The Blizzard of 78

The Blizzard of 78 tonight celebrates the release of Where All Life Hangs, a CD nearly three years in the making. (They'll play a set of their own songs, then a set of covers, along with special guests Mark Cutler, Fontana, Terry Linehan, Ted Rao, Ray Memery and Eric Barao.)
The record was made mostly at the Blizzard's own studio in Stoneham, Mass. The tracks "Give" (the standout leadoff single) and "Way Down" were recorded by Paul Kolderie at Camp St. Studios (formerly Fort Apache) in Cambridge in 2004.
The change to The Blizzard of 78 from their previous incarnation, Delta Clutch, was "a small lineup change, not a big rock tragedy," says guitarist/bassist Nate Leavitt -- "a slight change of direction."
Leavitt, bassist/guitarist Christopher Cugini, drummer Paul Myers and singer Pip remain from the old lineup. And while the early Delta Clutch was a two-guitar band playing "alternative country, as they called it then," Leavitt says there's not that much difference between the end of Delta Clutch and the Blizzard -- on Where All Life Hangs, prominent piano (from former Delta Clutcher Phil Aiken), strings and cooing background vocals (from Tanya Donelly, among others) work in service of solid, memorable pop-rock songs.
"Country-soul has always been the goal," Leavitt says.
Score!
Pip says the three-year recording process was broken up by lots of gigs: "We'd leave it alone and go out and play a bunch." But still, he cites "a couple of mad scientists in the band who wouldn't leave it be."
I think he means that in a good way -- he should. It doesn't sound labored; it sounds worked-on.
- Rick Massimo

Many so-called regional acts could take a lesson from The Blizzard of 78. In fact, their new CD release, Where All Life Hangs, should be
mandatory listening for any band that has aspirations of honing their songwriting skills and effectively
reproducing said material in the studio environment. Even the most cursory listening of this 12-song offering demonstrates the painstaking process the quartet
undoubtedly undertook to achieve a warm, analog-sounding milieu, in this oh-so-sterile digital world. It particularly delights me to the marrow to read in their liner notes words like Hammond B-3 and Fender Rhodes versus ProTools and
computer sampling. But I digress from the true factor that deems this CD a great listen; These guys can write a good song!

Formed in 2002, the four-man outfit hail from the Boston area, excepting the Providence-born lead singer who goes by the anomalous name of Pip. The band's bragging rights include having performed on bills with such eclectic artists as
Ronnie Spector, Coldplay, Tanya Donnely, and The Throwing Muses. Additionally, several of the tracks on Where All Life Hangs were produced and engineered by Paul
Q. Kolderie, whose credits include Radiohead, Hole, and The Pixies. In other words, these gentlemen seem to know what it takes to fashion a product that will be competitve in today's music market, a market currently oversaturated with half-assed efforts and uninspired drivel. But I digress again....

Right from word go, Where All Life Hangs starts off on the right note, with the beautiful "Show Me." Though at first blush the overall vibe of the track seems reminiscent of U2, the ensuing chord changes and melody takes the listener far away from the Irish blokes. Another standout song, "Ordinary Day," is exquisitely recorded-just the right amount of echo on the vocals; just the right string
arrangement sitting perfectly in the mix. In fact, most of the songs on the record utilize musical elements in a tasteful and effective manner. The one track that veers the disc through a surprising detour is "Johnny Took A Knife to Jeannette."
The song lays out the archetypal story of love: Boy meets girl; Boy marries girl; Girl cheats on boy; Boy slices up girl and buries her beneath the snow. In my sick
fantasy world, Engelbert Humperdinck would cover this nugget in his next appearance
at The Sands Hotel Casino in Atlantic City. There I go, doing that digress thing again....

The closing track, "One Day," is a beautifully soft-spoken and tastefully arranged song with no over-the-top adornments. Clocking in at just under two minutes, the
acoustic ballad succinctly wraps up the album and rejects the oft-used temptation of leaving the listener bludgeoned and bloodied. In many ways the song encapsulated
exactly what The Blizzard of 78 seem to be as band-disciplined and thoughtful songwriters and arrangers, with a competitive edge that should propel them into the
collective conscience of a youth market yearning for quality. All digressing aside, Where All Life Hangs bridges the ever-widening gap between the excellence of
yesteryear and the alternative vitality of today.
- Don DiMuccio

On their second release, The Blizzard of 78 capture their signature rock 'n' soul sound perfectly, which is what makes them one of the most original bands in Boston. "The Song", "Pray" and "The Last Temptation" lean toward some of the more rocking songs TBO 78 have recorded, while "Philadelphia", "The Game" and "Well Enough Alone" are cloaked in soul and slow things down a bit. Recorded in bassist Chris Cugini's home studio, the production on Book of Lies is nothing short of professional without being overly "produced" or glossy. - Kyle Jackson-March 11, 2009

Well, well. The Blizzard of 78 have crafted quite the
soul/punk/American bar rock record here. Force of
nature singer Pip Everett and his crack-shot band
guide listeners through 14 songs of torment, doubt,
and affirmation. Thankfully Everett, an obvious
disciple of Jeff Buckley, lets his vocals run rampant
over these songs; the results are often jaw-dropping
and goose bump inducing. “Mercy” serves as a pitch-
perfect example of such moments: opening with a
sparse, simple piano line and a subdued performance
by Everett, this song ultimately explodes. The singer
growls and bellows lines, like “Well there’s a sinner
at the pulpit leadin’ folks astray and the congregation
laps it up,” the sheer power of his voice obliterating
any chance of cliché. Other tasteful choices are
present on this song too, as fuzzy guitars and shouted
backup vocals add shading to an already beautifully
dark composition. Truth be told, the missteps are few
on this release, and if you can hang through them
– the slightly corny “Philadelphia” comes to mind
– Book of Lies makes for a rather affecting listen. - Michael Grigelevich Skyscraper #30 Spring 2009

The Blizzard of 78 is celebrating the release of their second album, Book of Lies, on Thursday, January 29th. I don’t like to throw around the word epic too much (though maybe I am a bit gratuitous with “awesome” lately); but … yes, this band’s latest album IS both epic and awesome. I’ll warn you, when you hear them live or listen to the new CD, you may be inspired to have a temper tantrum, annoyed you did not know about this band sooner.

http://www.exploitboston.com/get-out/get-out-with-exploit-boston-for-the-blizzard-of-78-cd-release-party-on-january-29th/
- Sooz at Exploit Boston-January 26, 2009

I heard some good things about this band from a few friends, and was looking forward to catching them live.

A supportive crowd of fans, friends and former bandmates braved the hated ice for their beloved Blizzard, and the band kept them on the hook the whole show. Drummer Paul Myers kicked off their opener, “The Song,” the first track on their new album, “Book of Lies,” with a snare-filled flurry turned whipcrack rocker. Frontman Pip (Yes, just “Pip.” The rules are, if you’re going to one-name it, you better back it up. Fortunately, this guy sells his band’s songs harder than a shivering Greenpeace volunteer on Tremont Street.) took the floor with authority and led the band into a few bouncier, sparcer songs.

Shifting gears again, the band slipped into a dangerous riff you’d picture Vincent Vega, shades down, tuning in to while driving through a dark tunnel on his way to a hit.

The rest of the night saw occasional slide work from guitarist Nathaniel Leavitt, and head-down tambourine fury from Brian Syrjala on keys. The band had a great moment when bassist Christopher Cugini joined Leavitt to sprinkle airy acoustic chords into “God Eat God,” as Pip, eyes closed, let out the memorable chorus, “I read it in the Book of Lies.”

The band’s conviction and earnest delivery carried them through a packed, 15-song set that was paced just right.

Catch up with the band at www.tbo78.com.

http://www.bostonbandcrush.com/2009/01/snow-crush-blizzard-of-78-at-lizard.html - Adam from Boston Band Crush-January 30, 2009

The Blizzard of 78 wanted to capture their live sound for their follow up to 2006's Where All Life Hangs, and though it took scrapping recording halfway through and starting over, they think they've found it on Book of Lies, and you can be sure they'll be celebrating at the record release party this Thursday at the Lizard Lounge.

"We wanted to move away from a click track," guitarist Nate Leavitt says. "All of the basic tracking was done with the whole band together. Instead of piecing it together we just wanted to play everything live."

That decision was made after months of recording in more conventional ways, but the band decided to make a drastic change in the middle of the process. "We started recording the album and we got sort of sidetracked by another project," he explains. "We put the original recording on hold and when we came back four or five months later some of us had a little bit of doubt, and once you kind of feel that it's hard to continue on."

Book of Lies is the result, a collection of fourteen songs that display the band's wide ranging rock sound. There's no single defining genre except what the band likes to refer to as "rock / soul", which can be more accurately translated as "rock w/ soul." Asked how this comes about, Leavitt says, "This time around the songwriting part was more of a group effort. The beginnings of most songs were just jams, and I think the group approach lets everyone have an equal say in the speaking of the songs and it makes a more complete album."

"The other side of that is the lyrics," Leavitt continues. "Pip [the lead singer] writes our lyrics and we have faith in him, and he really stepped out and took a few chances on a lot of personal things. It's kind of deep and there's a lot of spiritual questioning, and I think when you put our musical styles with that it creates a pretty heavy combination."

"There was never anything that he sang that we said 'This isn't working'," Leavitt says. "He was really just being honest and laying it all out. It's like when you hear Pip singing this stuff you can't deny it, and it gives you so much confidence that he really feels what he's singing on the songs like 'Pray' and 'God Eat God'."

Leavitt loosely defines that combination as "release of a spiritual conflict and questioning social issues. It's sort of like when one is a person of faith and there are all these horrible things going on in the world you have to question 'Is there a God?' and 'What does all of this mean?'."

For all of the album's emotional and spiritual depth, it still rocks plenty hard, and that's what fans can look forward to this Thursday at the Lizard Lounge. "We're a pretty loud band," admits Leavitt. "We're gonna turn it on and turn it up. We're working on a lot of the dynamics and we're looking forward to just doing a good, full set. It's gonna be great"

The Blizzard of 78 plays the late show at the Lizard Lounge this Thursday, January 29. Tickets are $8. More info, as well as video documentaries of the making of Book of Lies, are available at myspace.com/theblizzardof78

http://www.bostonmusicspotlight.com/article.php?id=1841 - Jed Henneberry of Boston Music Spotlight-January 28, 2009

Digging deep
The Blizzard of '78 returns with Book of Lies

The Blizzard of 78 released their second album, Book of Lies (available at tbo78.com and iTunes) on Tuesday, and at first glance you could assume that the veteran ex-Delta Clutch members had abandoned their fiery barroom guitar rock chops in favor of some newly subdued religious ditties, with song titles such as "Pray," "Mercy," and "The Last Temptation," or a quick listen to the acoustic and unnerving "God Eat God." Not to worry, as the quintet continues to deliver the rock on their sophomore effort, and are looking to raise some hell at Jake's Bar & Grille on Saturday (the 13th) at a CD release party show with friends Von Doom opening up.

"I love things that express spiritual or religious questions in a paradoxical sort of fashion," TBO78 singer Paul "Pip" Everett explains in a Lies making-of documentary posted at myspace.com/theblizzardof78, "You gotta have this blackness, this darkness, to get to this light."

When I spoke with guitarist Nate Leavitt this week, he said that he "wasn't surprised by the religious topics Pip's singing about, but more his conviction of them.

"There was some talk amongst us that the album was possibly too 'God' heavy and we're the complete opposite of a Christian band," Leavitt said, "but with an album title like Book of Lies and a song titled 'God Eat God,' I don't think we'll be misunderstood.

"We want Pip to write and sing about what is important and genuine to him since that always makes for a better performance."

Album opener "The Song" hits all the right notes, with a fuzzy guitar solo from Leavitt, the foot-stomping piano of Brian Syrjala, and drummer Paul Myers providing the big pop, along with Pip projecting a vocal swagger found throughout. Similar to their '06 debut, Where All Life Hangs, Book incorporates a few mellow numbers with the big hooks and midtempo, soulful rock gems; songs like "Mercy" and "Pray" are tailormade to engage packed dive bars, and here's hoping that a catchy track like "Time and Place" is released as a single and gets some well-deserved recognition. Former Delta Clutch/TBO78/Buffalo Tom keyboardist Phil Aiken lends his skills on a few tracks as does the horn section from Eli "Paperboy" Reed, particularly on the unabashed pop nugget "Come Back Now."

The band reports that a national tour is in the works and they're prepared to debut "most, if not all" of the new album on Saturday to their kinda-sorta hometown fans.

"Technically we are more of a Boston band," bassist Chris Cugini said. "We practice and record there, but [Pawtucket resident] Pip is very much a Rhode Islander, and we wrote much of this new album in a Providence warehouse.

"We play Providence more than Boston," Cugini said, "and I love Jake's and the crowd we always get there."

THE BLIZZARD OF 78 | VON DOOM | Jake's Bar & Grille, 373 Richmond St, Providence | December 13 @ 10 pm | 401.453.5253 - Chris Conti of The Providence Phoenix-December 10, 2008

MUSIC SCENE: The Blizzard of 78 delivers the hard stuff

They’re too soulful to be just an arena rock band, yet too visceral to ever be called an emo band. Too exciting to be mainstream popsters, but too musical to be termed punk rockers.

The Blizzard of 78’s debut album in 2006, ``Where All Life Hangs,'' was a rockin’ blend, but a bit slanted toward their more reflective side. The songs from the band, which at the time included three Stoneham-area natives and a vocalist from Providence known as Pip, were intelligent and emotional, yet the music was mainly pensive, moody and midtempo in style.

It’s a very intriguing album with some marvelous sounds, but not entirely representative of the intensity of a live Blizzard of 78 show.

The band’s sophomore release, ``Book of Lies,'' remedies that by delivering bursts of the band’s energy.

Blizzard of 78 celebrates the new CD with a show Saturday night at Jake’s Bar & Grille in Providence. The group will also perform at Church in Boston on Dec. 29, and will host a CD release party at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge on Jan. 29.

``The new album is harder, with more variety,'' said guitarist Nate Leavitt from his Andover home. ``We made a conscious effort to make this one rock a little harder. ‘Where All Life Hangs’ had a mellower, more melancholy in places, feeling, and we wanted an album that was closer to what we are live. I’d guess 85 percent of our live show is our more rocking side, and I think this CD showcases that.''

Blizzard’s new album certainly has some terrific moments, from the arena-rock dynamics of ``Pray'' to the 1960s Wall of Sound arrangement of ``Come Back Now.'' The dynamic sweep of ``Blood on the Road'' is almost operatic, and ``Cast a Long Shadow’ has a throbbing, anthemic intensity that will surely have people making U2 comparisons. Pip, the main lyricist, seldom goes for a linear narrative, but his impressionistic, often epigrammatic, lyrics are frequently fascinating. ``God Eat God,'' for example, could be a John Lennon outtake with its good-natured questioning, while the soulful ballad ``Well Enough Alone'' is warmly affirming.

``In the middle of recording this one, we didn’t like how it sounded, so we went back and did it all over again,'' Leavitt revealed. ``On the first CD we were collaborating, but it was like material coming from three different points of view – we’d all work separately at first and bring finished ideas in to the band. That made the first CD sound more eclectic, I think. This time we were consciously writing together, for a live band feel. The songs here stick more to a rock theme.''

``The theme for this CD was rock’n’roll,'' Leavitt said. ``We were not afraid to go all out. ‘Blood on the Road’ has Pip doing a really venomous lead vocal, which conjures up such a vision – he dug deep for that one. We’re the kind of band that writes songs about baring your soul, not just breaking up with a girl. Pip does have some political content in this album, and there’s a lot of spiritual conflict. ‘Cast a Long Shadow’ also has somewhat disturbing images, but we were going for big themes on this album.''

The band is spread out, with Pip in Providence; Leavitt in Andover; bassist Chris Cugini in Stoneham (where the band’s studio is); drummer Paul Myers in Taunton; and keyboardist Brian Syrge in Belmont.

Blizzard of 78’s first album listed the band as a quartet, although Boston keyboardist Phil Aiken played on the album and had been a full-time member. Aiken left before the first CD’s release, so the group went along as a foursome for a while.
``Brian Syrge joined soon after that first album, so we were a quartet for a very short time,'' Leavitt said. ``We always saw ourselves as a five-piece, and it was just a case of not knowing who the keyboardist would be. There’s nothing worse than stepping into a band that’s just done a whole album with someone else on your instrument, but Brian handled it well.''''

Leavitt said myspace.com, mp3s, and downloading have been a godsend for indie bands like Blizzard of 78.
``Fifteen years ago, you started out by putting out a 7-inch single, and schlepping it down to your local record store,'' Leavitt said. ``Now it’s like we have our own record store online. The Internet has been a great thing for bands like us without a huge hype machine behind them. It has opened the floodgates for anyone who can record. Now you can hear all these bands from all over the world.'' - Jay Miller of The Patriot Ledger-December 12, 2008

No one really believed that the snow-bearing Blizzard of ’78 was coming; people doubted the weather forecasters and went to work anyway – a costly mistake that stranded many, killed some and generally bummed out the entire local population.

You probably still don’t want to sleep on this band either, judging by this song, anyway. They certainly won’t bum out the entire population; in fact they should have the opposite effect on anyone who finds themselves within earshot.

Much like any self-respecting storm, “Mercy” starts off with an initially sparse approach – a five-note piano phrase that states the general motif of the song. The quiet moodiness of the introduction gives way to a more energetic form of moodiness expressed mainly through the vocal presence, yet belied by every sound on the track. Even the drums seem a little forlorn, if that is indeed possible through drum technique. The vocals rip a hole in this song, starting with the initial refrain and maintaining velocity all the way through a bona fide breakdown right through to the bitter end, a series of explosive “Have mercy!” call-and-response exclamations over the band’s final stand of defiance.

This song frowns, furrows, swings, gnashes its teeth and comes back for more. While they may not cancel school for this particular storm, it’s still something worth staying inside for. - C.D. Di Guardia on July 14, 2009