Music
Press
By Bill Meredith
Special to The Palm Beach Post
Friday, June 01, 2007
The Same Difference is the name of an acoustic guitar duo featuring Joseph Pisz and David Gallus, two musicians who met playing worship music at a local church. Pisz resides in Wellington; Gallus has moved to Ohio, but the two found common ground in acoustic jazz for their new self-produced CD Expressions (Stepping Into Today). The disc is all-instrumental except for the Gallus compositions First Snow, with a poem read by Pisz's daughter Gina, and When Julie Sings, with chanted vocals by Julie Noel.
Co-compositions Crazy (In the Eye of the Storm) (with a rare electric solo by Pisz) and Autumn (a duet between the acoustic guitarists) might get them calls for soundtracks. Spirit of Love, with saxophonist Paul Magersuppe and Chuck Hemann on both bass and drums, holds special significance. "I dedicate my song Spirit of Love to Porter Crow," Pisz says of his recently deceased former professor at Barry University. "His love for others was the main thing I took from his classroom, and he will be missed dearly. "If you're attending the annual Alzheimer's Conference, the Same Difference reunites to play the 5-7 p.m. cocktail reception on Thursday at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, 650 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach, (561)-366-3000). On the Web: www.cdbaby.com/cd/samedifference.
Pisz & Gallus Productions, LLC
P. O Box 210783
Royal Palm Beach, FL 33421
(561) 373-5018
(330) 241-9960
http://www.myspace.com/tsdacousticplus
- Palm Beach Post
(see our review near the end of the article please)
By Bill Meredith
Special to The Palm Beach Post
Friday, December 28, 2007
Best pop/rock CD: John Ralston, Sorry Vampire (Vagrant). The touring Lake Worth resident's 2006 solo debut Needle Bed was a thicket of overdubs, but Sorry Vampire makes it sound sparse by comparison. From Jon Wilkins' treated drum intro on the opening Fragile to Ralston's choir-like fadeout on the closing Where You Used To Sleep, Sorry Vampire echoes the most complex studio work of the Beatles and Beach Boys.
Ralston sings throughout and plays guitars, keyboards and percussion, and gets standout performances from Wilkins, bassist Dan Bonebrake, guitarist Nick Eberhardt, violinist Susan Sherouse, drummer Jeff Snow and multi-instrumentalist David Vandervelde. Ralston's co-producer Michael Seaman brings material from a variety of different studios (including Elegbaland in Lake Worth) together seamlessly, with ace mixing by Charles Dye. Ralston takes a break from the road until early February.
Best roots-music CD: The Nouveau Honkies, The Nouveaux Honkies (Whirled Around). The Stuart-based duo of singing guitarist Tim O'Donnell and violinist/vocalist Rebecca Dawkins leads this quartet. The two play South Florida gigs with or without a rhythm section, and they decided to add an "x" to the name of their self-titled debut CD when they found out the word became "nouveaux" in French when plural.
Bassist Frank Cramblitt and drummer Phil Ori accompany O'Donnell and Dawkins on the disc, which features bluesy, New Orleans-tinged face-lifts of hits by Ray Charles (Losing Hand) and Albert King (You're Gonna Need Me). The highlight, You'll Be Mine, was written by Willie Dixon; became a hit for Howlin' Wolf, and also was covered by Stevie Ray Vaughan. See the Nouveau Honkies at 8 p.m. Saturday at Wave, 1628 S.E. Federal Highway, Stuart (772-287-0018).
Best jazz CD: Ilkin Deniz Trio, Old School (independent). Bassist Deniz took a break from his latest specialty, visual art, to return to his Turkish homeland this summer and record Old School, his American debut. The Lake Worth resident's acoustic trio is unusual, including Turkish musicians Imer Demirer (trumpet) and Serkan Ozyilmaz (piano). They shine on Charlie Parker's Scrapple From the Apple and John Coltrane's Blue Train.
Drummer Turgut Alp Bekoglu adds punch to Pat Metheny's Always and Forever, and vocalist Ayse Gencer breathes new air into the standard Everything Happens to Me. Deniz's next local appearance is to sell his specialty, boat paintings, at the 21st annual Boca Fest in Boca Raton on Jan. 12-13.
Best acoustic-based CD: The Onion Band, The Grace of Imperfection (HL). Singing guitarists Jack Heideier and Stephen M. Rodgers, along with singing multi-instrumentalist Phil Mann, often sound like the South Florida equivalent of Crosby, Stills & Nash on The Grace of Imperfection. The title track and Love at War are throwbacks to the Woodstock era, and Mann modernizes the proceedings through his tongue-in-cheek The Election Song.
Producer Jason Hanley adds guitar, harmonica and vocals, and other guests add intermittent trumpet, flute and percussion. Between Heideier's songwriting with Gregory C. McLaughlin, Rodgers' 12-string guitar, and Mann's humor, The Onion Band parties like it's 1969. See them Jan. 19 during the 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Festival of Trees at the Cultural Plaza on M Street in downtown Lake Worth (561-586-1677).Contains Lead (Ethyl) by Boynton Beach roots-rock quintet Black Finger, Sarasota (Gorgeous) by Joey George, West Palm Beach blues/rock singer, guitarist and songwriter, Darkness Binds (Atrocity) by Obscure Descension, Boynton Beach keyboardist Adam Lane's electronic group, Real Music (independent) by blues man Ben Prestage, who sings while simultaneously playing guitar, drums and cymbals, Rocket Number 9 (Electo Groove) by Jason Ricci & New Blood, led by the band's namesake blues vocalist, harmonica player, and part-time South Florida resident, and Expressions (Stepping Into Today) (independent) by The Same Difference, the acoustic guitar duo of Joseph Pisz and David Gallus (www.cdbaby.com/cd/samedifference).
- Palm Beach Post
„h author: Dave Lavery
Awsome Job...just kick back and enjoy! I hope to hear more from this band very soon...
„h I'm part of yesterday but this music crosses generations. Set it, relax!
author: Patricia Burton
„h author: Trish Piro
LOVED IT!!!!! It's very relaxing and I listen to it on my way to work in the early am - and on my way home (to de-stress from the day). Hope you all win a Grammy! Looking forward to the next one.....
„h author: Maria
I listen to this CD while driving and find it to be very relaxing. I recommend this for a quiet afternoon at home or curling up with someone special. I love the smooth guitar and the harmonies of the guitars. I also find myself humming the melodies especially on "When Julie Sings". Would love to hear more offerings from this group.
„h This music is what smooth jazz is all about.
author: Leni Smith
I listened to the CD a month ago, and I still like to pop it in when I get home from work. It is relaxing, soothing and takes me to a different place-away from the cares of the world. The songs are simple, yet intricate and always taking twists and turns that surprise and delight. I am eager to see where the next path (CD) will take me. This is a good thing and I hope it continues.
- CD Baby
Discography
Expressions (Stepping Into Today) released in February 2007 is our first CD. We are working on our second now to release late Summer or early Fall of 2008.
We are on CD Baby, iTunes, and soon to be on Pump Audio.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Bio – the Same Difference
Expressions (Stepping into Today) was produced by Joseph Pisz, David Gallus, and Chuck Hemann. “the Same Difference” is Joseph Pisz and David Gallus; two talented guitar players with an above average passion for musical expression. Perhaps that is why the duo formed the band through an experience of leading worship music in a local church. Music is a form of spiritual expression and the project Expressions: Stepping Into Today was born from this idea.
After a few years of playing worship music, Joe and David decided to try writing together. It seems to gel instantly. The song “Autumn” was the first song they wrote together, and it flowed out almost without effort. “Candlelight” and “Crazy” were created with almost as much ease and this convinced the pair to try their hand at a complete CD project. David and Joe pooled their previously written material and started the project (their first) in October of 2005.
Joe had met Chuck Hemann from Palm Beach Sound Studios through an earlier experience and he knew that Chuck was the one he wanted to engineer the CD. Much of the credit for the great quality of the CD is directly due to the production input and advice of Chuck Hemann. Chuck played drums and bass and also helped Joe to decide things like tempo, structure, and arrangement. Chuck also produced all of the string/cello arrangements. Big Jim Kaufman also played drums on two of the tracks. Jim has played in the local open mike scene for quite a few years, and is well known to at least the West Palm Beach open mike crowd.
The vocals on the track “When Julie Sings” were performed by none other than Julie Noel. Julie was a part of the worship band that Joe and David played in, and they knew of her talent. Joe and David wanted the CD to remain all instrumental, so they asked Julie to sing the song without using any words. It’s like asking a guitar player to play without strings, but Julie pulled it off.
The sax and flute tracks were performed by John Hollis and Paul Magersuppe, both friends of Chuck’s. The three have played together for many years, and Chuck thought their talents would fit our project well. John has played in numerous local events and festivals, and Paul has performed with the great Aretha Franklin, the Temptations, and the Spinners. Paul spent the early 80’s touring with some of the biggest names in music, and Joe and David were blessed to have him on their record.
The cover art was painted by Pam Palco specifically for this project. Pam is a well known artist from the Washington D.C. area, and she has artwork on display world wide. More of Pam's work can be seen at www.palco.us.
After almost two years of recording, editing, and sweating, the project was completed and released in February of 2007.
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