The Burgundy Curtain

AGE: 28

HOMETOWN: Aiken

MEMBER OF: The Burgundy Curtain (with Andrew Clemons), 2007-present

STYLE: Ambient electronica

FAVORITE SHOW: The Social, Orlando, Fla., 2007. "It was a packed house, everyone was very attentive, and I got a very warm response. The room was great. The overall vibe was just very good, and very embracive and warm."

FAVORITE MOVIE: The Royal Tenenbaums

PRE-SHOW RITUAL: I try to really humble myself the best that I can because the listener is just as important as we are, and it should be a symbiotic relationship where the listener can identify with my feelings."

HANDPICKED CONCERT LINEUP: The Album Leaf, We Need Help; Panda Bear, Comfy In Nautica; The Mercury Program, Tequesta; Lympyc Systym, Carved by Glaciers; Tortoise, It's All Around You

From the Thursday, March 13, 2008 edition of the Augusta Chronicle - The Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, GA)

Mellow, slightly ambient indie rock from SC. The Burgundy Curtain relies heavily on electronic loops and muffled bleeps and bloops. The debut full-length The Days Move Quietly Around Us is out now. - Flagpole (Athens, GA)

Another of the newish bands plying their trade around town lately is THE BURGUNDY CURTAIN.....today they sent out a bulletin regarding video of their performance this past weekend at 1102 Bar & Grill(ptooey! for sticking an incapacitated man with $100 plus bar tab-who'd you give the other 30 beers to that i ended up paying for, you *numerous expletives deleted*?)........as it turns out, they've posted videos of enough songs for me to show one daily for a week withouts repeats.......don't get terribly excited........the vids are adequate to be sure.........but it's static single camera sorta deal so there is no MTV style editing........on the plus side, the condenser mic on the camera did a reasonable job of capturing the band's sound......which for those of you who don't know, is shoe gazer city......the songs are angled toward an atmospheric sound and they are long.........lots of folks(ie. RADIOHEAD fans) love that sorta stuff........

THE BURGUNDY CURTAIN has an album out now(electronically available at various sites as is the fashion these days) entitled "The Days Move Quietly Around Us"........click on their name above to go to their myspace page.......there you find instructions on how to obtain said document.......and you can preview some of the studio recordings of those tunes......

See y'all at the rock show.....

Stak - Confederation of Noisemakers (sinisterrail.blogspot.com)

Described by one local online music publication as “shoegazers”, Aiken Indie/Ambient/Electronica band The Burgundy Curtain possess a sound that is a gorgeous mix of melody, enchantment and ethereal sounds that at times would seem to contradict the mere present of only the band’s two primary members singer-songwriter/multi instrumentalist Nick Del Rossi and drummer/beat creator Andrew Clemons. Occasionally joined by bassist Phillip Munalfo on recordings, The Burgundy Curtain is a growing Augusta band with a recent CD release (The Days Move Quietly Around us) and the continued ominous task of performing the band’s music with only two onstage members. Lokal Loudness took a moment to talk to Clemons as the band was gearing up for their next gig on Saturday at Sector 7G.

LL – Now if I’m to understand this correctly, Nick actually started The Burgundy Curtain originally writing and recording all the tracks on his own?
AC – For the most part, yes. Nick’s friend Phil Munalfo contributed bass tracks and helped write the drum loops. But Nick wrote the lyrics, did the vocals and all the guitars and synths. All done in his apartment. No studio. The results are amazing.

LL – Are those original recordings the songs that make up “The Days Move Quietly Around Us” CD?
AC – Yes. Written in early 2007 in Daytona Beach, right after Nick finished at Flagler College in St. Augustine.

LL – When the decision was made to add more members to the band, was it more for live performances or recording purposes? MySpace does list a slight difference between the band and “live” band.
AC – After returning to his home town of Aiken, Nick wanted to start performing live, particularly with a live drummer. That’s where I came in to the picture. Nick contacted me through a mutual friend. Actually it was a complete accident. He googled local bands and came across Jim Walker’s name, who plays guitar in the cover band The Dispatch. I play the drums. So he calls the phone number from our Web site, expecting Jim to answer. I’m driving home from work and get a phone call on my cell. “Can I speak to Jim Walker?” I said “You have the wrong number … but I know a Jim Walker. I’m in a band with him.” Nick says “What do you play?” I respond “drums.” Nick says “Oh. Drums are cool. I’m looking for a drummer.” Nick is very spiritual and thinks our meeting was meant to be. I’m starting to believe him.

LL – Since Phillip already participates in recording why not utilize his talents live?
AC – Phil likes it in Florida. I believe he is a chef. We hope to incorporate a full band down the line, but we’re enjoying the simplicity of things for now. More members mean more egos, more personalities, etc. Nick and I get along great and make good music and that’s all that matters now. Plus the novelty of a two person band doesn’t hurt. As a matter of fact, Phil is participating in some of the new tracks (the next album will be called Water Seeks Its Own Level). We’re going to work via the internet, not unlike how The Postal Service did their album through the mail.

LL – I gotta say, being in a band that utilizes only two people to perform full musical compositions has gotta be tricky. How do you guys pull it off?
AC – It is very challenging. We practice a lot. Also we depend heavily on the laptop to work perfectly, and sometimes it hasn’t in the past. We had a particularly rough show at The Soul Bar in March (sorry Coco). The computer went haywire on us for almost every song. Through trial and error we have worked out the kinks. We’ve talked to a couple of people about joining in on bass, but so far haven’t found the right fit.

LL – In addition to shows at Soul Bar, Red Lion, 1102, the band has even performed in Athens and Columbia, with a show in Jacksonville, Florida coming up. What’s it been like to take Nick’s original vision and put it in front of such a wide area of audiences?
AC - It’s a dream come true for me. It’s given me the opportunity to perform on stages where I’ve seen a ton of great bands play. Also to travel and share this music with complete strangers, who have all been very receptive. It’s the best part time job in the world.

LL – Despite recently releasing “The Days Move Quietly Around Us”, the band has just posted two new songs on MySpace, “Silent Sounds” and “Multiply And Metaphor”. What was the reason for posting new tracks so soon?
AC – A couple of reasons, I think. First and foremost, the songs are good - so why not? We have a very active MySpace presence, so it pays to keep yourself out there. Secondly, we have had some contact with the music industry, and one piece of advice was for us to get away from the computer. “Silent Sounds” is an acoustic track that closes out the album. Even though it’s completely different than the other stuff we do, it’s a beautiful little song and we’re going to begin performing it live - NO COMPUTER! Also, to be completely honest, Nick wants to prove he’s no one trick pony. Songs like “Mu - Lokal Loudness (lokalloudness.org)