Music
Press
"The guys in the band all respect virtuosity in musical skill, and complexity in concept. They don't shy away from taking their music to the next level, not content with playing three-chord, straight-forward rock songs, and it shows in their pending release. " - Josh Fryfogle, Frontiersman 9/1/2006
- The Frontiersman
Red Penguin can find inspiration in anything – even breath mints.
After all, a poignant moment with a tin of cinnamon-flavored Penguin Caffeinated Peppermints was all it took for the Wasilla band to come up with its trippy band name.
The classic/progressive rock group has just released its first disc, a self-titled eight-song jobby that features fun with a synthesizer. Let’s just say when guitarist Chris McGraw told me he has a thing for Rush, it did not shock my system.
Lost love, unrequited love and untamed love dominate the band’s lyrics, as in the song “New Game”: “The cards that you dealt me/Were played very carefully/Hearts and diamonds/Few and far between/Clubs to beat me down/Spades to dig my grave.”
Ouch. That’s one mean broad.
But McGraw said it would be a mistake to label the band as “I love you baby” guys. “We’d like to think we have a very intelligent grasp of the English language,” said McGraw, who is one of two music teachers in the group. “We don’t set out to write clichéd metaphors all the time…For instance, Levon (Bryon, the vocalist) just wrote a song about the overmedication of kids in America.”
Catch Red Penguin at 7 p.m. Saturday at The Junction, a new rock club at 715 West Parks Highway, Wasilla. The lineup also includes Dekcuf, Broken By Fire and The Hoons. Cover is $7. Call 775-xxxx.
- Anchorage Daily News
Discography
Recent Demo Songs (2007):
"Sheep"
"Pharmaceutical Esteem"
"Good Days"
"Can on a String"
The Red Penguin EP (2006)
Photos
Bio
Red Penguin is new prog, literate indie rock - a bit smarter, a bit more cynical, and a bit catchier than your typical modern rock band. The group centers around the witty lyricism of frontman and keyboardist Levon Bryan backed by the unrelenting, complex guitar playing of Chris McGraw. Together with bassist Jeremy Strunk and drummer Michael Collins, the Alaskan rockers blend elements of Alternative, Indie, and Progressive to formulate a sound in the same vein of bands like Muse and Queens of the Stone Age.
McGraw - who had already established himself as a guitarist with favorable reviews by nationally-syndicated 20th Century Guitar Magazine and local publication AK This Month - initially formed the band as a vehicle to perform his Pink Floyd'ish instrumental compositions and promote his album, "Photon Life." However, the group members quickly started writing new material featuring Bryan and Collins on vocal duties. The band became known locally for its impressive display of musicianship, recieving radio promotion and headlining local shows. Their atypical setlist consisted of a mixing of originals with covers by bands as disparate as Rush to Bloodhound Gang to Franz Ferdinand.
The band released a self-titled EP in September of 2006 featuring 8 tracks recorded and produced by McGraw at his home studio. Upon previewing the EP, local reviewer Josh Fryfogle wrote: "The guys in the band all respect virtuosity in musical skill, and complexity in concept. They don't shy away from taking their music to the next level, not content with playing three-chord, straight-forward rock songs, and it shows in their pending release," (The Frontiersman, 9/1/2006). The short-run EP sold out at shows and online, while the band continued to write and record new material, some of which they would later release as free tracks to their expanding internet audience. The band's most recent demos, "Good Days," "Sheep," and "Pharmaceutical Esteem" showcase the growth of their playing dynamics and more mature songwriting.
If you haven't heard them yet (and what are you waiting for?), Red Penguin's music is readily available on the internet via stores including iTunes, Napster, and CD Baby. For more information, pictures, videos and music, you can check out their official website at www.redpenguinband.com, or their MySpace at www.myspace.com/redpenguinband.
Links
