Parker House and Theory
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Parker House and Theory

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"Musically ready to Graduate"

Making the leap from a hugely popular college band...
Making the leap from a hugely popular college band to the Boston club circuit is never easy, but Emerson College's Parker House and Theory seems to be poised to do that in a big way.

The band which headlines the Middle East Downstairs tonight, has been one of the staples on the Emerson scene for the last couple of years, but thanks to a large grass-roots buzz, they have emerged as one ofBeantown's next generation of acts to watch thanks to their diverse musical approach and tight stage dynamic.

"We're really proud of what we've done and what our reputation is at Emerson, but we're just about to take the next step and so far its been encouraging," said lead vocalist Eric-jon Tasker, who graduated from Emerson two years ago. A former acting major, who has put his theatrical aspirations on hold to concentrate full time on the band, he said he hopes the band is able to do more then just bang out their music in Boston cubs every couple of weeks.

We hope to be able to create a community of like minded groups which may have also had some success on the college level and make it easier for all of us to find our place in the club scene, which is obviously so hard to crack in this area," Tasker said.

Lead guitarist Carlos Foglia, another acting major will graduate in two weeks, but the band's Emerson connection will still be in place as drummer Marcos Valles, bassist Colin Lewis and harmonica player Andy Wesby continue at the school. "Being a part of Emerson is crucial," says Foglia.

"We are the band that so many people come to for functions or we've gotten a great deal of film scoring or studio projects to work on. That's the benefit of being a working musician in a school of actors and filmmakers, and the like. At Berklee there's hundreds of band; at Emerson there's just a few and we happen to be among the most popular."

The group, which released its CD debut "Slide Down," earlier this year could casually be called a jam band in the tradition of .moe or Blues Traveler, but that would be unfairly pigeonholing them. The 11 songs are diverse and fiercely musical.

"Our goal right now is to follow in the tradition of other acts that have made major inroads through the grass-roots method," says Foglia. "We want to play in as many cities as possible, do as many shows as we can and play out as often as possible. That's how you get the music heard. It may sound corny, but my goal is to go out and make people smile."

By Ken Capobianco
Globe correspondent - The Boston Globe


"Specious Footloose Metaphor Below"

Let's hear it for the boy. Or boys, rather. Kevin ...
Let's hear it for the boy. Or boys, rather. Kevin Bacon's got nothing on these guys. While the local lads of Parker House and Theory are not a Footloose-worshipping, Kevin Bacon tribute band, they certainly have what it takes to make you get up and dance. PHAT don't need to make a heartfelt plea at the town hall meeting proclaiming that dancing is not a sin. Nor do they need to convince the uptight, conservative minister that they're good enough to bang his daughter (they are), while simultaneously igniting a town's desire to dance their collective ass off. These guys rely on their bluestastic rock and soulicious jams to get you jumping. Their bursting melodies will make you bust out your best white-man-overbite moves. Everybody cut loose with them ... - The Weekly Dig


"Performance left fans wanting more O.A.R."

Myrtle Street in front of the Merrill Auditorium was blocked off Thursday night in preparation for a revolution – a musical one.

Roots-rock jam band O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) brought its revolutionary blend of rock, funk, reggae, jazz and power ballads to Portland for a rousing two-hour performance.

Boston-based Parker House and Theory opened with an impressive seven-song set that garnered a standing ovation from O.A.R.'s faithful throng. The five-piece band got the crowd's blood pumping with a fusion of rock, pop, funk and Latin rhythms that kicked off with a wailing harmonica solo from keyboardist Andy Wesby on "Get to Go," off the band's recent release, "Automatic Stranger."

Lanky vocalist Eric-jon Tasker's rich pop- and funk-infused vocals had the audience bopping in their seats.

The set featured strong harmonizing vocals from Tasker, Wesby and drummer Marcos Valles, who traded lead vocals with Tasker. Valles delighted the crowd by crooning in both Spanish and English on the Latin-influenced "Sube" (off "Live the Great Lavanchy"). The crowd was equally thrilled with the high-energy "Hey Hey" (off "Automatic Stranger"), which allowed guitarist Carlos Folgia to show off his scat vocal talents.

The screams and whistles were deafening as O.A.R. took the stage shortly before 9 p.m. The band eased into the set with a little slow reggae before launching full-force into the crowd favorite "That Was a Crazy Game of Poker" (off "The Wanderer").

Colored lights cut through the fog, forming patterns on the stage that illuminated hanging banners and stage rugs with the optical-illusion-like cover art from O.A.R.'s latest release, "All Sides." "We're trying to hypnotize you with the set," joked frontman Marc Roberge. But the band needed no hypnosis to mesmerize this audience.

Roberge (lead vocals, acoustic and electric rhythm guitar), Richard On (lead electric guitar, vocals), Chris Culos (drums, percussion), Jerry DePizzo (saxophone, guitar, percussion) and Benj Gershman (bass) formed O.A.R. more than a decade ago and have been touring almost nonstop since. The Maryland-based band is known for its extended jams, searing guitar and soul-stirring sax solos.

Older O.A.R. music focused on island and funk rhythms. The band began branching out on 2005's "Stories of a Stranger," mixing up the tempos and adding arena-rock anthems. Thursday's set included the hits "Wonderful Day," "Love and Memories" and "Lay Down," with a sensational synchronized drum solo by Culos, DePizzo and touring keyboard player Mike Paris.

The set included six songs from "All Sides," the band's sixth album. The infectious "This Town" got the audience singing along, and the ballads "The Fallout," "One Day" and "On My Way" brought out the power and passion in Roberge's vocals. "War Song," which was written after the band's USO tour of Kuwait and Iraq last year, packed an emotional wallop.

Longtime fans were treated to a healthy dose of past favorites that included "Dareh Mayod," "Revisited," "Road Outside Columbus" and "Untitled."

Roberge returned after a brief break for a solo acoustic performance of "Rhythm of Your Shoes." The band rejoined him for the catchy new song "Shattered" and brought down the house with "Delicate Few." The song featured a powerhouse duet between DePizzo on sax and Parker House and Theory's Wesby on harmonica.



April Boyle is a freelance writer from Casco. She can be contacted at:

aprilhboyle@yahoo.com - Portland Press Herald


Discography

'Automatic Stranger' (2008) (produced by Thom Russo)

'Live. The Great Lavanchy' (2007) Live album recorded at The Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA

'Soon' - Ep (2005) (produced by Scott Riebling)

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Bio

Boston based Parker House and Theory, winner of the Boston Music Award for ‘Best Live Act’ mash rock, funk, pop and soul that oozes with energy and charisma. The five members, who come from diverse backgrounds all met at Emerson College. Marcos (Drummer) came from Puerto Rico, Carlos (Lead Guitar, Vocals) from Argentina and Andy (Harmonica, Keys, Vocals) from Costa Rica. Eric-jon (Vocals, Guitar) and Colin (Bass) came from New Hampshire and Rhode Island respectively. Parker House began playing gigs together at the nearest Starbucks. They played weekly for $20 and free coffee (no frozen drinks were allowed, only coffee). Playing shows anywhere they could, they eventually started making some noise in Boston. Although with out a vehicle they had to walk their gear from their dorms to area venues using Emerson College laundry bins. They eventually bought a van and hit the road. Thanks to incessant touring, Parker House has generated a grassroots buzz on a mission to spread their musical seed far and wide.

This year they toured with O.A.R. and shared the stage with Robert Randolph, Jack's Mannequin, Jurassic 5, 311, G. Love and Special Sauce, The Wailers, Dropkick Murphy’s, John Butler Trio, Everclear and State Radio while touring the country and have been labeled as “fiercely musical” and “One of the next generation of acts to watch" by the Boston Globe.

Parker House and Theory released a new album in the late spring of 2008 titled "Automatic Stranger" produced and recorded by 7x Grammy Award winning producer Thom Russo (Eric Clapton, Audioslave, Juanes, Mana, System of a Down)

Parker House and Theory industry credits:
2008 NACA Mid-Atlantic Conference
2008 NACA National Conference
2006 Boston Music Award Winner
2006 CMJ music conference
2003,2004,2005 NEMO music conference
2004, 2006 NACA Northeast Regional Conference showcase selection
2006 NACA Mid Atlantic Regional Conference showcase selection
2005 NACA Mid Atlantic Spring Regional Conference showcase selection
2007 NACA Northern Plains Regional Conference showcase selection
2006 Download Festival act