Entrain

Artist Information

Biography

Epic in sound and kaleidoscopic in vision, the eclectic Martha’s Vineyard-based, six-piece Entrain has been thrilling critics and fans alike since its inception.

Most recently, Entrain appeared on the ESPN2 show “Cold Pizza” on December 17, 2004. Performing with them was singer and World Champion Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo. In addition, Sylvania is featuring Entrain’s most recognizable tune—“Dancin’ in the Light”—in its TV advertisements for Sylvania light bulbs.

As for the band’s history, Entrain was the concept of drummer Tom Major in 1993, which he formed with Sam Holmstock, who plays the conga/djembe/trombone. Joining them is saxophonist Klem Klimick, bassist Lenny Bradford, and Alex Howland on guitar/keyboards/lead vocals. Veterans all, their collective resume includes stints with such diverse players as Chuck Berry, Flor De Cana, Southside Johnny, Gil Scott-Heron, Carly Simon, and NRBQ.

Entrain has recorded five albums that are available on Dolphin Safe Records. They have all been praised for their ability to shift effortlessly between musical styles—from rock, blues, calypso and ska, to zydeco, jazz and funk—often within the same song. “The whole Entrain concept is based around the drums and infectious rhythms. Once we’ve got that....everything goes, anything goes,” explains Major. As Sam Holmstock says, “The most important thing that we try to do with our music is bring everybody together.”

Entrain’s latest record, “Entrain Live: Vol. 1, Rise Up,” has done just that. It has enjoyed heavy rotation in such trend-setter markets as Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New England, Upstate New York, Aspen, Santa Fe, Houston, Cincinnati, and Nashville, climbing important industry trade charts like those in CMJ, Album Network, FMQB and The Gavin Report.

Entrain’s visibility was increased even more when several tracks from their fourth CD, “All One,” were featured in the Artisan film “Cutaway,” an action-thriller starring Stephen Baldwin, Tom Berrenger, and Dennis Rodman. “Cutaway” premiered in May, 2001 to strong reviews at the Cannes Film Festival. Producer Richard Glasser personally chose to feature the shimmering title track “All One” prominently in the film. In addition, the anthemic “Arm Yourself” and the ska-tinged “Jolly Green Giant” (also taken from “All One”) are included in the film.

Since its inception, Entrain has jammed with the likes of singer/songwriter James Taylor, Greatful Dead alum Bob Weir, and rock legend Bo Diddley—not to mention amateur saxophonist and former leader of the free world Bill Clinton. Entrain continues to perform as a hugely popular live act throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. In 1995, the band garnered a Boston Music Award for Best Live Show. Before their appearance on the “Cutaway” soundtrack, Entrain’s music was used as the theme song for MTV’s “Real World Hawaii,” while their T-shirts, bumper stickers, and posters have been featured on the popular WB television series, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Entrain has also starred in and performed a memorable TV commercial for one of the nation’s leading furniture retailers, which aired during the 1999 Super Bowl.

But Entrain’s goal is not just to be the biggest and the best, says Major. “We want to create music that makes people feel good. When we look out from the stage, all we see is smiling faces and bodies moving. You can’t beat that feeling. At the same time, if we can help to make peace and love cool again....great! There’s enough negativity in the world. Let’s spread a little joy around and watch how infectious it can be.”

Entrain has received support from adult rock and college radio across the country supporting songs like “Back in a Minute,” “Arm Yourself (With Love),” and most recently, “Letter to the World”—all from their CD, “All One.” Entrain has also received tremendous radio airplay of their first single, “Dancin’ in the Light (Tarbosh),” from the album “Can U Get It?”

Over the last few years, Entrain has received regular rotation on over 200 radio stations across the country. In the past several years, Entrain has performed at many radio festivals including the WEBK Mountain Jam in Killington, VT; WBMX Mixfest at Foxboro Stadium (6 years in a row) in Foxboro, MA; WKZE Street Festival in Sharon, CT; WXRV Riverfest at Boston’s City Hall Plaza; and the WXPN Singer/Songwriter Weekend at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia, PA. They have also performed at radio station sponsored concerts by WNCS (Burlington, VT), WBOS (Boston, MA), WYEP (Philadelphia, PA), WERU (Bangor, ME) and more.

Entrain has also performed at hundreds of prestigious festivals across the county, including NectarFest on Nantucket; The Newport Folk Fest; The Grassroots Festival in Trumansburg, NY; The Smokey Hill River Fest in Salina, Kansas; The Philadelphia Folk Festival; Three Rivers Arts Fest in Pittsburgh, PA; Ben & Jerry’s Festival in VT; The Bethlehem Music Fest in Bethlehem, PA; and the Berkshire Mountain Music Fest in Western MA.

The accolades for Entrain are many. Entrain recently was named by Boston Tab Newspaper Readers Choice Award winner for Best Regional Band in New England, beating out the legendary Aerosmith. They have also been named Boston Music Award winner for Best Live Show, as well as a finalist in the Discmakers Competition.

Radio believers providing regular rotation include:

WXPN — Philadelphia, PA
WYEP — Pittsburgh, PA
WXRV — Boston, MA
WMVY — Martha’s Vineyard, MA
WRNR — Annapolis, MD
KFMU — Steamboat Springs, CO
KBAC — Sante Fe, NM
KRLT — Nashville, TN
WYCE — Grand Rapids, MI
WBOS — Boston, MA
WNCS — Burlington, VT
KSPN — Aspen, CO
KTHX — Reno, NV
KRCC — Colorado Springs, CO
KCTY — Omaha, NE
KPFT — Houston, TX
WFPK — Louisville, KY
WCBE — Columbus, OH
. . . and hundreds more!

Fesitvals at which Entrain has played include:

American Music Fest — Harrisburg, PA
Newport Folk Fest — Newport, RI
Rockwood Ice Cream Festival — Wilmington, DE
WXPN Singer/Songwriters Weekend — Philadelphia, PA
Mayor’s Cup Festival & Regatta — Plattsburgh, NY
Philadelphia Folk Festival — Philadelphia, PA
Three Rivers Arts — Pittsburgh, PA
Appel Farm Music Festival — Elmer, NJ
Harvest Moon Jamboree — Turin, NY
Ben & Jerry’s Festival — Sugarbush, VT
All Good Music Festival — Alta Terra, WV
Smoky Hill River Festival — Salina, KS
Opening of the Beaches — Jacksonville Beach, FL
Berkshire Mountain Music Festival — MA
Sakonnet Rhythm & Blues Festival — Little Compton, RI
Grassroots Festival — Ithaca, NY
Roots Music Festival — Danbury, CT
Aspen Jazz Festival — Aspen, CO
Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival — Fredericton, NB, Canada
Great Hudson River Revival — Croton-on-Hudson, NY
Lilac Festival — Rochester, NY
Central PA Festival of the Arts — State College, PA
Bethlehem Music Festival — Bethlehem, PA
Feast of the Blessed Sacrament — New Bedford, MA
Camp Creek — Mariaville, NY
Celebrate Fairfax — Fairfax, VA
Alive at Five — Portland, ME
New Orleans River Festival — Pittsburgh, PA
Heritage Festival — East Providence, RI
Great Blue Heron Festival — Sherman, NY
Black Potato Music Festival — NJ
Solarfest — VT
Balloon Fest — Queechee, VT
Waterfront Park Fest — Boston, MA
Alternative Energy Fest — VT
Framingham Blues Festival — Framingham, MA
Sono Arts — Norwalk, CT
Harborfest — Boston, MA
Winter Island Blues Fest — Salem, MA
WRNR Music Festival — Annapolis, MD
Grape Jam — Erie, PA
Lake Seneca Whale Watch Festival — Geneva, NY
Gibson Guitar Festival — Newport, RI
Wormtown Music Festival — Hadley, MA
Red Hook Music Festival — NH
Providence Waterfront Festival — Providence, RI
New Bedford Whaling Blues Festival — New Bedford, MA
Bridgeton Folk Festival — Bridgeton, NJ
Taste of Amherst — Amherst, MA
Oyster Fest — Norwalk, CT
Taste of Northampton — Northampton, MA
Brewers Fest — Mount Snow, VT
Watchuset Mountain Festival — Watchuset, MA
Bayfest — Somers Point, NJ
Chowder Fest — Cape Cod Melody Tent, Hyannis, MA
Spring Gulch Folk Festival — New Holland, PA
Eagleview Harvest Festival — Exton, PA
Woods Hole Street Festival — Woods Hole, MA
Plymouth Waterfront Music Festival — Plymouth, MA
Fall River Celebrates — Fall River, MA
Oswego Harbor Festival — Oswego, NY
Falcon Ridge Folk Festival — Hillsdale, NY
Bele Chere — Asheville, NC
Musefest — Ithaca, NY
Camp Jam — Hammonton, NJ
The Reel Blues Festival — Hyannis, MA
Red Hook Music Festival — Portsmouth, NH

Instrumentation

Tom Major: drums, percussion
Sam Holmstock: African & Latin percussion, trombone, background vocals
Alex Howland: keyboards, guitar, lead vocals
Lenny Bradford: bass, percussion, background vocals
Klem Klimek: saxophone, accordian, background vocals
Derek Crowder: lead guitar

Discography

You can hear RealAudio and MP3 clips at http://entrain.com/music.asp

DSC01 — Entrain
DSC02 — Can U Get It?
DSC03 — No Matter What
DSC04 — All One
DSC05 — Entrain Live: Vol. 1, Rise Up

Official Website

http://www.entrain.com

Audio

Lyrics

• River Run
• Dancin’ In the Light
• Colorblind
• Shine On
• Letter to the World
• All One (We Are All Connected)

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• For Entrain’s latest release, Rise Up: Live, Vol. 1: [+ Show ]
  

  “From the rich percussive grooves of the short opener “Mo Drums,” this live set from the Martha’s Vi...“From the rich percussive grooves of the short opener “Mo Drums,” this live set from the Martha’s Vineyard-based sextet positively exudes energy and good vibes. The band has a big joyous sound that reflects its underlying flair as reggae, Latin and African rhythms find their way into a myriad of textures. Strong hooks are laced with great vocals and crisp guitar work but it’s the band’s rhythmic power and vocals that are its strong points. They demonstrate this in the 11-minute “Mother Street,” which begins with an almost Bo Diddley beat before sauntering off into more complex textures. Other standouts on this vibrant album are the fast-paced “Dancing in the Light” and the infectious title cut with its jazz-meets-reggae groove.”

• Live CD [+ Show ]
  

  “Live: Volume 1 Rise Up is the first live release from the eclectic Entrain. Entrain already has fiv...“Live: Volume 1 Rise Up is the first live release from the eclectic Entrain. Entrain already has five studio recordings to their credit and they continue to build their fan base by touring and via the Internet. Entrain’s live shows are consider events where dance and positive vibes rule. Each of the seven members of the group has rich musical experiences and has worked with variety of accomplished players. Each brings broad musical ideas to the stage and to their songs. Entrain is in sync and unified by their art. This Martha’s Vineyard based-band draws on a wide range of influences such as ska, reggae, calypso, jazz, blues and world. They beautifully blend African, Latin and Cajun sounds into their own unique style of music with heavy emphasis on drums. Entrain can be described as a jazz jam band but their songs are diverse reflecting different moods and modes. Live: Volume 1 Rise Up is an energetic eleven track collection that has a party vibe. “River Run” flows on strong percussions, heavenly horns and positive upbeat vocals. “Uncle Jolly” has a funky foot tapping beat, proficient horns, wild guitars and catchy vocals. “Cohiba” opens with intriguing sounds and takes off on steady drums, it has a great world flavor spiced up by expert horns and great guitars. Entrain is a fun band of proficient players and Live: Volume 1 Rise Up captures their energy and diverse sound on one vibrant CD.”
  
  Recommended Tracks: (2,3,4)
  

• Live CD [+ Show ]
  

  “(Dolphin Safe / Rounder Select) - The concept of “entrainment” stems from Mickey Hart’s book, Drum...“(Dolphin Safe / Rounder Select) - The concept of “entrainment” stems from Mickey Hart’s book, Drumming At The Edge Of Magic. In it, Hart spoke of how he and fellow Grateful Dead drummer Billy Kreutzmann would get entirely synched into a groove, seeming to let the music play them, as they strove to bring “spirit into sound.” Entrain sounds nothing like the Grateful Dead, but they do derive their name, and their “spirit into sound” philosophy from this concept. Based in Martha’s Vineyard, Entrain has always been about locking the drummers and percussionists into tight, often Afro-Caribbean, grooves, and taking the music forward from there. This live CD documents that, beginning with a solid percussion jam (“Mo Drums”) before exploding into the New Orleans meets the Caribbean groove of “River Run.” Along the way the sextet hits on the East Bay style funk of “Uncle Jolly,” the samba-ish grooves of “Cohiba,” the earthy, jam-band pop of “Anyway,” the “Who Do You Love” heartbeat of “Mother Street,” the
  
  
  dancehall ska vocals of “Dancing In The Light,” and the goofy island grooves of “Jeannie,” which is based on the “I Dream Of Jeannie” television theme song. While the band can stretch out (several songs cross the eight-minute mark, and one reaches almost to twelve), the band can also play concisely in four and five minute segments. Add to those well-constructed songs some powerful vocals, dirty guitar, funky bass, punchy horns courtesy of sax and trombone, and thoroughly entrained percussion, and you find many of the reasons Entrain has been creating dance frenzies for the last ten years and will likely be ripping it up for the next ten as well.”
  

• live CD [+ Show ]
  

  “How many drums can one band possibly own? We’re not exactly sure but we do know that you do require...“How many drums can one band possibly own? We’re not exactly sure but we do know that you do require the bass turned up quite high for this album. The style is jamming reminiscent of the Grateful Dead and Phish, but the drums and beat are alive. Insanely alive. Their drummers must be on some sort of drug to play this many beats, these elaborately.”
  -

Setlist

A typical set list might include the following songs:

Mo’ Drums
Snake Oil
Dance of the Cuban Cigar
Can’t Let Go
Uncle Jolly
Mother Street
Anyway
People Get Up
House on the Hill
Dancin’ In the Light

Sets generally run 2 for 75 minutes or 1 for 120 minutes. We’re flexible.

All original material.

You can listen to Real Audio at http://entrain.com/music.asp

Basic Requirements

Calendar