Andrew Vait & The Eternal Fair

The second band to hit the stage was Andrew Vait and the Eternal Fair. They blew me away, sounding like a much more seasoned band than their short time together would indicate. “Brightest Star,” a brand new song, kicked off the set. Andrew Vait entered with a high pitched vocal at times nearing a falsetto comparable to Jeff Buckley. It became clearer as the set carried on that Vait can wail with the best of them. - Melophobe

You have to give props to someone who plays Nina Simone and then two songs later plays “Billy Jean.” Goodness, I was impressed. I plan on seeing him in concert again with his band, Andrew Vait and the Eternal Fair. - Little Seattle Observationalist

Andrew Vait is one cocky fella.
It's a good thing he's a nice guy.
Give a cocky fella a helluva voice —and nice guy becomes a rock star — and you had better be ready to be entertained.
You might remember this young Homer musician, now 22, playing a saxophone and wearing aviators around town. This week, catch him once again, sans saxophone and armed with his rock 'n' roll vision, The Skinny.
This fall, Vait will enter his last semester at the University of Miami, where he's been studying jazz, and where he met the four other members of The Skinny and took a stab at changing the music scene there.
Miami clubs, soaked in perpetual humid sweat, are saturated with DJs spinning thumping beats. The Skinny figured the music market wasn't entirely tapped, and set out to give rock 'n' roll another chance. Bit by bit, they're seeing it happen, they said.
Vait's more-than-able guitarist, Evan Lamb, 22, said injecting rock in a DJ scene was going to be a challenge from the start.
"It's all DJs. That's the South Beach scene," Lamb said.
"We tried to change that with playing the four-hour marathon of cover songs," Vait said.
They developed enough original material to record in January. You know how the story goes: new band sells a few records, people catch on and start singing the songs at the clubs. Then, they travel 7,000 miles to play in Alaska … for two shows … practically for free.
Fast forward to tonight: you should head to Solstice Music on Bunnell Avenue for their CD re-release party from 6 to 8 p.m., where Lamb and Vait will perform their originals.
Vait describes those songs as neo-soul-blues-rock — and he's absolutely right.
Their original tunes share a likeness to southern rock bands The Black Crowes, Blues Traveler, and G-Love and the Special Sauce — sprinkled with some Candlebox and Red Hot Chili Peppers antics.
Clearly, the band has its influences, and they are strong ones. So also is its original identity — of which listeners receive bright flashes throughout the music.
"It's because we go to jazz school that we're slightly more intricate," Vait said.
That fact, Vait said, is also the reason they figured out the formula for successful songs — and they use it to become their very own. Portions of the album are extremely powerful and layered. It's a fun listen, for sure. Still other segments of solid instrumentals are laced with lyrical surface-romantics. But Vait saves grace as he seemingly gives in to his more natural, primal urge to sing.
As long as these characters continue working together, growth and depth are eminent residuals of the effort. And the album is proof these guys have fun making music.
The record might help those who knew Vait growing up to see where he's taken music so far.
Vait said the music comes from an organic place — something he realized as confronted with the technical teachings of their schooling.
"We feel our music," he said.
Vait said coming from Homer, he grew up "feeling" his music more than knowing what was happening technically.
Lamb said the people of Homer can expect to see a "very different Andrew Vait" than what they were used to.
If you can't catch the CD release party tonight, cruise over to the Karen Hornaday Park on Sunday, where The Skinny will play Concert on the Lawn backed by locals Steve Rich and Luke Roberts. Both shows are for all ages.
For more information about The Skinny, check out their MySpace offering, or their Web site at www.theskinnyrocks.com. - Homer Tribune

If The Skinny is a representation of what could be out there as far as local bands are concerned, then listeners are in for a pleasant surprise.

The Skinny's self-titled album is a satisfying mixture of blues and rock. The opening track, "Running From a Sunday Afternoon", is a perfect introduction to the band; the single best representation of what they can do. Unfortunately, by the end of the album, there are many other representations of what they can do as well.

Tracks like "Pretty Side of Town" and "One Voice" seem misplaced within the context of the rest of the album. The lyrics for "Pretty Side of Town" come off like they were conceived in an album confessional. Other songs like "Baby Please," and "Get Sober" feel like they belong on another album altogether, which isn't necessarily a bad thing (diversity is always welcome) but compared with the rest of the album, the heavy demeanors feel almost as intrusive as the album cover.

Despite these missteps, this is a mellow album overall that seems keen on appealing to everyone. When The Skinny slow down, and they do slow down, their music feels more concentrated and interesting; like in songs "Tripping Over You," "25 Chester Street" and "Try So Hard." This is a band that's most enjoyable when they're not trying so hard to vie for your attention.

The Skinny's self-titled album probably works best if each song is looked at as its own entity rather than part of a larger whole. Because the album doesn't feel like a collective effort of songs, it comes off like a crossroad with no "right way." This isn't to say the album is a complete loss in direction. It just sometimes needs a guiding finger and some patience.
- The Miami Hurricane