The Problems

"Listening to THE PROBLEMS, it's hard to believe they hail from New York. Their blend of jangly, rootsy rock/pop suggests a more rural U.S. home base, with Brooklyn-born singer Frank Caiafa even sporting a slight Southern accent. But with music this joyful and upbeat, who cares? These guys are lovers of the three-minute pop song, garnishing each of these 17 ditties with Caiafa's and Caroline Heldman's attractive voices, ringing guitars, Kenney Anaya's chugging bass, and Liz Pierson's lovely violin. The LP gets off to a strong start, with three of the album's best songs: "This Town", "Ain't Over Yet", and the standout "Still". The album doesn't let up after that, with one catchy, head-bopping tune after another, and a few quieter, heartfelt ballads thrown in for good measure. Perhaps the band's biggest "problem" will be to get enough people in out big city to take notice!"

The Big Takeover/Issue #49, THE PROBLEMS - Unknown

"As the singer/songwriter/poet style has resurrected wih the Dylan-esc sounds of Ryan Adams, Pete Yorn and Wilco, comes New York based THE PROBLEMS, with their impressive self-titled debut record. Not wanting to be pigeonholed, the group successfully combines elements of traditional country, underpinning rock and roll, and even shades of punk. THE PROBLEMS, life so many artists these days, are acoustic driven and utilize traditional instrumentation such as the mandolin and voilin, which creates a Celtic/Bluegrass vibe on many of their tracks. Formed in 1996 by bassist Kenney Anaya, guitarist, and singer/songwriter Frank Caiafa, drummer Barbara Corless, vocalist Caroline Heldman and violinist Liz Pierson, THE PROBLEMS began playing the clubs in NYC. A chance meeting with former Smithereens frontman Pat Dinizio would bring the band a wider fan base after Dinizio invited them to join in on his "Living Room Tour". THE PROBLEMS unveiling disc is a collection of songs written from 1996 through 2001. For the most part, the songs on the recording are straight ahead pop rock with a slight country slant in the midst of lyrics of reflection. While Frank Caiafa sings lead, the two part harmonies between Caiafa and backing vocalist Caroline Heldman are absorbing. 'This Town' sets the mood for the remaining 16 tracks with crisp guitar work, and Liz Pierson's violin is obsequious fitting. The subsequent cut, 'Aint Over Yet', introduces the listener to Frank's chicken pickin' guitar style as a mandolin lingers in the back. Moreover, Heldman steps into the spolight as she and Caiafa share lead vocal duties. The band confirms they can rock with the best of them on 'In For Me' with an X-like vocal ambiance coupled with a Chuck Berry enthused guitar solo. Adopting a Liverpool accent for the cow punk influenced 'The Lottery', the band shows their lighter side with lines like, "Drink all night, puke all day, and when the bill comes, that I'll pay". There are no problems on THE PROBLEMS first appearance and in fact, if there were a problem, it would be the lack of a recording contract. This group of musicians successfully blend musical genres without confusing the listener. The first outing for THE PROBLEMS is fun, fresh, energetic, quirky, and poignant with a collection of very well crafted original songs."
Tony Engelhart
http://www.havemusic.com/mn/ - Unknown

"The CD from THE PROBLEMS is full of really accessible, catchy rock & roll. These songs are very well crafted and performed with passion. These guys know how to do it."

Dave Kane, WCMF-FM 96.5 Music Director, Midday Host - Unknown

The Problems have heart. The kind of heart you need to live in this cynical, smelly, sweaty, rat palace called the American basement. This band deeply cares about what they are doing. They love their music. They really do and that¹s inspiring. The Problems started their journey in New York City in 1996 with bassist Kenney Anaya, guitarist and singer/songwriter Frank Caiafa(Ki-afa), drummer Barbara Corless, vocalist Caroline Heldman and violinist Liz Pierson. Lead guitarist Josh Weingust joined the band two years ago. Now, The Problems are just trying to make it. They¹re just trying to get along, get some gigs, sell some CDs, and work out some new tunes.

Let¹s start with Frank Caiafa. He¹s the songwriter of the junta in question. Maybe Frank has a heart of darkness or maybe Frank he has a heart of gold. I¹m not quite sureŠ yet. In the opening song, This Town, Frank shows his callous side:


You better get hard cause this ain't the sticks

And it ain't exactly talent that gets you on Page Six It'll kill you if your not lookin' so you better watch your back


Frank delivers this calmly, with acoustic guitar in hand, like Joni Mitchell on Quaaludes at a California orgy. Frank tells me that he could set himself on fire in Times Square and no one would notice. I am not sure about that (think about the brand new terrorist Fantasy Island), but people should take notice of this fantastic band and their great CD release. Frank wrote most of the songs on the CD and it is clear that he has a clever way with words. He is a fine tunesmith. Franks writes about personal relationships and professional aspirations. He often uses country bass lines that kiss up against punk rock. He likes The Jam, The Band, The Replacements, Husker Du, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Minutemen, Steve Earle, Elvis Costello, Mick Lowe & Rock Pile, The Faces, and he hates that ambient music crap. The CD was supposed to come out on September 11, 2001, but Frank held it up a little after the twin towers collapsed. The whole CD was recorded in three days and you can hear the raw energy in the grooves. Frank plays a tasty and subtle acoustic guitar on most songs that sounds a bit like Dave Matthews. It turns out that Frank is not a big fan of Dave Matthews. He says that Jim Beam has been a stronger influence on his music than Dave Matthews. He says that The Problems really came before the Dave Matthews Band and defined the acoustic-punk sound well before they were around. It might be true. Frank prefers to work on his original songs at home on the guitar. He will play his trusty acoustic guitar, get into the zone, and the lyrics just come to him. Each song on the CD has a slightly different character. Still, reminds me of many great X songs with wonderful male/female harmonies with a pleasing and progressive edge. Josh also achieves an incredible Billy Zoom-like tone and style on the guitar for this song.

Speaking of California, Josh Weingust and I talked quite a bit about the open spaces out west. The Redwood forests, the purple mountains, and the neo-nazis in Idaho. Yeah. Idaho is a really fucked up state full of conservative, oppressive, Mormon, ditto heads that want to lick George W. Bush¹s shiny, little, flag-striped balls. I know. I had to live there for ten years. Matthew Barney is from Idaho and he¹s pretty cool. I encourage you to go see his retrospective at the Guggenheim. Maybe there are a few good people in Idaho after all. Thank God for the East Coast. God blesses it. He blesses it. I know God blesses it. Thank God for Brooklyn. Thank God for the Problems. God gives us so many problems to solve, so many riddles to ponder, so many flowers to smell, but the choice is easy with this music. Buy a copy of the Problems¹ CD on their web site at www.theproblems.com. You will be glad that you did. You¹ll hear Josh playing his soulful licks with a Fender Telecaster through a Laney Tube amp. That¹s 40 watts of succulent guitar power through one twelve inch speaker. His rich, overdriven sound really adds to the poignant and very well crafted original songs. Josh has done a lot of session work and weddings in the past. He likes roots, country, blues, Keith Richards, Eddy Van Halen, George Harrison, and Billy Zoom. He doesn¹t like pristine playing. He likes it raw and honest.

Barbara Corless is a great drummer of all styles of music from punk to country. She has a nice voice and sings a little back-up with the band. And talk about grooves, the band has rhythm to spare with Barbara¹s solid, competent, and risky drumming. She likes the Rolling Stones (like the rest of the band) and John Bonham¹s style of playing. More of her influences include John Prine, Rachel Thomas, Steve Earle, and John Hiatt. Barbara enjoys playing drums live more than anything else. She likes Frank¹s songwriting and gets a high out of playing with him and the rest of the guys in the band.

Kenny Anaya is the band¹s bottom end. He¹s the bed. He¹s the one that brings it all together. He is the solid rock that keeps this folksy and ephemeral band grounded. Kenny is great in the studio and works hard to define the band¹s unique ambience. I do not mean ambience music, though, he hates that ambient music shit.

But waitŠ I¹m getting off track here. This article is about drumming up interest for the band. This band has a lot of talent and they need a sponsor. They already did the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night gigs at bars where all the kids look like Moby and have a bad attitude. The Problems want to move up to the next level. They are looking for a patron, a label, or someone that will financially sustain them. The Problems need some money to produce their next CD. Is there anybody out there that wants to pay for the Problems next CD? They could play a benefit in the establishment of your choice or anything else that will make it happen. Contact Frank on his web site at www.theproblems.com and work out the details. You will be glad that you did. It looks like The Problems might do the soundtrack for an upcoming independent film entitled Poker Game. I am sure that it will be a brilliant score. Frank would like to work on more soundtracks if possible. If you are a filmmaker in Brooklyn and you need great band for you film, then get in touch with Frank Caiafa and he¹ll put together an outstanding slate of original songs for your movie. One more point, be sure that you go see them at The Charleston (Bedford Avenue and North 7th Street) on Friday, May 30th, 2003. They will start their set at 12:00 midnight. Be there and enjoy their acoustic guitar driven, infectious, heartland rock and roll.


by Tom Brumley
www.1121magazine.com
Issue 17
Volume 3 No. 5
May ¡ June 2003

- Unknown

"No pith here. Now we get THE PROBLEM's debut album and boy, it's a good one. The songs are mostly rock and roll with a pop and country slant. There's some great arrangements and hook-filled tunes to hear, and they're all kept short and tight with minimal fuss.
Frank told me this was because the live shows he plays like to keep the sets short, and the shorter songs also hold the audience's attention better. The lyrics are also intelligent and not your normal "in one ear and out the other" fodder that a lot of bands end up with. Out of the 17 cuts on the album there's really not a clunker in the bunch, a rare feat indeed.
Frank grew up a self-taught musician in the big city listening to bands like The Ramones, The Band, The Byrds, Dylan, J. Geils, etc. but his music also exhibits influences from other less expected genres such as jazz, classic country and punk. Seven band members play on the album, but in a live setting anywhere from three to eight people can show up to jam at a gig. This gives their live shows a different feel on any given night that can range anywhere from an acoustic trio to a full-fledged rock and roll extravaganza.
The present band line-up includes Frank's best friend Kenney Anaya on Bass, Barbara Corless on Drums, Caroline Heldman on Vocals, Liz Pierson on Violin, Josh Weingust on Electric Guitar and Rick Rivera on Percussion and Mandolin. From the opening cut "This Town" to the close "That Town", you just can't go wrong with THE PROBLEMS."

www.backroadsreviews.com
- Unknown

"Don't know why they named themselves what they did. I see no problem with this band at all! Where most bands leads with electric guitars blazing, this band makes use of a prominent acoustic guitar strum that adds a different, folksy element to their sound, Even when they play a balls-to-the-wall rocker, the acoustic leads the charge with the electric playing a backup role. No matter, the band adds other touches as well, most notably in the form of violin with a little mandolin thrown in to make it even more heartland sounding. Think David Matthews with a Big Daddy-era Mellencamp fixation or Rockpile if Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds had studied Ralph Stanley instead of Chuck Berry. Either way, great stuff, original songs that showcase some great heartland rock and killer melodies that add a pop edge. Rock on, country boys!"

--Reviewed by Scott Homewood, www.freighttrainboogie.com
on THE PROBLEMS (self-released)
- Unknown

"I am not sure if the members of the band The Problems know how good they
are. The name is obviously a wrong choice. You would think they were a
no-name punk band. The production on their debut album does not have alot of
sparkles either but if you can look through that you can see seventeen
beautiful songs. A combination of folk, rock, country and even a little punk.
The fire behind the band is singer-songwriter Frank Caiafa who has six
band members around him including singer Caroline Heldman who sometimes takes
lead vocals too.
Together they create a mostly acoustic sound (guitar, mandolin, violin)
frequently uplifted by the flaming electric guitar of Josh Weingust.
There is not a momentwhen you think the songs are alittle too much of
everything. Each of the songs are exciting and variate alot from each other.
That Caiafa is a special writer, mixing traditional observations and black
comedy. Just listen to his English accent in the bluesy-jazzy song, "The
Lottery" with its explosive punk ending compared to the beautiful soft love
song, "Before I Go". Caiafa and Heldman singing together souped up by the
guitar of Weingust left me speechless."

Altcountry.com(Germany)

http://www.altcountry.nl/recenciesfeb02.html


- Unknown

"What do you expect when a group name like "The Problems" crosses your
way? Yes indeed a punk or rock band like The Hives or The Strokes but that
is not the case here. No, this is a New York City band with roots in folk,
rock and pop traditions. With the first song on the album you might think
that they are the Go-Betweens with Grant McLennan as lead singer. And by
the time you get to the songs "Before I Go", "Archaeology", "Mighta Gone
Once", the singing, song structures and the violin remind you alot of Tandy.
Take a quick look at the website of The Problems and no members of Tandy are
playing along on this album.
The Problems have seven members with singer/songwriter Frank Caiafa being
an important front man who has the art in his fingers to write sharp three
minute songs and you can find seventeen of them on this album. Also very
special is the second voice of female singer Caroline Heldman and the always
present violin of Liz Pierson.
The music on the album is mostly acoustic with some explosions of electric
guitar from Josh Weingust.
All of the songs are nice to hear except "The Lottery", in my eyes a
failed Ian Dury pub-rock imitation. I am curious to see if The Problems can
give some competition to Tandy."

http://home.planet.nl/~kprvos/problems.html

- Unknown

Excellent packaging is the first thing you notice here -- bright orange slice images; a simple idea well done. The Problems, who hail from New York, are a sort of folky band begun in the late 90's and given a boost by touring with the Smithereens. Its a decent sounding mix, the first song is great -- "This Town." Song 11, "The end of the line," is among the best of these 17 songs, with the whole formula purring like a fine old tractor. A bit smoother than locals Pushin' Daisies, its a similar folky rock with a country backbeat and a nice blend of talented voices and instrumentalists. Guitars of course, bass, drums, violin, mandolin, kind of a classic mix.The best songs have nice vocal blends and a hook.
Norm Deplume

http://www.demorama.com/reviews/archives/aug2002.html
- Unknown