The Aroostercrats
Verona, Veneto, Italy | Established. Jan 01, 2010 | SELF
Music
Press
The Aroostercrats Twitter bio sets the scene ‘An Australian and a Polish man sat down with a bottle of wine, a violin, a guitar and some lyrics.. and The Aroostercrats were born.’ Thank the gods that they did for ‘Nowhere Train’ is one big ball of energy. The duo of Mark Pagnozzi and Lukasz Kurowski are based in Italy. Whilst they are not studying at university they get up to this amazing high energy mix of Americana and Celtic music.
Mark plays a mean guitar and sings whilst the fiddle playing of Lukasz is phenomenal, but then they are both in their final year of their classical violin degrees in Verona, so you would expect their technique to be flawless. What you probably wouldn’t be expecting is the raw energy that they have captured here. If the Black keys had done folk instead of the blues and picked up fiddle and acoustic guitar this is what you would imagine they would sound like.
The well named album opener ‘Hit the Floor’ hits it running and leaves you breathless, check out the video below for the demo back in 2013.
It’s a bold move putting something like that at the start of an album, yet they keep it up throughout the eight songs. It never turns into a thrash, they constantly find the room to turn on a sixpence and lead you in another direction with an album that has plenty of light and shade.
Here’s hoping that they tour Europe and the UK, otherwise I’ll have to fly to Italy to see them…
Iain Hazlewood
www.thearoostercrats.com
You can buy the album at thearoostercrats.bandcamp.com - Iain Hazlewood - Spiral Earth
ALBUM REVIEW: ‘Nowhere Train’ is heading places
April 23. 2014 1:31AM
By Rich Cicci Weekender Correspondent
The Aroostercrats
‘Nowhere Train’
Rating: W W W W
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If you have not heard of The Aroostercrats, do not fret – the Weekender hadn’t either until a week ago. And it is a shame that the general public has not, but when a band is half a world away, it is unfortunately easy to go under the radar. Hailing from Verona, Italy, this international duo (one from Australia and the other from Poland) released their sophomore album “Nowhere Train” a few weeks ago. Their music is a blend of Americana and Celtic folk, and it is the perfect accompaniment to good drink and good friends.
“Nowhere Train” kicks off with the high-energy track “Hit the Floor.” Lukasz’s violin creates a feverish cadence in tandem with Mark’s guitar, and from that first track, you have a sense of what to expect for the entire album. Without drums, Lukasz’s violin creates the tempo and beat of the tracks, and he does it exceedingly well. Mark’s vocals give the impression of a weathered soul; he is able to connect with the listener, allowing them to feel the emotional weight of his lyrics. “Dusty Roads,” their first single, is one such track. The music video for it can be found on YouTube, though the duo has created the perfect imagery through their musical talents alone.
The sound they’ve created seemingly transports you back to a simpler time. This is the type of music heard from pub to pub in a bygone era. They aren’t mere musicians – they are storytellers. More importantly, they are friends who are doing this for the love of the music.
If you are interested in hearing the album, it can be streamed on soundcloud.com/thearoostercrats, and for more information on the band, head over to their Facebook page or thearoostercrats.com.
The Aroostercrats ‘Nowhere Train’ Rating: W W W W - Rich Cicci - Weekender Correspondent
Discography
Nowhere Train Released March 31 2014
The Aroostercrats self titled album - recorded live 2010
Photos
Bio
An Australian and a Polish man sat down with a bottle of wine, a violin, a guitar and some lyrics… and The Aroostercrats were born.
The Aroostercrats began playing on street corners and bridges in Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet, entertaining passers by with their unique, original blend of folk country music.
It may seem strange that an Australian and a Polish man came together in Italy to form a duo reminiscent of a style originally inspired by American and Celtic folk music however it goes down easy like a nicely aged whiskey.
The duo became good friends in 2008, while studying classical violin at the Conservatorio di Musica in Verona, and in 2009 branched away from tradition to form The Aroostercrats.
Drawing on aspects from Lukasz’s Polish background and Mark’s Australian lifestyle, they recorded their first DEMO CD in 2010, a CD that, according to one review,
“[...] breathes the intimate chamber music that one hears in a pub, with a warm atmosphere and holding a freshly poured beer. The poignant themes expertly interpreted by the violin, mark time and character of the songs, leaving the sweet voice to complete the outline of the music together with the guitar and harmonica.”
Before “The Aroostercrats”, the duo had very different lives.
Lukasz began the violin at the age of 8 and gave his first public solo performance at the age of 9 with the orchestra of the Radom School of Music. After his schooling days he then toured all over Poland for 4 years starting in 2001/02 with a Polish reggae band playing guitar as well as the violin.
Mark’s musical bone started to grow at the age of 4 when he began playing piano and a year later he also began learning the violin. During the following years he added the trumpet and vocal studies to his repertoire and since moving to Italy in 2007 has added the guitar and harmonica.
Starting out on the streets of Verona they have now played throughout Italy including festivals in Ferrara, Grezzana and Lecce and traveled to Ireland to play on BalconyTV Cork where their video of “Nowhere Train” remains in the Global Music Rumble top 100 videos for a whole year and is now an editor’s pick.
2014 saw Mark and Lukasz achieve the highest honors (110 lode) finishing their diplomas in classical violin, the release of their second album “Nowhere Train”, BUSK2014 Busking Festival in Bolzano and a European tour travelling through Germany, Switzerland (opening for the Hackensaw Boys (US)), Sweden, Norway and Czech Republic, ending in Treviso Italy playing on the Jack Daniels Stage during the “Home Festival” 2014.
So far in 2015 The Aroostercrats have played at the Paradies Festival Obervinschgau in Malles opening for Hans Söllner (DE), opened for Lydia Loveless (US) of Bloodshot Records during her European Tour and successfully made their way into the final round ofVideo Festival Live 2015 in all of Italy.
Now The Aroostercrats look toward another European tour as well as exploring the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
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