a
psychedelic/experimental band from Red Hook, New York started up the show. The band formed in 2005 and consists of four members: Mike Tash, Simon Hegarty, Jacob Kolbinski and Steven Markota. They played a good set and were an excellent opening band for the show.
The second act was the Nightlife, who introduced their new drummer, Scottie Francisco. They attempted to liven the crowd but didn't get much of a response from an apathetic audience. The third band, the Colour Revolt, was an indie band from Mississippi. They played most of the songs from their newly recorded CD, which comes out in March or April. The band also played two songs off their demo. Colour Revolt played a great set, getting the audience prepared for Aficionado, a progressive/ experimental band from Albany. The band played a very high energy set with all nine of its members. They're very different from most bands around today but proved themselves
to be entertaining. The band was recently featured in the Schenectady Gazette and voted best progressive band in the Metroland. Overall, the show was one not to miss.
-Melissa Currie
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Speaking of 'Rough'
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Memorial Day weekend got off to an unpleasant start for Capital Region rockers Aficionado. The prou... Memorial Day weekend got off to an unpleasant start for Capital Region rockers Aficionado. The proudly prog ensemble (Q: How prog? A: They recently added a flautist to their lineup; not to mention the full-time lighting guy) found Saturday morning that their tour vehicle, a 1995 “short bus,” had been torched in what is assumed to be an act of arson. The bus was parked at La Salle School, across from the College of Saint Rose campus on Western Avenue, where the band members had been painting the vehicle blue to avoid it being mistaken for an operating school bus.
August Rosa, the band’s guitarist, said in an interview, “We put newspaper over the windows so the paint wouldn’t get on the chrome or the glass. We wanted to go over [the paint] again, so we left it in the lot overnight. [We think] that somebody lit the paper on the front, on the grill, which led the battery to explode, and inevitably the engine . . . ”
So far, there haven’t been any strong leads from the Albany Police or Saint Rose security, but the band members hope to find out more from security-camera footage.
Nicholas Warchol, the band’s singer (and to whom the bus was registered), wrote in a blog post on the band’s MySpace site, “Saint Rose surveillance cameras have video footage of one person standing near the bus in the minutes prior to the fire. When this video is turned over to police, hopefully the image can be enhanced in order to reveal the identity of the unknown arsonist.”
The bus, which had taken the band on two lengthy tours in the 18-or-so months they owned it, had been recently renovated. Says Rosa, “We’d actually turned the whole inside into pretty much a living room, like, the day before. We were all excited about it.” Now they are left contemplating the next move, their bus totaled and insurance unlikely to cover their losses. Rosa says they have been offered a loan by a friend’s family, and that they are likely to accept, but that this will create debt that the band will have a hard time recouping. On the bright side, the band’s gear was stored elsewhere, so as long as they can find transportation, the show will go on.
Tonight’s (Thursday, May 31) show in State College, Pa., has been canceled, but, says Rosa, Aficionado—who released the rather unfortunately titled One Unfortunate Event After Another CD in early May—have no intention of canceling any further dates. Those dates include an ambitious trek that will take them across the country and back through July and early August; they also have a handful of regional dates scheduled between now and the tour’s July 7 kickoff.
A benefit show, to help the band raise money for a new ride, has been scheduled for June 23 at Basilica Industria in Hudson, and, Rosa says, an Albany benefit is in the works for around the same time. Check back here for more details as they are announced. In the meantime, visit the band at myspace.com/aficionado.
-John Brodeur
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Aficionado 4 Song Demo 2006
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Aficionado are a five piece band from upstate New York who serve up a very modern sounding form of p...Aficionado are a five piece band from upstate New York who serve up a very modern sounding form of progressive rock that has plenty of characteristics of the great bands of the 70's, but injected with a healthy dose of hard rock and even punk attitude that gives the music an edge that you don't often hear in the prog genre. This four song EP is a very positive statement and shows the talents that these youngsters from Albany possess. The band is Nick Warchol on lead vocals and keyboards, guitarists James Kehoe and August Rosa, Eric Margan on bass, flute, and keyboards, and drummer Mark O'Brien. The band firmly has an understanding of classic prog, which you can easily hear on the vibrant and symphonic opener "Said the Elephant to the Snake", an upbeat track that hints at vintage Yes, Gentle Giant, King Crimson, and Aviary. The complex interplay between the guitars, keys, bass, and drums on this piece is uncanny, almost like some long lost track off of Gentle Giant's Octopus. However, the vocals of Warchol keep things firmly rooted in modern world with his vocal style, which has a slight new wave/metal/punk edge to it, with just the right amount of aggression but very melodic. "And the Snake Replied" starts off with some doomy power chords, but it quickly turns into a quirky prog workout, with layers of vocal harmonies and some robust bass lines from Margan. The dark and atmospheric "The Bones You Built On" will instantly appeal to fans of Discipline, Van Der Graaf Generator, and Genesis, with its theatrical vocals, flute, and lush arrangements. This one also gives plenty of space for Kehoe and Rosa to launch into plenty of sizzling electric and acoustic guitar passages, but also check out the intricate grooves supplied by Margan and O'Brien. The closer "He Said to Mark His Words" is the most aggressive piece here, sort of like what King Crimson would sound like they went punk, complete with jagged metal guitar licks, aggressive vocal shouts, and acrobatic rhythms.
This is a very impressive little EP from this promising New York band. I think with a label behind them who specializes in progressive rock and progressive metal, these guys can easily go far. Hopefully that happens in the near future and we can hear a full-length CD from Aficionado that fully displays the potential that is hinted at here.
