The Real Feel
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The Real Feel

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | SELF

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | SELF
Band Rock Funk

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"Forget What You've Heard... This is Music You Can Feel"

An unrestrained wave of stale cover acts and makeshift musical hacks seems to have washed over the sparse collection of music venues located in the Delaware Valley. Fortunately, hope still lingers for the true appreciators of Rock n' Roll - the fans who know its roots, understand its art form, and seek more gratification out of their local scene.

Showcasing their live set for just the fourth time on February 6th 2009, The Real Feel made an energetic impact on the hum-drum Friday Night drinking crowd at Bootlegger's in Woodlyn, PA.

The Real Feel, based out of Media, PA is composed of vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Jared Loss, lead guitarist Will Maher, and Bassist Eddie Boate (three high school comrades who returned from college with a direct intent to make music together) and drummer Joe Gruber, who collaborated with Loss at Lock Haven University.

With the benefits of friendship, talent, musicianship and a catalogue of smoking-hot originals, The Real Feel has crafted a sound that is nearly impossible to find in many of today's suburban Rock Clubs.

The Real Feel opened their set with "Locked Up, Run Down," feeding the eager bar crowd with a bluesy helping of Will Maher's edgy guitar riffs, a soulful, syncopated spoonful of Jared Loss' vocals, and funky, commanding grooves of Bassist Eddie Boate.

While the group's physical stage presence did not match with the theatrics and wardrobe selections of modern stadium and concert hall acts, their tonally cool, purified sound erased any need for visual aesthetics. Bringing dynamic energy out of their instruments, the band's full-bodied songs alone served their musical purpose.

They played ten originals in their set, including "Willie's Town." A song about Philadelphia, "Willie's Town" is a plea to William Penn to fix up the city. In the end, the song concludes, "We know it ain't utopia, but we still call it home." Another crowd favorite, "Pay" is about a moving company in California that lost a horde of Loss' belongings after he decided to return to his hometown of Media, PA.

"I was writing songs for about 2 or 3 years," Loss said after the show. "Now that we've started The Real Feel, my songs are like the lines in the coloring book, and everyone else colors it in and makes the sound of The Real Feel."

The seamlessness of Loss' song-writing coupled with the six-string virtuosity of Maher was reminiscent of powerhouse jam-bands like Phish with more refined song structures, and an unreplicated classic-rock vibe. Their sturdy rhythmic foundation of drums and bass captured the might of Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and John Bonham.

"Our goal was to create accessible jam music - something you can appreciate even if you're not a musician," Loss said after the show. "People can enjoy it, even the casual listeners."

Bootlegger's is a grungy. cramped Rock n' Roll joint where beer runs like tap-water and the air should carry a surgeon general's warning: breathing here may cause lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and may complicate pregnancy. Friday night's crowd, however, did not exactly blend in with the turquoise zebra-striped walls and the hazy, alcohol laden back room where The Real Feel performed their 11-song set.

The band was pleased with the age-diverse outcome for their fourth live performance, supported by family, friends, a crowd of 67 to see The Real Feel specifically, and a host of new fans drawn to their hard-to-find-these-days sound.

"We want to be like classic rock of a new era without sounding like a particular band," said Loss. "I write songs that are different from each other, not cookie cutters, and I try to take a completely different approach to each song that I write."

"We're really excited about getting this off the ground," Loss said. "It's fun, we're with our friends, and we're seeing new places. Could this get any better""

With forceful performances like this one, a fast-growing base of loyal fans, and the lively enthusiasm of the band to create and grow, the only place for The Real Feel to go is up - and the fans feel that way too. - Chris Childress - St. Joe's University


"Local band wants fans to get 'The Real Feel'"

After only a few moments of speaking with Jared Loss, his passion for music is evident. Loss, of Media, founded local band The Real Feel with childhood friends Will Maher and Eddie Boate, both from Media, and college pal Joe Gruber from Radnor, over a year ago and the band is quickly gaining recognition.

“We have a great friend base,” said Loss. “And now we are starting to see people showing up (for concerts) who we don’t know, so the fan base is growing. The party gets bigger every time.”

For Loss, music has been with him since at least middle school. He said his parents, Larrye and Pamela Loss, encouraged him to try whatever instruments he wanted to play. Loss, Maher and Boate attended both Springton Lake Middle School and Penncrest together. In high school, Loss and Maher played together in all the school bands.

“Marching band, Jazz band, Drum Corps, we played in them all. At first, I thought band was just for geeks but it’s not geeky to be in marching band,” Loss said. “Now that I’m making a living with music, I realize it helped me out.”

Loss, a 2002 graduate of Penncrest High School, went on to Lockhaven University where he met Gruber. The two were both drummers, trying out for the same school jazz ensemble.

“Joe’s an amazing player. He auditioned before me and he was much better then me. I went in (to the audition) and said I’m okay with playing some other instrument because Joe’s probably going to be your drummer,” said Loss. “When I left Lockhaven, I told Joe if I ever start a band, you’re my drummer.”

After Loss left Lockhaven, he took a job with a PBS documentary in California called Roadtrip Nation. The premise of the show was to “discover your passion in life and do it.” According to Loss, the team he worked with traveled the United States and interviewed people who were passionate about what they did. Loss said the experience encouraged him to pursue his own passion for music.

“Some people were doing what they loved and succeeding, others were struggling. A lot of the people I interviewed would look at me and say, ‘You’re a musician, aren’t you?’” Loss stated. “It gave me the confidence to go for it.”

By day, Loss is now an instructor at Makin’ Music Rocking Rhythms and their Rockdale music school in Media. Loss said the band members all keep long hours -- Maher works with Pella Windows and Doors, Gruber works for the License and Inspection department of the city of Philadelphia and Boate attends Temple for sound engineering -- but it “never feels like work.”

“It’s easy to get up in the morning and go to work and it hasn’t always been that way in other jobs,” Loss states. “But now I love the people I work for and with.”

“One of the great things for us is we all are good friends and we would be spending this time playing together and hanging out. It’s very natural to be playing with these guys,” Loss continued.

Loss said the band’s music is influenced by a variety of well known bands, from the Allman Brothers and the Doobie Brothers to the Rolling Stones and Led Zeplin, rock with a blues and funk vibe.

“Growing up, we all listened to a lot of classic rock. We try to take all that great instrumentation and make it more contemporary, make it fit in with what’s going on today in music and in the world,” said Loss. “After a set, many of our fans say we sound like Steely Dan.”

Loss said three of the band members are experienced drummers and that has helped the music The Real Feel produces be “very rhythmic.”

“With three drummers in the band, we have a solid rhythmic foundation that helps drive and move along the songs.” Loss plays keyboard and guitar, plus vocals, Maher plays lead guitar, Boate is the band’s bassist and Gruber plays drums.

Loss said the band’s name came from how “we want the music to make you feel.” He said, “So much of music has become digitalized and (we’ve) lost the feel of musicians playing. We do what we can to keep it raw and organic.”

Loss credits many people with helping the band succeed, starting with his and his band mates’ parents. “My parents, all our parents, have come out to all our shows. They’ve always been so supportive of our musical growth. I wouldn’t be playing without them getting me started and always encouraging me,” Loss said.

Loss also credits Makin’ Music founder Kim Fink with helping his dream progress along with his experience working at World Café Live. “Kim has given me all the opportunities to make it work and I’m forever in debt to her for helping me get going with teaching and that side of playing,” said Loss. “Working at World Café helped because I saw bands go through, saw what worked, what didn’t. It gave me confidence.”

The Real Feel’s first album, Feel This… contains ten original songs. Half the songs were written by Loss during his time in California and then rearranged with help of the band members to “make the songs stronger.” The rest of the songs were put together through a collaborative effort of all band members. The album was recorded in Rose Valley by Kyle Wareham of the local band Three Legged Fox.

With performances in Philadelphia, Phoenixville, New York and Dewey Beach, to name a few, under their belts, Loss and the rest of The Real Feel hope to move the band beyond Philly but they still remain grateful to their Philadelphia fans and friends.

“It’s a labor of love,” Loss said. “We need to build a good local fan base before we can go anywhere.”

The Real Feel’s debut album releases tonight, Feb. 4, at the World Café Live, 3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. The show starts at 7:30 p.m., doors open at 6 p.m., with opening acts Parkwright from Philadelphia and The Canon Logic from New York. The Real Feel will take the stage at 9 p.m. Advanced tickets are $13, day of the show tickets are $15. For tickets, visit WorldCafeLive.com. - Delco News Network - Christina Perryman


Discography

"Live @ Joclyn's" - 2009
"Feel This..." - 2010
"Get Up" - 2012

Full distribution on iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, etc... and streaming and available for download from our website,facebook, MySpace, ReverbNation and BandCamp profiles.

New "Get Up!" EP free at www.therealfeel.bandcamp.com.

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Bio

Hailing from the City of Brotherly Love, The Real Feel generates a new albeit familiar sound which resonates from coast to coast. Their latest independently produced EP, “Get Up!” showcases the group’s ear catching hooks and a tonally pure sound.

The first track of the band’s new “Get Up!” EP, “For You” illustrates the band’s soul infused influences with interweaved Wurlitzer, Synth, Guitar and Fiddle melodies outlining a bluesy distorted vocal line by Jared Loss and friend of the band, Kyle Wareham (Three Legged Fox). The second and title track on “Get Up!” deals with the harsh reality of learning a close friend has been diagnosed with a fatal illness and the inspirational journey of a young man dealing with his sad fate. The emotional lyrics and intimate vocal performance shaped by the journey of the arrangement is reminiscent of classic Rock ballads of the 60’s and 70’s and features a memorable Guitar solo by Will Maher and Fiddle accompaniment by friend Mike Chevaliar. “Don’t Cry Wolf”, the third song on the EP showcases Boate’s funktified bass fills, Cladek’s clockwork groove and the band’s ability to open up and step into the realm of jam featuring another haunting Maher solo and vocal support by Wareham. The Real Feel’s songs portray a skewed view of love, loss and the comedy of life in a playful and positive package.

The band’s ability to successfully fuse progressive rock, dirty funk, electrified soul and psychedelic grooves into their rabble-rousing live performances have merited them the opportunity to share the stage with nationally touring power groups; Trombone “Shorty” and Orleans Ave., Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Rebirth Brass Band and The Bright Light Social Hour. Their diligent work ethic continues to prevail, as The Real Feel is consistently writing while recording and releasing new material in the coming year. New bookings are also underway, with the band scheduling upcoming shows scattered throughout the Northeast. There’s always something fresh and exciting up around the bend, as this band is hungry and wants nothing more than to share their brand of inspired, funky rock.