FULL TILT
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FULL TILT

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Band Rock Alternative

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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Press


"Next Big Thing"

"I am very impressed by the group's talent! They bring an innovative sound to rock similar to Tool...but even more powerful! From the lyrics, to the sound, to the energy...I really think they have a chance at becoming the NEXT BIG THING! I look forward to hearing the continued growth and new music that is Full Tilt."

-Frankie V.
Frankie's Neighborhood
WKSS/Kiss 95.7 Hartford, CT - Frankie V.


"The Next Level"

...a modern rock 5-piece that had a hard sound and catchy melodies...Full Tilt simply stole the show and the fan votes proved they are ready to take their act to the next level.

-Christian Henderson
Bodog Music - Bodog Music


"A Great Image"

Full Tilt has always been a band to bring the rock to the stage, but this time around they really impressed the hell out of me. This band has a great image and the vocal melodies really carry the fantastic instrumentation.

-Nic Robertson
Bodog Music - Bodog Music


"...Catchy Hard Rock"

"Full Tilt's CD is full of catchy hard rock gems played with passion! They will not disappoint you!"
- Bruce Kulick / KISS, Union, Grand Funk Railroad - Bruce Kulick


"Full Tilt's Live Review"

...Full Tilt were clearly the stars of the evening as they launched into an obviously well rehearsed, tight set. Molaison's velvet jacket and baby Mohawk clashed with the genre of the evening but his energy woke up a slowly slipping audience. Assailing the audience with his high, yet controlled voice, he encouraged everyone to forget they had work the next day. Combining an almost funk-like vocal style with machine-gun guitars and snare-happy drums, Full Tilt are late 90's rock incarnate. As they went into "Push" with its soaring vocals that morph into harsh yells of the title and understated two-chord guitars, they took the audience back to 8th grade, several were in fact wearing JNCO pants and chain wallets. Their style was pretty much set as each song had a similar pattern of building up to a plateau accompanied by a melodic guitar tone and then building up once more to the chorus. They did vary it up with a cover of the Foo Fighters' "The Pretender," where we finally got to see some range from each member as they machine-gunned the song out with enthusiasm mock-anger. Thanking everyone humbly for showing up, they left the stage for the final act of the night... - Northeast Performer


"Full Tilt thrives on the diversity of it's style"

The much maligned hard rock/heavy metal realm doesn’t often boast a band with consistent melodic hooks, and songs and vocals that are energetic and involving.

When you do encounter such an outfit, you usually call them “Aerosmith.” But the fledgling Full Tilt might have something to say about that. Hear their music on their MySpace page.

The quintet of Berklee College of Music products is celebrating its debut album “Push” at 8 tonight at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge.

Joining Full Tilt on the bill will be Debris and Crash Mountain. Tickets are $15.

Diverse pedigrees

One clue to Full Tilt’s infectious melodies is the diverse pedigrees of its members: New Orleans-bred singer/songwriter Justin Molaison, New Hampshire-born bassist Adam Wiedmer, Miami-bred drummer Mark Molina and guitarists Mike Fretwell from Boise, Idaho, and Ben Olendzki from Barre, Mass.

“When we first came to Boston for college, Mike (Fretwell) and I were roommates,” Molaison said. “I had been doing a lot of my work as an acoustic singer/songwriter without any real edge. Believe it or not, I had never been around an electric guitar until I got to Berklee. Mike and I just started collaborating, writing and playing music.

“We met the other guys through house parties, jam sessions and so on.”

Hole to fill

A friend of Molaison’s from high school played bass on the band’s 2006 self-titled EP. But when the friend decided to head back to New Orleans to get married, the band had a hole to fill.

Fretwell and Olendzki, who were working at Daddy’s Junky Music in Boston at the time, knew just the guy, and Wiedmer was recruited.

All that diversity is reflected in the musical tastes of the band’s members. Wiedmer is a jazz fusion fan, heavily into Frank Zappa, while Fretwell is “a diehard blues fan,” who loves showing up at local jams.

Olendzki likes to veer between rock and metal guitar.

Molina played punk rock in high school, but then moved into reggae, R&B and hip-hop.

Molaison grew up in a house full of classic rock, but also delved into New Orleans’ vast menu of music.

“I think the nicest thing I got out of seeing all those Louisiana bands was the showmanship,” Molaison said. “Those bands, whatever style they are, can command an audience. I would be completely in awe of these Bourbon Street bands and the way they’d have such fun with their audiences.”

Of course, he hastened to mention that the Justin Molaison enjoying all those wild nights on Bourbon Street was a quiet, acoustic guitar kind of guy. It is doubtless a big step from that persona to the Mohawk-wearing lead singer of a boisterous rock band.

Things have changed

“I’m hoping we can get a New Orleans date (on an upcoming tour), because my friends from home won’t believe I’m doing what I’m doing,” Molaison said. “The little guy in the corner of the coffeehouse that they knew has really changed.”

As the band honed its style in clubs across New England (the group is particularly big in Fitchburg), the song writing also evolved.

Songs off the new CD like “Far From Gone,” “So Cold,” and “What If I” may have begun as Molaison acoustic outings, but soon grew.

“I still write with an acoustic guitar, and love to make demos of new material, just laying down the basic track. But then when I bring it to the rest of the band, with all their different backgrounds, it always changes and develops in all sorts of new ways,” he said.

That eclectic style has been great for the band but it also left Full Tilt in a sort of genre limbo during its formative years.

“Our style was hard to promote at first, so we had to be proactive,” Molaison said. “We went out to clubs and scouted lots of other bands, finding ones that we felt would fit with us, and then pitching clubs a whole night of our kind of rock.

“Some of our favorites to play with are Township and (Duxbury’s) TAB the Band.”

Full Tilt has been getting airplay locally on WBCN, WAAF, and Cape Cod’s WPXY. But a dozen stations outside the area recently started playing the songs as well.

Growing fan base

“We got lucky for some reason in and around Fitchburg, so we’ve been able to go out there, and to Gardner, every couple months,” Molaison said. “For some reason we have this huge fan base in the Route 2 corridor, and we play there more often than Boston.”

You can can buy “Push” at the www.fulltiltrocks.com Web site or from cdbaby, amazon.com, ITunes, Newbury Comics, or FYE stores. - Jay Miller - Patriot Ledger


"FULL TILT Gives Fans a Taste of Upcoming Album"

http://www.hippopress.com/music/nite070426b.html

FULL TILT IS FULL OF ENERGY
"Band gives fans a taste of upcoming album with songs on MySpace"
By Erica Febre

One way to check how committed and loyal your fans are is to make them wait two years for a new album.

That's how Full Tilt, a Boston-based rock band, ranks the loyalty of their fans.

Their last album was a self-titled EP in 2003. Full Tilt now has more than 20 original tracks not yet on a CD. So how do their loyal fans keep up to date on new material? The Internet.

"MySpace really is such a huge promoting place, in so many ways. Like, we can put a new song up there and by the time we get out to play it at a show, everyone already knows it," said Justin Molaison with Full Tilt.

Full Tilt is Molaison on vocals, Mike Fretwell on guitar and vocals, Mark Molina on drums, Ben Olendzki on rhythm guitar, and Adam Widmer on bass and vocals.

It might sound like Full Tilt is doing a bit of bragging, but with almost 12,000 MySpace friends and fans they must be doing something right (for one thing, they are constantly recording new songs that they then post so their fans can hear them). What's really keeping those fans loyal is a sound that Full Tilt describes as hard-hitting and heavy rock.

"Take the energy of the Chili Peppers with some of the groove and hooks of Seven Dust and then incorporate just a little bit of that dark side of Tool, throw it in a blender and you get Full Tilt," Olendski said.

Full Tilt said some of their loyal fans have been known to travel to all their shows.

"We see a lot of the same faces at every single show, whether we're in New Hampshire or in Massachusetts. Without even hearing our stuff, outside of live shows, I can sing and everybody in the audience will be singing right back," said Widmer.

Full Tilt is recording a full-length album. They hope to have it finished by the end of the year but will release a sample teaser this summer. - Manchester Hippo Press April 2007


"Up and Comers - Mar '09"

After more than three years, Full Tilt, a five-piece hard rock band from Boston, will be releasing their second full-length album late this month. The band, who recently took the stage with fellow Up and Comers Griffon, embraces the brand of hard rock established by bands like Sevendust and Tool, two of the band’s influences.

Full Tilt is the kind of band that would fit into any rock radio station rotation. They are enough like other bands to gain wide popularity and still different enough to be well worth listening to.

Vocalist Justin Molaison has the ability to sing a melody beautifully and scream with anger when the song calls for it. His voice is controlled and polished and he escapes the stigma of a local frontman who tries too hard. In Molaison's voice you can hear that he has confidence in the material, which is as good as that of any other act emerging right now. He also seems to have a great deal of confidence in his own voice, which is a nice change on the local music scene, too often littered with musicians who are unsure of themselves.

The band's music is a perfect complement to Molaison's voice and lyrics. With catchy hooks and a beat you can dance to, the music opens the band to a wide range of fans. Whether you prefer head banging, dancing, or quietly listening to talented musicians, whether you're someone who grew up on hard rock or are a teen just discovering your love for music, Full Tilt's songs will hold something for you.

Full Tilt also puts on a great live show. There is nothing worse than being excited to see a band only to be disappointed by their live show. Full Tilt understands that a live show is an opportunity to make career-long fans and they take full advantage of that opportunity. Their music sounds great and their performance is filled with contagious energy that you can't help but appreciate. When watching a band who so clearly loves their music and what they're doing, it's hard not to enjoy the show and the music.

To buy or listen to FT’s music, watch previous performances or find a schedule of their upcoming shows, visit myspace.com/fulltiltrocks. - Worcester Pulse Magazine


Discography

FULL TILT - FULL TILT
FULL TILT - PUSH - MARCH '09

Photos

Bio

Five musicians from four corners of the country converged in Boston, resulting in THE hardest rocking band in the New England Area: FULL TILT. Each member brings a unique musical taste and style into creating Full Tilt's distinctive, yet unmistakably edgy sound.

"Take the energy of the Chili Peppers with the groove of Sevendust and that dark side of Tool, throw it in a blender and you get Full Tilt."
- Hippo Press

Full Tilt recorded their self-titled debut EP in 2003 and their first full-length record will be out this year featuring fourteen original songs. Full Tilt brings a unique style of uptempo rock to their high-energy shows.

"great image and vocal melodies really carry the fantastic instrumentation."
- Bodog Music

While playing live, Full Tilt proves that a serious love of music should always be distilled with a heavy dose of balls to the wall, head-banging rock. Full Tilt continues to deliver as long as there are people in the world who want their music turned up all the way.

"Wear a helmet while listening."
- Julie Kramer / WFNX