The Empty Pockets

"...As for this evening, we settled in for the second night of the two night stand. The opening act was The Empty Pockets, who feature Josh Solomon on guitar and vocals, Nate Bellon on bass/vocals, Danny Rosenthal on drums, and Erika Brett on vocals. They brought a fun energy and positive, upbeat presence to the stage for their very enjoyable set, getting the crowd primed for Dickey Betts. Initially gaining traction locally as a Buddy Holly tribute trio in 2006, and then with the subsequent addition of Erika on vocals, the band looks to have hit their stride. I highly recommend you checking them out (http://www.theemptypockets.com). They perform in Aurora at The Hollywood Casino this Friday night for two shows, as well as in Elmhurst on Thursday, the 15th at the Gazebo..." - Patrick Kinsella, Rock Chicago Magazine

The Sunset Sessions, an annual music-business event held in San Diego since 2007, that has launched careers including those of Jack Johnson, Ryan Adams, Five for Fighting, Pete Yorn, and Jason Mraz, celebrated their fifteen years this past week from Feb. 16-19. Monday night at the Belly Up was the Sunset Sessions’ after party, officially titled, Sunset Sessions New Music Adventure. Headlining the event were the Makepeace Brothers, an enthusiastic brotherly ensemble from Venice Beach, CA.

But before we could get to the heart of the night, the opening acts for the Sunset Sessions New Music Adventure that ranged from over-the-top colorful acts to more melodious and melancholy performances, created quite a stirring affair for what was initially supposed to be a mellow Monday evening of music. Getting a mixture of sounds and styles from performers who’s already graced the stage at the Rancho Bernardo Inn the past weekend, those of us who could not attend the Sunset Sessions at the RB Inn got to sample material from the rising musical acts currently being endorsed by the people behind Sunset Sessions.

The Chicago-based band, The Empty Pockets opened up their set right off the bat on a Bossa Nova note, a flashy and loud rendition that showed those congregating farther from the stage that they were in for a surprise. Because when The Empty Pockets play, they don’t just go through the motions of belting out tunes and revving their guitars to impress you – their performances are offset with a vibrancy and a sort of energetic showmanship so that space and distance don’t matter in the end – rather it’s more of which of their carefully crafted songs will strike a chord within you first. And only once the audience got the groove of this did things really pick up for The Empty Pockets.

Toe-tapping and head-bouncing to the time of the witty pop songs that were catchy and at times interwoven with a 50’s retro feel, The Empty Pockets were doing a fantastic job of warming up the crowd to an anticipated night of great music. Slowing to a lovey groove and then to a bluesy-swaying rock rendition, the songs played that night went from classic pop-rock to doo-wop influences in a matter of seconds, so that by the time their set ended, The Empty Pockets left in the wake of the crowd a trail of music aficionados. - My Nguyen, AMD Entertainment

Some bands are meant for Friday night. Every night is Friday night for The Empty Pockets from Chicago, Illinois. Their high energy fun music just doesn’t seem to fit on a weekday. Nevertheless the band hit the best venue Northwest Missouri on a Thursday night to see if they could bring the Friday night vibe on a school night.

It is always exciting when out-of-towners swing through St. Joseph. The local music (even though it is quite good right now) can become stale and it is refreshing to hear a new voice and sound roll through. The Empty Pockets brought a good time energy that isn’t all that common and would make for a great Thursday night experiment.

The band is very pop-rock radio friendly. Their vocals are right on top of the music and easy to hear (which is nice for a change.) They have a very listener friendly sound with a female vocalist in Erika Brett paired with most-of-the-time lead singer Joshua Solomon. The bass player would take the lead on the occasional song (usually a old standard cover song) but would deliver a booming voice to do the songs justice. Brett’s lead vocals were added to the band after their formation and it was very apparent live which songs where written after her addition.

Erika Brett is the classic story of a singer who learned how to sing then joined a band. It is always a bit of a fresh sound when this happens, this sequence of events usually avoids a vocalist just trying to shout over the band. The hip-slapping Brett could belt out great vocals but it was still obvious that the driving force of the band was Joshua Solomon on vocals and lead guitar. He has the voice of a less-whiney Rob Thomas from Matchbox Twenty and writes great little catchy pop songs. The music of The Empty Pockets has the vibe of The Barenaked Ladies. It is light, catchy and fun which is not an easy sound to pull off.

They would take the stage and blast into an energetic mix of mostly original songs and some carefully chosen covers to bring familiarity to the young band’s set. The most impressive cover delivered on the evening was an appropriate version of Etta James’ “At Last.” The band would also deliver standards like “Mustang Sally” and “Sweet Home Chicago” and make them much less their own than they did the James classic.

As far as the band’s strengths go, it is clearly their original songs. They have a stellar group of songs highlighted by the 98 degrees-referencing “Fall Right Now” and the strongest song of the evening in St. Joseph “All I Need.” They even displayed their soft-touch for music with the slowed down tune ” You’re The One.” The music of the band is very PG rated but is great for a good-time feeling night of music. The group’s influences are all over the map bluesy sounding songs during the second half of the set and many reggae sounding guitar songs filling the initial set. The talent of the band in undeniable, the solid drumming and bass works as the mortar for the guitar and vocals of the band, holding the whole thing together. Brett’s vocals are instantly noticeable and the songwriting and guitar playing of Solomon are both solid. The band has potential to do a lot, it will be interesting to see how far they go. - Clinton Wiederholt, VocalsOnTop.com

By Shea Conner | St. Joe Live

The Empty Pockets might have a seemingly pessimistic name, but this four-piece definitely has a “glass half full” mentality.

Whether they’re singing about love lost, love found, politics or, um, Nick Lachey from 98 Degrees, the pop rock band’s musical vibe always remains upbeat and uplifting.

“We’re sort of a wholesome group, I guess,” laughs vocalist Erika Brett. “We’re nerds. We want to be quirky and fun.”
“We’re not big party-ers, but we start a party,” adds bassist Nate Bellon.

It might not be a party per se, but The Empty Pockets certainly will get some toes tapping when they perform at 9:30 p.m. Oct. 4 at Cafe Acoustic.

“Infectious” is the best word to describe this band that hails from Chicago. From lead singer/guitarist Josh Solomon’s clear and clever lyrics to the Bellon and drummer Danny Rosenthal’s soulful rockabilly grooves, The Empty Pockets have won over lots of crowds with catchy but simple pop numbers. Solomon says the group follows the musical ideology of one its heroes: Buddy Holly.

“He proved that music doesn’t need to be complicated to be awesome,” Solomon says. “It’s amazing what he did that with three chords and a few lyrics.”

It’s no coincidence that all four of them take after the father of rock ‘n’ roll. Solomon, Bellon and Rosenthal grew up in the Chicago area playing music, and shortly after forming a band in 2006, Solomon was cast as Buddy Holly in the 2007 production of “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story” at Chicago’s Mercury Theatre. Bellon and Rosenthal were cast as The Crickets in the show. During the run, the band met Brett — who was a singer and dancer in the show — and the rest is history.

Members of the Empty Pockets started playing their own music in 2008. In that year, the quartet released its debut album “Under the Bed” as well as the Christmas single “Baby It’s Cold Outside/Baby Please Come Home.” From those two recordings, the band’s success has snowballed slowly in the past four years.

The Christmas single not only became the No. 1 requested song at four major radio stations in 2009, but it also reached No. 31 on the Mediabase Christmas Charts. Later that year, the folks at Nickelodeon got a hold of “Under the Bed” and decided to use all 10 of its tracks in various shows including “iCarly,” “Drake & Josh” and “Zoey 101.” Although the band’s appearance on Nick programming didn’t give them a whole lot of new fans, the band says it opened a lot of doors for them.

“It basically gave us a stamp of legitimacy,” Bellon says.

By 2010, The Empty Pockets were sharing the stage with Jennifer Hudson, Portugal. the Man, Buffalo Springfield’s Richie Furay and headlining historic venues like the House of Blues Chicago, Schubas and Millennium Park. Since then, the group has had a showcase at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas, and they’ve opened for Dispatch and Latino stand-up comedy icon George Lopez. That was just last week, as a matter of fact.

While some of those may seem like odd opening act slots, The Empty Pockets felt like a pea in a pod with Jason Mraz last year. The band’s fun, handcrafted tongue-in-cheek set fits right in with the Mrazes, Gavin DeGraws, Adam Levines, Eric Hutchinsons and Barenaked Ladies of the world. Solomon says the group tries to focus on recording authentic tracks that can always be replicated in a live setting. Overproduction is something The Empty Pockets try to avoid.

“Dan, Josh and I came up jamming together and we didn’t really have access to all the electronic stuff and all those cool toys. And we never needed them,” Bellon says. “It’s not imperative that you use all the blades and knives. Just use the one to cut the fruit with.”

In November, the band will release a Christmas EP called “A Holiday Staycation” — which will include seasonal covers like “Run Run Rudolph” and “Holly Jolly Christmas” as well as a holiday original called “Snow Shoes” — and the four of them plan to release a new full-length album in 2013.

By this time next year, their pockets might not be so empty. - Shea Conner, St. Joe Live