The Actions

April 25, 2006

THE ACTIONS UNSIGNED ARTIST OF THE WEEK ON KARMADOWNLOAD.COM
http://www.karmadownload.com/newunsigned/artweek/


"Rock music written with just the right amounts of light and shade. Nonchalant attitude on the verses and angst fuelled choruses make The Real Thing an attractive nugget of stop/start rock. This tune is in my head, and it rocks...hard."

Karmadownload.com


- KARMADOWNLOAD.COM

TRIBE MAGAZINE(interview)



The Actions: a classic power trio (guitar, bass and drums) coming from Naples, that proposes strong garage taste songs with farfetched arrangements, but immediate. The line up forms in Jan 2003 and in a little more than two years, reaches a notable artistic maturity, and a very compact sound. Their demo (but it has all the characteristics of a mini album) really impressed us and so we felt the wish to know them…so we encountered Maurizio, guitarist of the band.

T: ”Let's talk about you guys and your history…”

M: “Me and Marta (voice/bass) know each other since a long time, we played together for eleven years. Ivo(drums) is

with us since 2003, with him we found the right formula”.

T: “In the songs of the demo I can recognize garage and underground influences, echoes from bands like the Sonics, the Stooges, the Pixies…”

M: “We always listened to everything, from 70s and 80s rock to the modern dance. Being a trio pushes us to garage sounds, a little like what happened to Paul Weller's Jam”. We don't emulate nobody, and we discovered recently the bands that you nominated. But our principal influence, concerning writing and composing, comes out from The

Beatles”.

T: “Do your songs born collectively?”

M: “Basically Me and Marta write the songs without the predominance of one of the two. The final song form comes out from the work in the studio with Ivo and with his ideas about rhythmical arrangements”.

T: “Next projects?”

M: “ Some gigs in London and Brighton ”.



TRIBE MAGAZINE(demo review)



The notes of the opening track “The Real Thing” hits you with a beneficial, dirty, vital energy.

The Actions, protected by a bark of garage sounds, is the ideal heir of the rough sound of classic bands like the Sonics or illuminated bands like the Pixies. And after repeated listenings, from the little crack in the wall of sound, comes out the recall to the brit matrix pop or something of the best psychedelic scene of the end of 60s. Perfect cohesion and balance, a band that has got the numbers to stand out of the masses.



- Maurizio Principato

A LIVE PERFORMANCE DOESN’T LIE AND NITHER THE ACTIONS

5/24/2005

Do you know the saying: “struck down on the way to Damasco”? I’m not really sure, but it seems to me to have felt something like that.It was a night like the other and as usual I was hanging around in the dark of the umpteenth club to see the umpteenth concert of the umpteenth unknown band. My humor was not so high: I had a terrible headache; like a nail stuck in my bollocks.The ordinary and banal solution: a cool beer to get the night up. Between a draught and another I was waiting for I don’t know what, but I was there, still, in a part of the club that I’ve never seen before. The torture that my head was feeling started to become atrocious and beer was going to finish. Suddenly looking through my empty plastic glass I can see a thin figure with a strange hat going to take possession of a bass. The nectar is ended but the show gets started, thank heavens!: at long last a band that I don’t know but that really rocks me. I take a look at a paper: their name is THE ACTIONS.

A simple trio, essential and explosive during the live performance. The ward “power” finds its right collocation near to the term “trio”: Ivo Parlati (drums, backing vocals) kicks and confidently got the gear; Maurizio Stellato (guitar, backing vocals) with his simple and clumsy look makes the sound nervous with his guitar; Marta Argenio (voice, bass) creates firstly a wall of sound with her bass and after sings through it with sensuality and aggressiveness. Truly a beautiful show. Simple and impacting riffs that take the listener away and make him live moments of passion and healthy rock and roll.

I’m enraptured. Marta is a princess and she’s really confident on the stage. The Actions has fun and the audience too. At the end of the show I absolutely want to go and have a ward with them and they, without being snooty, like they were my brothers accept my compliments remaining a bit surprised: thing really rare nowadays.

They explain us that they were born eating music, international most of all- and we didn’t have doubts- and that in this period they are gigging in Italy and UK; for sure a band that doesn’t emulate anybody and doesn’t lessen the “home grown” inspiration.

I take possession of their 4 tracks demo and I can assure you that I can’t wait for the entire work: the songs are all valued. What else can I say? First of all, the absolute and unexpected pleasure felt blew my paralysing headache away – and this really means something – and then for those who want to see them live the next show is at “THE CAVERN CLUB” in Liverpool (May 27/28,2005), otherwise download something. A live performance doesn’t lie: missing this band is inconceivable…don’t cock things up!


Official website: www.theactions.co.uk

Walter Ego - Walter Ego

The Real Thing

Demo review
Author: Giorgio Pace

Just to tell some names: “Arezzo Wave Love Festival 2003", "SixDdaySonicMadness 2003", "Sonica 2003", "Terme Live 2003" “MTV On Stage”, M'arte Live 2004”, “Primo Maggio 2005”, “Non Solo Rock 2004”. These are all the festivals won by this Italian power trio . I can also add that this record can hardly come out from your HiFi, like it did from mine, where it even asked asylum. The formula is as simple as successful: 60’s/70’s rock, melodies that remain in your head for entire months, killer choruses and verses between Stooges and Beatles. Everything powered by the splendid voice of Marta Argenio (I recommend to listen to her during a live performance). Without any doubt, four tracks, four MASTERPIECES.I’d like to listen to something like that from the “highest floors”…

- Giorgio Pace

19-08-2004

The Actions
ep
Marcello Munari (e-mail: lloydwhite(at)bb-alberogemello dot com)

It feels like listening to something good .The confirmation comes immediately, like a billow of crystalline quality .The sorrow ,in the end ,is to have only 4 songs to enjoy. The Actions’ rock is charming, it starts from beaten tracks to leave inspired and wise traces, crossing, at the end, an ideal moor: as it dispenses melody, it never revels in; it appears aggressive, then it caresses you; therefore the best expression to explain could be ”tenderly rough”. The angular-really not friendly-singing of the front woman-bassist Marta Argenio surprises for its command of english, sometimes it turns into slang, so that it can well figure, with the complicity of the compact sound of the two adventure’s fellows Maurizio Stellato and Ivo Parlati, in some overseas musical happening. The Argenio’s uvula drips grit and authority, and the impression is the urge, first of all, to distinguish itself from the mass. If I had the need to point to an artist with similar tonalities, it will be Courtney Love: nothing more than a casuality, cause each vocal timbre is innate and it moulds along the way and it can’t be an imitation of another. In short I just want to assert, and here is the prodigy, that our performer is a natural born of the american and the english culture and not a “wannabe”. Passing to the music (and I’d say garage rock is the formula), the band takes yesterday’s flavours into The Pretenders and Patty Smith (“the real thing”),rust-coloured houmors in the more radical Hole style (“your brush is drawin’ on me”), a handful of West Coast seventies-sixties (“good sensation”), The Beatles, the electric ones at the end of the 60’s, in “heaven for disaster” on which “Hey Jude” seems to flutter. Nothing wrong, since everything it’s been invented(can I say it?) or stuff like that. On the contrary The Actions hold a glorious and rich tradition and revise it with a very personal style, giving to it an international range. The very busy live activity and a series of applauded performances, tell us that the band is arousing a lot of support. A beautiful reality, trust me. To say in their way a “real thing”.
- Marcello Munari

The Real Thing

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True and pure 60’s-70’s rock comes out of the notes of this neapolitan trio album. Four no-compromises-to-orchestrations songs. Cold and therefore irremovable in the classical structure of the stanzas; every chorus becomes impressed in the listener’s mind, giving the urge to beat the time. The title-track represents The Actions essence: calm stanzas waiting for hard and full of vitality chorus; after a couple of listenings you’ll find yourself hangin’ around the street huming or pumping up your HiFi’s volume jumpin for the joy to accompany with their songs. “Your Brush Is Drawin’ On Me” is a wonderful example of how a rock song can remain in a cd player for a month, listening to it again and again; the rhythmic arrangement of the song it’s been well organized and the united band sounds like the early english rock scene; a revival of sounds.
- Stefano De Vito

Tuborg hunting for new talent to support and promote the music of the future.

Tuborg is hunting for new talents, and it started a wide talent scouting project to support the new Italian music: “The Next Generation Music Night”.

With “MTV On Stage” Tuborg and MTV give a unique opportunity to young bands that always dream of music success. Taking part in the contest and posting a cd/demo with one original song, the new bands had the unrepeatable chance to perform on the MTV stage in 3 big live events.

With this initiative Tuborg and MTV give life to a project that is born from a common philosophy: to enhance the up and coming italian bands and the great live music.

MTV On Stage has been held on the 11th of June in the “historic” venue Alcatraz in Milan; on the 5th of July at the big live venue Foro Italico in Rome; the kermesse has been closed on the 17th of July in Catania with the concert at the Villa Bellini.

“The Next Generation Music Night” and “MTV On Stage” shows have been opened by the performance of up and coming bands, selected in advance among the contestants by jury. The six finalists are:

THE ACTIONS
14th SNAP
ORDALIA
MOREMACHINE
ALBE MECCANICHE
NERS

The feast is gone on with cult names of the music scene as The Distillers and the Madbones in Milan , The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti in Rome, Mario Venuti in Catania and expressly-for-the-occasion selected DJ sets.

At the end of the tour the band that has been judged the best is The Actions who will get the opportunity to be guest in the MTV DAY’s backstage, the next 19 of September, where they’ll get in touch with the world of discography.

“In the wide scouting project that Tuborg promotes and supports in favour of the new acts of the italian music, the MTV On Stage experience represents the real opportunity for the bands to perform on stage beside big names”
- MTV-TUBORG

.......Immediately after it’s turn of a trio called The Actions, consists of Marta Argenio(vox-bass) Maurizio Stellato(guitar) and Ivo Parlati(drums). We’re this time in front of an already broken in band, whose members have played for many years and together since 2002, they’ve won the Arezzo Wave Love Festival 2003 edition. The proposed genre is a pop-rock that offers a good impact and at the same time doesn’t leave the melodic aspect out, a great artistic maturity. In short I felt to be in front of a band who has without qualms requirements to emerge whether national or international music business. So congratulations to them and good luck for the contest!
At last the long-awaited moment of the night…the performance of The Distillers from Los Angeles! The first thing that catches the eye is without doubt the change of Brody’s look (platinum blonde) and the bassist Ryan’s look (blonde more dull) whereas the drummer Andy (ex-wrestler!) and the other guitarist Tony maintain the usual style ............ - Press Zone

Psyco_Stage
05.07.2003 - 02

"To be yourself as the only way to the light" that's what The Actions declare to explain the approach towards their own creative instincts. Together from 2003, the trio proposes a lateral vision of pop, reconstructing the most elegant melodies inside sensual harmonies, leaving sound sequences able to delating to infinity in comfortable and spacious ambients. The instrumental tension wraps around the female singing, sometimes filtrated on oneiric frequencies transforming every aphasia in the need of emotional contact. Follow them with your eyes closed.

Live report:
.......We still stay in south, this time we go in Campania to find THE ACTIONS. The rhythm climbs and we can hear the distortions scream. We keep on moving in the pop contaminated, this time, by electronics. After the first two pop rock episodes, the electronics gets the upper hand in a song that recalls something of the Portished or the Massive Attack of the first times. The finale is entirely into rock. ...........

- AREZZO WAVE LOVE FESTIVAL 2003