Music
Press
Print Reviews
Local act's first CD under this name
Reviewer: The Weekly Planet - Tampa
Local act Ferengata has been honing its songwriting chops while playing covers and originals all around the Bay. Fire in the Heart evinces a ... mature classic-rock sound inspired by everything from Santana to Jimmy Buffett. - Scott Harrell
Feren-Got-It
Reviewer: Internet Review - K. Fraser, Toronto
This is one fantastic CD! I just received it today from CD Baby and listened to it on my way to work ... then again on my way home! A couple of powerhouse cuts with some funky stuff in Bounce and rocker'n Fire in the Heart. Then put some sand in my thong with a little Jimmy Buffet style Me and the Captain Jim. The CD is just a rock'n right up to the lovely Latin story song of Rosa Maria. I was popping around a little too much with Fuego en mi Carazon and missed my turn coming home - but that was OK, gave me a little more time to listen to my favourite: Two in the Morning. Congratulations to you all, I would love to see you guys live.
Give it to me (Bounce)
Reviewer: GarageBand.com Reviewer
You guys have a great sound. Love the feel-good mood you send. Man, it would be a treat to see you live. Nominating you for the best feel good track
- jungamatt from Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 12Sep2006
Great Rockin Track (Two in the Morning)
Reviewer: GarageBand.com Reviewer
This is an absolute gem of a rocking track! Full use of guitars, which seems to fill the track with the odd harmony and solo here and there. The track has a great flow, rhythem and arrangement are excellent, and the icing on the cake is with the awesome vocals which don't seem to be a let down at all. Overall a tight band, a clean great production and a melody to remember!
- tometucker from Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom on 19Dec2006
Great CD!
Reviewer: D.Sutton - Mira Productions
"A diversified mix, something for everyone" D. Sutton
I Like the Island Feel. Latin, Reggae and the percussion
Reviewer: Rick C
I am contemplating buying this CD I love the mix of Latin Grooves with the little sprinkling of other styles. Excellent work from a new band!
Superb Latin-Rock! 'Rosa Maria' is a gift to the world!
Reviewer: Dorrie
Fire in the Heart is a terrific blend of Latin-Rock and a little Southern Rock as well. Made me want to move to the music and evoked genuine emotion (passion, celebration, longing, happiness). Many cuts remind me of Santana, and some are far better than Carlos' recent 'hits.' 'Rosa Maria,' the final cut, blew me away... rhythym, guitar, vocals all combine into an extraordinary expression of love.
Great music
Reviewer: Carmen
Good variety of music.
Tight groove, great guitar work. Part Jimi and part Carlos.
Reviewer: Ken
It is good to see that original music is still alive here in the form of something that is fresh and captivating. The live feel comes through clearly in the recording. Nice work.
Great CD nice melodies and driving Rock
Reviewer: Jamie
I love the CD and played it for some friends they really liked it and couldn't believe it was a local Tampa Band. Rock On!
The Fire In The Heart Feeds off of different fuels.
Reviewer: Steve
This album only has 10 songs,but it gives the listener a good feel of how well Ferengata can play different genres of music and fuse them together in an enjoyable and fun way.
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Press Releases
The news releases are in Microsoft Word format.
Press release #1 from May 1, 2006, about our upcoming CD release party.
Press release #2 from May 9, 2006, about our upcoming CD release party.
Press release #3 from May 20, 2006, about the success of the CD release party.
Details about the CD release party at Norton's Southside Sports Bar
on May 13th, 2006
- Various
Reviewer: Scott Harrell The Weekly Planet (click for website)
Local act's first CD under this name. Local act Ferengata has been honing its songwriting chops while playing covers and originals all around the Bay. Fire in the Heart evinces a ... mature classic-rock sound inspired by everything from Santana to Jimmy Buffett. - Scott Harrell – Weekly Planet
Reviewer: UBL Editor (click for website) Congratulations, Ferengata! you're UBL famous!
We are very proud and happy to share your music with our growing UBL Community. Your MUSIC & PHOTO will rotate with other Featured Genre Artists on the UBL Main Page. Exposure as a UBL Featured artist means more "UBL Chart" action, more listens to your music, and more focus on you. UBL now has three featured artists - picked by the AD Editor - every week on the ARTISTdirect site (UBL's sister site), which is one of the largest "music" destinations with over 14.9mm unique users per month and is larger than MTV which has 11.9mm uniques (Source: Media Metrix, April 2006)! Congratulations! - Ultimate Band List.com Great CD!
Reviewer: D.Sutton Producer, Writer, Broadway Playwright
"A diversified mix, something for everyone"
Reviewer: Rick C - Fan
I Like the Island Feel. Latin, Reggae and the percussion
I am buying this CD, I love the mix of Latin Grooves with the little sprinkling of other styles.
Excellent work from a new band!
Reviewer: Dorrie – Fan
Superb Latin-Rock! 'Rosa Maria' is a gift to the world! "Fire in the Heart" is a terrific blend of Latin-Rock and a little Southern Rock as well. It made me want to move to the music and evoked genuine emotion (passion, celebration, longing, happiness). Many cuts remind me of Santana, and some are far better than Carlos' recent 'hits.' 'Rosa Maria,' the final cut, blew me away... rhythym, guitar, vocals all combine into an extraordinary expression of love.
Reviewer: Carmen – Nielsen Media
Great music! I was very surprised to see the amount of Talent that can come out of our local area here in the Tampa Bay area. Your Band sounds like it has been playing for years and the CD is very professionally done and quite enjoyable. Play on Ferengata Play On! I wish you great Success!
Reviewer: Ken – Cisco Systems
Good variety of music.
Tight groove, great guitar work. Part Jimi and part Carlos.
It is good to see that original music is still alive here in the form of something that is fresh and captivating. The live feel comes through clearly in the recording. Nice work. Great CD nice melodies and driving Rock
Reviewer: Jamie - Fan
I love the CD and played it for some friends they really liked it and couldn't believe it was a local Tampa Band. Rock On!
Reviewer: Steve - Fan
Fire In The Heart Feeds off of different fuels.
This album only has 10 songs,but it gives the listener a good feel of how well Ferengata can play different genres of music and fuse them together in an enjoyable and fun way.
- Various
Review of Paradise by Ferengata
Genre: Alternative Rock 3.1
Modern Rock: Confident modern rock intro. The vocals at the beginning are a slightly too loud. The chorus is pretty good, but the male vocal could be a little more restrained, so that it meshes with the background female vocal a little better. This song is close to being done--very solid performance overall. Sounds like they've played many, many, gigs. The song gets better as is goes along.
Nice percussion part as the song goes on, effective bridge, good bass sound.
Matt_Herman
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
June 27th, 2006
Review of Paradise by Ferengata
Genre: Alternative Rock 3.1
Nice song, Good professional sound. Starts strong...however, I lost a little interest when the vocals broke in. However, the chorus is really nice. Real catchy nice harmony. The chorus hook alone makes this song good!
ChadCotter
Higley, Arizona
June 23rd, 2006
Review of Paradise by Ferengata
Genre: Alternative Rock 3.1
Not bad, I found this song easy to listen to it gives you what your ears look for musically, lyrically it's simple message. I thought the bridge was somewhat lackluster though the hook stuck out, which is what you want your song to do. I kept hearing a female vocalist in the background...thought that maybe a duet between the male and female vocalist would offer more variety. Overall an excellent effort.
Mellowwdee
San Leandro, California
June 23rd, 2006
- GarageBand.com
Review of Fuego en mi Corazon by Ferengata
Genre: World Music
Great Guitar Work and Percussion on This Song. This song has a warm lead vocal, great lead guitar work, an effective female harmony/lead vocal, and great Latin percussion in the background. Good set of lyrics, as well. Good effort. Extra Credit: Guitars, Drums, Bass, Melody, Mood.
- PsychTroub
Moberly, Missouri
June 26th, 2006
Review of Fuego en mi Corazon by Ferengata
Genre: World Music
Lyrical Guitar. I love the lyrical guitar playing of Carlos Santana and this band seems blessed with a guitar player in this melodic/lyrical vain. Male and Female vocals were very well done. Band seems cohesive and well conceived. Suprisingly, the one area of weakness that I noticed was in the drums/percussion arena. This is usually the strength of world music.
Extra Credit: Male Vocals, Female Vocals, Guitars.
- jazzmandrummin
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
June 24th, 2006
Cool song! - Anonymous
June 27th, 2006
Sounds great, Del Seb in Toronto - Anonymous - June 27th, 2006
- Garageband.com
Review of Nerd by Ferengata
Genre: Alternative Rock 3.0
Nice Lyrics. The lyrics are nice. It is witty and well constructed. It also fits the song very well. The music of the song is entertaining, but the lyrics are the deal maker!
Extra Credit: Production, Lyrics
- Babage
June 23rd, 2006
Review of Nerd by Ferengata
Genre: Alternative Rock 3.0
Nice! The feel right off the bat sort of reminds me a little bit of 311. I'm sure they are a bit of an influence on your music. The singer goes a BIT flat once the back-up vocals come in. Other than that, he's fairly solid throughout. The guitars are solid, and the tone is fine, but it seems to get lost a bit in the mix. Other than that, it's a catchy little ditty.
- MartaC
Detroit, Michigan
June 28th, 2006
Review of Nerd by Ferengata
Genre: Alternative Rock 3.0
Catchy tune! This song has an easy going feel to it. The melody is like a fast pace reggae song with a catchy chorus I can groove along to. It has a nice up tempo but the vocals are a little strained. For my taste, the vocals could come down a bit. The overall balance of the mix is very good.
Extra Credit: Guitars, Beat, Mood, Best Feel Good Track.
- prymarysmile
Buena Park, California
June 27th, 2006
- Garageband.com
Discography
'First Light' by Feedback/Ferengata BMI 2000 available at: www.cdbaby.com/feedback
'Fire in the Heart' by Ferengata BMI 2006 available at: www.cdbaby.com/ferengata
Photos
Bio
Debut CD 'Fire in the Heart ' currently available on CD Baby, on their website (http://www.ferengata.com) and in selected stores in Florida.
Ferengata delivers a refreshing, original and intelligent brand of hook-heavy, enjoyable melodic pop rock, which hints at Santana with lyrical lead guitars and rhythmic beats, and also has the influence of good solid classic rock mixed with the rhythmic variety of the islands. Ferengata is an edgy rock band that pays attention to the details required to put on an excellent performance.
David Laracuente has recently put the finishing touches on the Florida based band’s new album 'Fire in The Heart'. The music that unfolds from this collection mixes a timeless brand of classic pop with updated alternative and rhythmic styles. Originally hailing from the big city of New York David Laracuente’s own musical background began at a young age when his parents encouraged him to play guitar. Weaned on bands such as The Beatles and The Who from the early radio days, Dave later fell in love with the sounds of British hard rock and the sweet sounds coming out of Motown. In 1971 Dave formed his first band Spice. 'Spice' was an acclaimed success in New York and opened for acts such as the 'The Isley Brothers' and 'Patti Labelle' amongst other artists of the day. 'Spice' recorded an album for boxing promoter 'Don King' at American Star Studios (West Virginia) ... a single from that album 'Everything is you' reached #16 on the Billboard Soul Charts.
In the late 1970’s Dave formed the Band 'Spring Fever' which was named one of New York City's ten most promising bands by WNBC radio and affiliates in 1980.
One of Dave's songs entitled 'Sneaking in the Back Door' was selected to be included on the 'WNBC Hometown Album' release in 1980 by DJ and Music Mogul Don Imus. After 'Spring Fever' broke up Dave went on to play as a studio musician for many recordings in some of America's finest Recording Studios including New York's 'Electric Ladyland Studios', 'The Hit Factory', and 'The PowerStation', among others. Dave continues to write a majority of 'Ferengata's' original music. He has written music for both TV and radio, including shows on 'HBO' 'Access Hollywood' for European radio and television. Dave’s song 'Celebration' also continues to be played on XM radio, Sirius satellite radio and played in Concert in many European countries.
In 1999 Dave partnered with Canadian songwriter and musician Del Aitchison. Del has been playing music since the age of 5, and serves as producer, bassist, keyboardist and vocalist in 'Ferengata'. Strongly influenced by Canadian Rock, he grew up listening to April Wine, Trooper, Rush, Kim Mitchell, The BareNaked Ladies, The Guess Who, BTO, Fludd, Goddo, Triumph, and many other Canadian acts. Of course, he also has many favorite bands from the US and Europe. Additionally, Del has a love for country and folk music, including Canadians Gordon Lightfoot, Murray McGlaughin, George Fox, Bruce Cockburn and others. A talented singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, he started his first band 'Feedback' at the age of 15 when he was living in Southern Alberta, Canada. For more than a dozen years they performed in Western Canada and became regionally well-known. In the late ‘90’s, Del relocated to Florida, and teamed up with Dave Laracuente to create the Florida version of 'Feedback' (now Ferengata). Del has had the privilege of appearing onstage with "Mark Gray (Exile)" and "Kenny Olson (Twisted Brown Trucker Band)" as well as opening for "Southbound" and "Salvador". His songs included on the new CD are "Two in the Morning" (a semi-autobiographical rocker which includes tributes to Murray McLaughlin and April Wine), "Fast Track Baby" and "Me and the Captain and Jim". Songs penned by Del have added another dimension to the variety of musical styles played by Ferengata.
Jose Lorenzo is "Ferengata’s Drumcussionist". He was born in Cuba in 1973 and moved to NYC in 1980. There he grew up listening to all different types of music: Hip Hop, Latin (Cuban, Salsa, Merengue), Rock, and later Club music (House, Techno, etc.), Reggae and Jazz were part of his normal listening routine. He began playing drums in 1994 and percussion in 1996 and has mastered many of the styles of music he listened to. His playing combines technique, feeling, and showmanship. In New York, Jose served as drummer for three original bands (Birthmark, Peter’s Blade, and Anomie Mind) from 1994 to 2003. Working with these bands lead to studio work from 1995 to 2002. He also appeared live in top NYC & NJ venues and Clubs such as CBGBs, Continental, Downtime, Coney Island High, Don Hill’s, Maxwell’s, Love Sexy, Pyramid, China Club and Club Deep, among others.
We would like to acknowledge and give special thanks to our guest vocalists on the CD:
Tammy Dry (who finished in the top 14 finalists out of 2500 entrants for the worldwide “Voice of McDonald’s” competition)
George “Definite” Ab
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