Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
The Table Top Poets, one of the numerous local acts that graced the stage at this year’s Pride Festival, may be poised on the edge of something big. The acoustic duo has now become a full rock band without sacrificing any of their emotional expressiveness, and, given the powerful impact of their performance at Pride, a bright future seems to beckon.The collaboration between Jerry Wade and Kisicki began a few years ago, when Wade was working on a solo acoustic CD. Patrick Kisicki had been playing rapcore; Wade was in a cover band. As they recorded the CD, their style gradually evolved, and soon they began collaborating on songwriting. The result was 2001’s Finding Your Ped(t)als, a CD that alternates between nakedly emotional acoustic songs like “Joanne” and powerfully sensuous rock ballads like “Closer.” At the core are the duo’s evocative lyrics and Wade’s flexible, expressive voice, which can float effortlessly above the band’s music or wrap passionately around the song to squeeze every drop of feeling from it. Wade names U2, Ben Harper, Counting Crows and Ron Sexsmith as important influences; his style is evocative also of any number of folk-rock and alt-country greats, from Richard Manuel of the Band to Cary Hudson of Blue Mountain. What is at the center is emotion, the raw exposure of the vulnerable self. “I miss you, and I still think of you every morning,” he sings, and we feel the experience with him.According to Wade, the band’s name has a dual origin: from a love poem Kisicki found scribbled on a desk at Towson University, and from the scene in which the students recite poetry standing on their desks in the film The Dead Poets Society. What ties both together is public exposure of poetry, of emotion, and of the self.On stage at Pride, Wade dedicated his song “Notebook” to his friend and concert organizer Erin Davies. “I have a notebook where I write my thoughts, my feelings, poetry, song lyrics. I don’t carry it around with me, so when I get an idea I write it down on a napkin or a scrap of paper, then I put it in the notebook when I get home. It’s all held together with rubber bands. I thought, wouldn’t it be great if the rubber bands broke and everything fell out, and everybody knew everything about me, who I really am?”“You’ve opened me up, now I spill out on the floor / I’m letting it all go... / Just let it all go, we should let it all go...”After years of performing as an acoustic duo, the Table Top Poets have now added a permanent drummer and bass player. “We want to keep an acoustic foundation to our sound, but we want to add energy.” Wade’s voice still rises aloft through the rock onslaught, and it still displays his trademark intense emotion. The lyrics are still front and center on the new band’s promotional disc he gave me, which presages well for Secret, the new CD that will be released later this summer.In addition to “Notebook,” the CD will feature “Numbers,” a song about trusting the voice you hear in your head: “Somewhere inside you, you know the answer / Though it doesn’t make you feel so well.” Says Wade: “Sometimes, you’re trapped. But you still know the right thing, even though it might not be the thing that makes you feel the best.”“A Rumor of War,” another new song on the upcoming CD, uses the ubiquitous recent war coverage as a metaphor for the demons of the past that too often prevent us from going further. “I’ve got ghosts underneath my skin that feed a rumor of war within ... / I want to fall asleep–I want to dream–without your ghosts creeping up on me...”Until the new CD comes out, it’s always possible to purchase the band’s first release at thetabletoppoets.com. Or head out to the Recher Theater in Towson on July 17; the Table Top Poets will be performing around 10 or 10:30 p.m., according to Wade. Bask in the power of Wade’s emotion; with any luck, it will also give voice to yours. - Bob Steele
"Musically Table Top Poets are quite slow and soft, but they perform the songs in a “big” and emotional way. Imagine if a band like Coldplay was formed in the Seattle area in the early 90’s and you’re quite close to these American rockers.
Jon Wippsson, Melodic.net - Jon Wippsson
The Band creates a new kind of sound that penetrates the soul and makes the listener feel as if this CD was written just for them." "...a different, yet soothing sound It is as satisfying tot he soul as an iced latte on a hot summer day."
-Marie ConFroy - Towson University
Their music is extremely good, excellent lyrics, singing, musicianship, the whole nine yards..." - Musician, Author and Columist, Guitar Player Magazine
"At the core are the duo's(Kisicki & Wade) evocative lyrics and Wade's flexible, expressive voice, which can float effortlessly above the band's music or wrap passionately around the song to squeeze every drop of feeling from it. His style is evocative of any number of folk-rock and alt-country greats. Bask in the power of Wade's emotion; with any luck it will also give voice to yours." - Baltimore Outloud
Imagine a mixture of the melody of Counting Crows with the angsty style of Coldplay and you'll have an idea of what you'll be hearing should you listen to the Table Top Poets 2003 Secret EP. Very melodic and possessed of an overall powerfully soft appeal.
The music has the same heavy emotional pull, the same melodic hook and drive, but the vocals are grittier, with more of an Americana bent, giving the album a less angsty and slightly fresher appeal, despite the very Radiohead/ColdPlay-esque musical style.
The sound is sweeping and expansive, which is to be expected of apprentices of the genre. Jerry Wade's delivery is charming, at times heavy and laden with sorrow, at others a bit more whimsical and wry. It is this vocal charm which brings this band a better than average rating. It's a voice that draws you in and charms you. Wade is more than ably backed by Mark Butler, Patrick Kisicki and Larry Rohleder.
- SouthofMainstream.com
"Table Top Poets were born out of a shared love of music between Wade and Kisicki. I love their name, I think it is great. I love their music, too. They consider themselves alternative, but I gotta say they are rock in the very best sense of the word. As sure as I am sitting here, I promise that we have only just begun hearing the music of Table Top Poets!
Susie Mudd, Publisher, Music Monthly - Music Monthly
Discography
The Secret EP December 2003(RDR)
Finding Your Ped(t)als June 2001(RDR)
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
It's all about passion, according to Patrick Kisicki and Jerry Wade. If there isn't some specific emotion pouring all over the listener then it never becomes a TTP song.
Table Top Poets at its core is the masterful and impassioned vehicle used by songwriters, Wade and Kisicki. First envisioned as a Wade solo project with Kisicki producing, the collaboration between the two gave way to an entirely different idea of what each had been attempting to accomplish in music. It is the combination of Kisicki's classical training dating back to age ten and Wade's nearly decade long struggle to define himself and those around him through song, that form the context for this band.
Most recently, Table Top Poets recorded and released The Secret EP. With songs like "Closer" and "Numbers" the band has seen college, public and semi-commercial radio respond. They are receiving rotation on cutting edge college stations that define the next generation of greats alongside some of today's top acts like Damien Rice, Pete Yorn and Wilco. Some of the stations include, WXPN in Philadelphia which is home to the nationally syndicated, "The World Cafe" and WTMD in Baltimore which is a similarly programmed college radio station based on the campus of Towson University.
Live shows are key. Whether acoustic renditions work their way into the set or not, to see the passion in the band, each player feeding off another, brings it all home. In 2001 and 2002 respectively, TTP welcomed Larry Rohleder on drums and Mark Butler on bass. The band has traveled north and south through the Mid-Atlantic including NY, NJ, PA, MD, D.C., VA and DE. Their soulful interaction bodes well for the inevitable trip these gentleman are bound to take.
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