Rainbow Fresh

Over the last decade, his dreams have humbled around the music.

Rich Seiner, frontman and lead vocalist of alternative rock and "jangle pop" band Rainbow Fresh, is like many other artists in the way of wanting to only make a living off the trade.

A biomedical engineer by day, Seiner -- a gruff-spoken man with a smooth sounding singing voice -- admits though, he's already living the dream.

"To live a decent life, take care of my family and make music, that's ideal," Seiner said. "But I'm already doing that now, and I'm very fortunate and blessed in that regard."

Since 1998, Seiner has led Rainbow Fresh and has played guitar for six years in the Latin rock band De Sol.

This Sunday, Rainbow Fresh will be taking stage at John & Peter's in New Hope (it must be noted that this is a smoking establishment -- dare yourself to brave it).

Accompanied by bassist and vocalist Charles (Chip) Moore and drummer Adam Fischel (fellow former member of De Sol), Rainbow Fresh churns out feel-good, wholesome music that's perfect for this laid-back time of year.

At first sound, Rainbow Fresh definitely has a Guster vibe, especially Seiner's vocals, which are similar to Adam Gardner or even Duncan Sheik (most known for his 1996 debut "Barely Breathing").

Songs such as "Heaven Sent" incorporate funky, dark bass lines that are uplifted and balanced by Seiner's positive and light melodies.

In fact, it's hard to find a song of theirs that's not conducive to head bopping (check out "I wanna").

Even the slower ones encourage body movement.

"Show Yourself to Me," for example, has a slow hula, island feel in terms of the unhurried drum beat, high-pitched vocals blended with tenor harmonies and a dreamy electric guitar sliding through the verses.

And Moore couldn't be a better contributor.

Listening to their latest album, Dark Sun, the natural chemistry that flows between the two is obvious. Both artists sound free, flowing from chords changeups and solos without hesitation, but there's also a cohesiveness that's important when making a sound product.

"Sometimes you play with people and wonder, 'does he know this part?' or 'is he going to screw this up?' But Chip makes things easy," Seiner said. "He's a real, high-class musician and we mesh pretty well."

This month, Rainbow Fresh will start recording another album.

Seiner writes just about all of the songs -- in fact, he says he could still produce a few albums even if he never wrote another piece again.

"Sometimes you can will (songwriting) to happen, the muse -- or the divine inspiration -- as everyone calls it," he said. "For me, it can work either way. Sometimes I have to sit for a couple hours and write; other times, I'll wake up with a melody in my head."

For a free sample, check them out at myspace.com/rainbowfresh.

Their CD is also available for purchase on cdbaby.com, through Amazon or iTunes.

Over the last year, Rainbow Fresh has been garnering radio play and attention on stations such as Rutgers Radio, WRSU-FM 88.7 and as the featured artist in May in TwoGroove.com

Through August, they'll be playing multiple days of the week throughout venues in New Jersey and New York (including Manhattan and Brooklyn).

You must be 21 or over to enter John & Peter's.

The show is free, but tips are welcome.

- The Trenton Times

RAINBOW FRESH – Dark Sun (www.myspace.com/rainbowfresh)
Kicking out the coolly rocking jams with a steady succession of nicely diggin’ guitar riffs, chugging basslines, and sturdy, yet subdued drums, this album hits the divinely tuneful spot something sweet. The vocals are smooth and engaging, the arrangements bouncy, catchy, and harmonic, the songwriting smart and thoughtful, and an overall air of winningly upbeat groovy vibes pervades throughout like the always welcome presence of a much-beloved longtime funky friend. A total treat.
- Joe Wawrzyniak, JerseyBeat.com
- JerseyBeat.com

http://www.twogroove.com/blog/2009/03/16/album-review-dark-sun-by-rainbow-fresh/


Disclaimer: I am in no way qualified to be reviewing music. I’m just a guy with a blog and a passionate, debilitating love for music.

Rainbow Fresh know how to start off an album. “They Don’t Worry” is a rockin’ guitar-fueled classic rock song and really gets the album Dark Sun off on the right foot. The song showcases Rich Seiners vocal and guitar skills and has a laid back 70’s style to it. It’s a great song, but it does not represent the group.



The very next track, “This Could Be The One”, shows more of what the group is really about. They use some retro styling to bring forward modern sound. Santana-esque guitars soar over a Latin beat and you know Rainbow Fresh is not a classic rock wannabe band. This is a two-piece with it’s own sound.

Their second studio release, Dark Sun, as a whole is a very respectable album. The songs vary enough to be interesting (check out the retro guitar sound on the instrumental “Hey, Z!”), but do not lose the centerline. I suspect this is because while Rich Seiner and Charles Moore remain constant, they cycle in and out a number of other musicians. Many groups do this as a gimmick, bringing in an odd instrument for one song. Rainbow Fresh sticks to the basics; of the 10 other musicians listed on the release, there are no odd instruments. Just drums/percussion, bass, vocals, and keyboards.



By the time you are listening to the seventh track, “Fly Away”, you forget how the album opened and are just enjoying the smooth lead and backing vocals. Classic rock has given way to jazzy percussion, Latin grooves, and those same even vocals…until you reach “Dark Sun”, the tenth offering. This track has a much darker tone with a constant bassline and just enough distortion. For me, this is the perfect end to the album. The remaining three songs are just a bonus.

The music won’t appeal to everyone, but it also doesn’t fall into a small niche. Rainbow Fresh knows what they do well and they do it. The 70’s and Latin influences are very apparent, but they know when to switch things up. The album is arranged well, sounds great, and will be in my iTunes library for a good long time.

Thanks to Rich and Charles for sending the album in. You can pick it up on CD Baby.

Tags: Album Review, Dark Sun, Rainbow Fresh

This entry was posted on Monday, March 16th, 2009 at 9:09 AM and is filed under Musical Musings, Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

- TwoGroove