The Concentrics

BEFORE ALL THIS from The Concentrics ... Make it your soundtrack for the last weekend of August: think Car Dancin', BBQs, and late night summer beers.... - Gia Forakis of One Thought / One Action (OTOA)

"Before All This" is a rare collection of songs ripe with originality while still being musical and content-driven. The music is tight and clear, with clean riffs and hard rock references that satisfy, and a singer-songwriting sophistication that surprises.
Sometimes you can hear a Tom Petty
influence, at other times a little taste of Guided By Voices, but The
Concentrics keep it their own, with an edge that is never lost,
sailing through rhythm and key changes and, most especially, with
lyrics that will not let you down: language that leaves you suspended
in revelation --without pretension: "...even the stars were easy..."
The band is tight and the lead singer has a compelling voice, that
tells each and every story in song --even when you're not sure what that story is to him, there's room for us to interpret. Despite songs of
honest reflection, disappointment and questioning there is an upbeat propulsion to this CD-- like a quest for the certainty of the sunrise. - Gia Forakis -- One Thought / One Action

Through a medley of melody and an attention-grabbing guitar sequence, The Concentrics, a Queens-based alternative-rock group, greet the listener and seek to engage them through every pick, pluck and pound on their instruments.
“I think the kind of music that we want to play now is music that makes fans react in a way that we can feel it on stage more than ever,” the band’s drummer, Astoria resident Seth Goldberg, said.
The Concentrics, who will play at the Irish Whiskey Bar, formerly Olde Prague Tavern, will be joined by groups like Mainline Gypsy and Space Jump Live! on Saturday, Nov. 14, starting at 9 p.m.
The three-man band’s name is an assemblage of worlds like concentrate, trick and concert that has an essentially undefined meaning. The group, whose sound has a little bit of edge and twang nestled in with harmony, formed in 2009 from a previous more progressive rock group, which they all were a part of, called The Old Nationals.
That group has had its song “Same Mistake Twice” featured on TV shows like “Hart of Dixie” and “Friday Night Lights.”
The indie-rock group will be exploring a new acoustic bricolage of sound during the show Saturday, calling themselves “Brick Moon” for the gig.
Although the musicians have previously gone acoustic a couple of times at Espresso 77 at 35-77 77 St. in Jackson Heights, lead guitarist Matt Zimbelmann said they will likely keep the trend going.
Zimbelmann, a former Long Island City resident who now lives in Brooklyn, said he will be “folking it” with a softer guitar, as will bass player Paul Trust, a Jackson Heights resident.
While they’ll be performing the same tunes, they’ll be played and arranged a little differently, Trust added.
“The music part is a little quieter, and the singing quality is a little more up-front, and that’s good practice for everybody’s vocal chops,” Zimbelmann said.
The group’s album “Before All This,” which features Hunters Point in Long Island City on the cover, is the first for the band, though they have potentially generated enough material for another album, he added.
Many of the tracks on “Before All This” were recorded at a studio called A Bloody Good Record Inc. at 44-02 11 St. in Long Island City, he said.
The band, who rehearses at Astoria Soundworks at 38-01 23 Ave., also likes to mix and mingle with other musical groups in the area.
“There’s a big music community in Astoria, and it’s less of a competition it seems, and more of a ‘let’s get a bunch of bands together and have a good time together,’” Goldberg said.
Trust, who is also more affectionately known as “Pablo,” added that Astoria has been home in ways more than one.
“I think seeing what they’re doing and seeing what’s working for them, what people are gravitating toward has sort of helped gear our own sound and what we do,” Trust said.
He mentioned that Astoria has a “small-town vibe” in a big city, which has allowed for support and collaboration among musicians in the area.
However, beyond band-bonding, even individual musicians have shared the stage.
“It’s just been such a home base for us. It would be hard to do that in other places. I don’t think you can do that in Manhattan as much,” Zimbelmann added, mentioning that they have performed in the city too.
Saturday’s acts were originally slated to be at the Irish Whiskey Bar as an after-show following Astoria Music Now! through Astoria Music and Arts on Aug. 29.
That show’s location was changed to The Quays Pub at 45-02 30 Ave., so the band is calling Saturday’s performances a “way after-party” to that event.
To hear songs from the album, check out theconcentrics.com.
The Concentrics
When: Saturday, Nov. 14, 9 p.m.
Where: Irish Whiskey Bar, 28-48 31 St., Astoria
Entry: Free
theconcentrics.com - Queens Chronicle