DC-3

Powerful songs, beautiful songs, get-up-and-jump-around songs, sit-back-and-take-it-all-in songs – all of them with great melodies, vocal harmonies and a strong musical backbone of drums, bass and guitar. Woven with classic rock/pop songwriting sensibilities and strong yet sensitive lyrics, dc-3’s music is both uplifting and memorable. And that’s not just hot air; look around the audience at their next concert. You’ll see their fans singing along. And more importantly, you’ll see other people start to sing along with them.

On stage, lead vocalist/drummer Derek Cintron plays the drums standing up, simultaneously handling the lead vocal chores. And he doesn’t just play the parts. He delivers the material with incredible energy and passion, pushing his voice to the limit and attacking the drums as if his life depends upon how well he’s playing. When compounded with Fernando Perdomo’s ferocious bass playing and Tony Medina’s aggressive yet agile guitar work, the resulting physical performance is both powerful and riveting (Tony and Fernando take on backing vocals and keyboards as well).

Without a doubt, these guys have their own sound – and it’s a BIG one. It’s classic arena pop-rock, and it’s meant to be played in arenas and theaters, not elitist clubs where only the 200 “coolest” people in town can get in. This is music for the people, not necessarily the critics. They have an Aerosmith/Lenny Kravitz kind of crowd – diverse, with the one unifying element being the love of good music. And while dc-3 definitely has the nostalgic, old-school pop-rock thing down, they add a fresh spin to it with their high-energy performances. Maybe that’s what gives their music its timeless quality and appeal. Their stuff could be released in 1977 or 2007; either way it would still be relevant.

Take “Keep Me Waiting”, for example. Pink Floyd might have written this between Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here. But the song is driven by a modern pop vocal arrangement, with lush harmonies and a smooth, breathy lead vocal that climaxes at just the right spot. “Stay” could be an undiscovered Queen or Beatles track, with Velvet Revolver’s Slash making a guest appearance on lead guitar.

Despite being rooted in classic rock/pop, the songs often incorporate unexpected influences and/or odd combinations of influences. “The One” kicks off with a drum intro inspired by the Steve Miller Band, dives head-first into a Zeppelin-esque riff for the verse, then blossoms into a harmony-laden chorus best described as The Jackson 5 singing over a salsa bass line. “Where I Want To Be” dynamically varies between soft acoustic guitar and powerful arena rock before erupting into a fully orchestrated symphony, with uplifting, gospel-like vocals coming in at the end to take it all home.

Lyrically, dc-3 nails it on the interpersonal/introspective stuff. “Too Much Time Has Passed” beautifully describes the inner turmoil encountered while trying to better one’s self. “Divorced” depicts an adulterous liaison with a married woman. On “Athena”, a lament about wanting to keep the girlfriend and “the girl on the side”, the vocal performance and the sentiment in the lyric is so genuine, you find yourself feeling for the guy! But that’s only half the story, because the band covers as much ground lyrically as they do musically...