A Play On Words
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A Play On Words

Clearwater, Florida, United States | SELF

Clearwater, Florida, United States | SELF
Band Alternative Acoustic

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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"AOTD: A Play On Words"

Charlie Foti, the frontman of Clearwater's A Play On Words, has been writing Christian-tinged acoustic emo-pop songs in the vein of Dashboard Confessional or NeverShoutNever for a couple of years (Say Anything and The Scene Aesthetic are big influences, he says), and started playing live shows last summer. He sings and plays guitar and piano, and has rotated through a handful of accompanying musicians, but has settled on a lineup: Stephen Juliano on bass and Andrew Foti on percussion.

"The sound I'm going for is somewhere between acoustic and pop and that you can dance to," Charlie says. "When I write songs, I basically come at it in either of two ways -- poppy and upbeat, or really organic indie and sort of down, like my song Not Today."

You can catch A Play on Words at 7 p.m. Friday at Transitions Art Gallery at the Skatepark of Tampa, alongside John Gold, the Sun Society, Old North East, John Allen and more. All ages, $7. Click here for details. - TBT


"Artist of the Day: A Play On Words"

Clearwater trio A Play on Words — Charlie Foti on vocals and guitar; Andrew Foti, drums, and Stephen Juliano, bass — played their first official show together at Fubar in St. Petersburg last January. They perform an effervescent blend of folk pop and the past decade’s emo-tinged rock, a la Say Anything and Dashboard Confessional.

This weekend, the band will release an EP, A Piece Of Wonder, with a show at 8 p.m. Saturday with Come Now Sleep, Aria Novos and Late Night Glory, at Pangea Cafe, 34 N Fort Harrison Ave, Clearwater. Free. (727) 443-5040.

After the jump, check out Julie Garisto's full interview with Charlie Foti about the band's unique sound and Christian influences...



Wordy young men: Clearwater trio A Play on Words — Charlie Foti on vocals and guitar; Andrew Foti, drums, and Stephen Juliano, bass — played their first official show together at Fubar in St. Petersburg last January. They perform an effervescent blend of folk pop and the past decade’s emo-tinged rock, a la Say Anything and Dashboard Confessional. Charlie answers questions for tbt*.

Oh brothers, where art thou? Charlie on his and Andrew’s relationship as siblings and musical partners: “Well, I feel like being in the band has definitely made us more friendly. We don’t usually get into fights that siblings usually get into anymore. We were both in an ensemble before Andrew joined my band, and before that we used to just jam. I feel like over the years of playing music with him we can sort of read each other while playing music.”

Musical inspiration: “Our influences are extremely different. My favorite band of all time is Copeland. After that, I’m a huge fan of Say Anything, The Devil Wears Prada, Sunny Day Real Estate, Saves The Day and Bright Eyes. My brother Andrew listens to heavy music, like Confide, Chelsea Grin, Asking Alexandria and We Came As Romans. He also listens to bands like The Sound of Animals Fighting and The Appleseed Cast. Stephen is huge into Rush and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. He also likes really fast complex metal like Children of Bodom. Whenever we practice he’s always slapping the bass and bringing the funk.”

Personal inspiration: “Well, as a Christian, Jesus’ teaching and influence sort of streams through every aspect of my life. Whatever I do, I do it in a Biblical perspective, since that is my world-view. I write from a biblical perspective and that is why Jesus is a major influence.”

Continuously growing: “We have not stopped adding people to the band. Only God knows how A Play On Words will sound when it fully matures (laughs again).”

Their new CD: A Piece of Wonder. “When it came to titling the CD, we were completely clueless,” Charlie confessed. “We actually held a competition on our Facebook page, where fans submit suggested titles and win a free copy of the CD if their title was picked. We picked this title because it stuck to the APOW acronym and it sounded well-suited for the songs and genre of the CD.”

Three things you should know about the CD: “One, no Auto-Tune. Two, every song has its own feel, its own dynamic that adds to the CD’s experience, and three, The CD has a very original feel to it. The genre that we are classified to, in my opinion, hasn’t produced something like this CD since Dashboard Confessional’s Places You Have Come To Fear The Most, which came out in 2001.”

Seeing them live: “Well, we always bring a lot of energy to our set. We play our songs differently on stage than in the studio, so there are perks to coming to the show.”

Hanging out in Downtown Clearwater: “Downtown is a great place. They’re really making it look pretty down there. We play at Pangea often, which is why we’re having our EP release party there.”

If they were to score a TV commercial: “Hmm, well, I think our song Only At The Right Time could be played during an airline commercial. It has that whole 'I can’t wait to be with you again’ vibe to it ... Or our song TJS could be played for a cruise commercial, because it’s about breaking away from the mundane things in life and being happy.”

Hear them: 8 p.m. Saturday with Come Now Sleep, Aria Novos and Late Night Glory, at Pangea Cafe, 34 N Fort Harrison Ave, Clearwater. Free. (727) 443-5040. mypsace.com/aplayonwordstheband. - Tampa Bay Times


Discography

The Acoustic EP (2009)
1. Here's Your Song
2. Criss Cross
3. This Is Why
4. They're (Not) Us
5. All Those Bulletins
(http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-acoustic-ep/id367712081)

A Piece Of Wonder EP (2010)
1. Only At The Right Time
2. Day One
3. This Is Why
4. Criss Cross
5. Not Today
6. The Mess
7. T.J.S.
(http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-piece-of-wonder/id376888916)

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Bio

A Play On Words was first established as an acoustic act. Frontman Charlie Foti went to the studio to record a four song demo during Spring Break of 2009. Since then he as constantly been writing and developing his own style of indie acoustic songs. During the summer of 2009, Charlie played shows non-stop, acquiring a different group of fans at every show. In the winter of 2009 Charlie recruited his brother Andrew on percussion and friend Stephen Juliano on bass. They played their first show as a trio New Year's Day 2010. Fifteen days later they recorded their EP "A Piece Of Wonder". APOW then continued playing with local acts around Tampa for a few months. Once gaining enough popularity to throw a headlining EP Release show, they threw a release show in May of 2010 to a completely packed cafe with a capacity of 120 people. This was an astounding feat for the band, considering all the work they put into it. Charlie and Stephen were in 11th grade at the time, and Andrew was only in 8th. They even contacted the local newspapers and music magazines and they helped promote the show. With two EPs now on iTunes, APOW gained online popularity as well as local. After a few member changes Stephen switched to electric guitar and Evan Hildreth started playing bass. A Play On Words is still playing as many shows as possible while in high school. They have had the opportunities to share the stage with Universal Motown's He Is We, Tooth & Nails' Poema, Queen's Club, Swimming With Dolphins, Hopeless's Amber Pacific, Victory's The Scenic, Drive Thru's Halifax, Loveway's Carter Hulsey, and many more. APOW is currently in the studio recording for their much anticipated full length.