Artist Information
Biography
Sometime late in the year 2000, starving singer/songwriter/guitarist Art Perry experienced the profound joys of an official: “Country Music Day:”
The wife left, the car broke down, and the tropical fish died.
Over in the corner of the kitchen, he stumbled across a battered mail-order acoustic guitar that his now former mother-in-law had once purchased for his stepson. The E string was missing. He picked it up, tuned it as best he could, strummed a few chords and quickly realized that he was doomed to return to a life of musical joy and frustration.
In due time he met Nancy. He loved her voice, and she had some great musical ideas. More importantly she tolerated him. They fell in love, moved in together and started making music.
Looking for a place to begin recording, a friend from Art’s work recommend a guy in Philly named, Kevin Joella. He had a pretty cool track record and didn’t seem to mind when Art smoked in the studio so long as he kept it out of the control room. As they later learned, Kevin played a pretty mean guitar. The basis for The Essentials was formed.
Later they added Eddie Albrecht on drums. The consummate rock drummer, Poor Eddie had initially agreed to just, “fill in for a bit,” while another drummer they’d been working with was recovering from surgery. Well, next thing you know Eddie’s wearing an Essentials t-shirt while him and Art drank cheap beer at the kitchen table. He was in.
Louis Vasile was teaching guitar full time. They needed a bass player. Close enough. Louis was super-talented and had rock ‘n roll hair. Somehow signals got crossed; Louis initially thought he was signing up to play guitar, then he saw Kevin in action and decided that the bass was an expressive instrument that truly deserved some serious consideration.
Over time they developed a sound that’s unpretentious and genuinely fun. Music for the music lover who hasn’t forgotten that above all else music is supposed to provide joy and pleasure to the listener.
Their new CD, “Sunny Day,” is a fascinating and entertaining tapestry of rock, ballads, and country. Coupled with their distinctly stylistic vocals, pleasing, intelligent lyrics, and first-rate musicianship, it offers a clean break from the morass of the everyday.
Check them out; It's, "Rock 'n Roll Reborn." With melody, harmony and not a bit of overt foul language.
By the way, Nancy and Art later married. (Please pity her people.) They spent their honeymoon under the neon in Wildwood, NJ.
Instrumentation
Art Perry: vocals, guitar. Nancy Gibson: vocals, shakers. Kevin Joella: lead guitar, keys, backing vocals. Louie Vasile: bass, guitar, Eddie Albrecht: drums.
Discography
Cds: Art Perry At Large, True Stories, Surfin' The Cosmos, The Marshmallow Theory, Sunny Day.
Singles: A Jerry Springer Christmas
You can check out streaming audio at our website:
www.essentialsrock.com
Or Myspace:
www.myspace.com/justtheessentials
Audio
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Cigarettes and Lies
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I Don't Care
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Sunny Day
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Man or God
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Secret Thing Called Love
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Can I Be Your Hero (Extended Version)
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Free Man
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There Was A Time
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Broken Heros
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Luckiest Girl in the World
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Lamppost Blues
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It is Time
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Terrytown
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I Need A Lover
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Bells of Freedom
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The Peace Song (I Know)
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A Jerry Springer Christmas
Listen
Lyrics
Video
Press
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FROM: Michael Angel, "Cosmic Grab Bag."
[+ Show ]
“Sunny Day" takes you back to a time when people knew how to write a great song and deliver it with ...
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FROM: Jeremiah Sutherland, "Bullfrog Music"
"Don’t try to place this music in a style or time period, just enjoy…"
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From: Mike G. Fan, U.S.A.
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“Most main stream bands you get a couple of good songs and the rest of the album you can toss. With ...
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FROM: Shashona, "IndieShowcase."
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“The Essentials new release Sunny Day & Other Groovy Mega Super Hits is a listeners dream album…It g...
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FROM: Jerry Inman, "Blues and Boogie."
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“Had the CD on the play list Monday afternoon, and it (the entire cd) has been there all week! Track...
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FROM: Bob Holt, author, freelance writer.
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"These are talented people out there paying there dues. Before you sit down to watch, "American Idol...
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FROM: Mr. Koras, Poland
"Good luck! Your music is great!"
Setlist
We customize our set lists to fit specific venues and/or audiences. A typical set is 9-10 songs, the number of sets depends on the requirements of the venue. We mix in covers of some of our favorite artists such as: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Santana, The Ventures, Wilson Picket, Marshall Tucker etc. Typical sets are 45-50 min., 2, 3, or 4 sets, depending on the venue.
