TREBEK

CD - Trebek
By Andrew Jones

If you ever see people in the produce section of the local market fondling, squeezing, shaking, or what seems to be listening to every piece of fruit that catches their fancy, ask them what they’re doing. Almost assuredly they’ll look at you like you’re a complete nutjob for not knowing that they are obviously checking to make sure this particular tasty fruit is of the fresh variety. That being the case, it confuses me that so few people make sure that what their ears are taking in is fresh, too. They throw on the stale Top 40 station and settle for their wilted fruit. But fear not, music lovers ~ there are fresh sounds out there, you just have to keep listening for and, uh, fondling them, too. Case in point: Trebek. Trebek is a sweet, smooth, funky, unforgettable rock/dub band whose major influences may mostly be from a bygone era, but whose sound is so fresh that we might just have to slap it!

This explosive five-piece’s music will get you nodding your head and jumping around like a kid on too many pixy stix ~ or, in the right situation, it will get you…action in the biblical sense. Straight outta Fitchburg, MA, these boys have been quite busy. Despite the fact that they have only officially released a three-song demo (which you can pick up at the shows), they have been playing big venues like The Webster Theatre and Avalon and have opened for the likes of KRS-One.

Seeing them live is of course the best way to get to know just what these guys can bring, but if all you have to go on is the demo, you’ll still have all you need to get hooked on the sounds. The first song, “Wild Moon,” has a reggae feel and lyrical stylings that take the stress right out of your day. Next, “Jolly Roger” speeds it up, rocks it out and reminds you that life’s not just about what your dad tells you to it is. Finally, “Hope Road” is a bit more of a bass-heavy groove that hits home for those thus far unlucky in love.

Now these boys have a full-length album in the works due out sometime this month, so I advise you all to check them out at one of their upcoming shows to get your fresh-fondling hands on it. The full listing of their schedule can be found on www.trebekband.com. Whichever show you go to, if you start talking to one of the many lovely ladies in the audience, I’d suggest just telling her you know the band…that’ll get you where you want to go!

- Pulse Magazine

CD - Trebek
By Andrew Jones

If you ever see people in the produce section of the local market fondling, squeezing, shaking, or what seems to be listening to every piece of fruit that catches their fancy, ask them what they’re doing. Almost assuredly they’ll look at you like you’re a complete nutjob for not knowing that they are obviously checking to make sure this particular tasty fruit is of the fresh variety. That being the case, it confuses me that so few people make sure that what their ears are taking in is fresh, too. They throw on the stale Top 40 station and settle for their wilted fruit. But fear not, music lovers ~ there are fresh sounds out there, you just have to keep listening for and, uh, fondling them, too. Case in point: Trebek. Trebek is a sweet, smooth, funky, unforgettable rock/dub band whose major influences may mostly be from a bygone era, but whose sound is so fresh that we might just have to slap it!

This explosive five-piece’s music will get you nodding your head and jumping around like a kid on too many pixy stix ~ or, in the right situation, it will get you…action in the biblical sense. Straight outta Fitchburg, MA, these boys have been quite busy. Despite the fact that they have only officially released a three-song demo (which you can pick up at the shows), they have been playing big venues like The Webster Theatre and Avalon and have opened for the likes of KRS-One.

Seeing them live is of course the best way to get to know just what these guys can bring, but if all you have to go on is the demo, you’ll still have all you need to get hooked on the sounds. The first song, “Wild Moon,” has a reggae feel and lyrical stylings that take the stress right out of your day. Next, “Jolly Roger” speeds it up, rocks it out and reminds you that life’s not just about what your dad tells you to it is. Finally, “Hope Road” is a bit more of a bass-heavy groove that hits home for those thus far unlucky in love.

Now these boys have a full-length album in the works due out sometime this month, so I advise you all to check them out at one of their upcoming shows to get your fresh-fondling hands on it. The full listing of their schedule can be found on www.trebekband.com. Whichever show you go to, if you start talking to one of the many lovely ladies in the audience, I’d suggest just telling her you know the band…that’ll get you where you want to go!

- Pulse Magazine

“Trebek has the catchiness and pop sensibilities that happily hold your attention while keeping
you guessing around what musical corner they’ll be coming next. They’re a monstrous,
energetic live band whose adept musicianship doesn’t distract but enhances their uncanny
ability to get a crowd moving!”

- Matt Kelly – Drummer for the Dropkick Murphys

“Trebek has the catchiness and pop sensibilities that happily hold your attention while keeping
you guessing around what musical corner they’ll be coming next. They’re a monstrous,
energetic live band whose adept musicianship doesn’t distract but enhances their uncanny
ability to get a crowd moving!”

- Matt Kelly – Drummer for the Dropkick Murphys

“Wild Moon, part of a three-song CD released last year, begins like a classic good jammy
reggae tune; you almost don’t notice how smoothly they switch the tune into a over the top
classic rocker before ending back on the island. “Jolly Roger” starts out as a rocker, then spills
into a reggae skank backbeat with a Joe Jackson sounding rave-up on top before the chorus
hits that major production Asia-Journey territory before some Jerry Lee Lewis-like piano playing
brings it all home. Much of their appeal is the fact you don’t know what direction they’re
going to take next - but you know they’re going to do it well.” - Brian Goslow

“Wild Moon, part of a three-song CD released last year, begins like a classic good jammy
reggae tune; you almost don’t notice how smoothly they switch the tune into a over the top
classic rocker before ending back on the island. “Jolly Roger” starts out as a rocker, then spills
into a reggae skank backbeat with a Joe Jackson sounding rave-up on top before the chorus
hits that major production Asia-Journey territory before some Jerry Lee Lewis-like piano playing
brings it all home. Much of their appeal is the fact you don’t know what direction they’re
going to take next - but you know they’re going to do it well.” - Brian Goslow

By PAUL LANDAU, Telegraph Staff

As the smooth sounds roll out over the crowd at Manchester's Black Brimmer, a smile breaks across Trebek lead singer Matt Dionne's face. Mike Kelly, the band's bass player, makes his way across the stage to guitarist Isaac Aldrich, and the two rip chords, spurring each other on. In the backdrop, drummer Jeff Pitts lays down the beat, while keyboardist Jeff Brunelle, of Pelham, a Bishop Guertin High School graduate, bobs his head with each note.

Trebek has been onstage for more than an hour at this point, and the crowd, while hesitant at first, has been on its feet since the end of the first song, now loving every minute.

The energy in the room is palpable as the band pushes on, mixing in covers of Sublime and AC/DC with its own original songs.

The best way to go about describing the musical experience that is Trebek is simple really: It's like nothing you've ever heard. Or is it that the group sounds a little bit like everything you love? Categorizing the sound is like taking that square peg you had when you were little and trying to jam it through the circle slot: Try as you may, it just won't work.

"We're the greatest band you've never heard of. We're like Pantera without all the metal," jokes Aldrich.

"I had a guy come up to me, and I don't know how everyone else feels about this, but he said we're kind of like Sublime meets Maroon 5 meets Incubus," proposes Pitts.

"The best way I can put it is were very chameleonish," explains Dionne. "We're just looking for that beat, that sound that people can tune into and bob their heads, get out on the dance floor."

"We just say we're a rock band," Kelly says. "We can never think of a way to describe it."
enlarge

In an industry full of trends and copycat acts, where oftentimes the surest way to get recognized is tapping into the sound movement of the day, Trebek is taking that not-so-popular road less traveled, trying to make it big without compromising who it is.

"I feel like a lot of bands hurt themselves by defining their music as one sound," Dionne said. "It really limits what you can do creatively."

With influences that range anywhere from the iconic Stevie Wonder to the legendary Led Zeppelin, the metal sounds of Megadeth and Pantera, to 311 and the Roots, the band's members bring an wide array of musical tastes to their music.

"Song for song you can hear the different influences," explains Kelly. "Everyone in the band kind of has a different sound they bring, and together it sounds like us, that's the best way I can explain it."

While they may never agree on a radio station to listen to, the band's members do share one key element: a passion for their craft.

Watching them perform, the band radiates that sense of joy that can only be found when you do what you love.

"For me, this is a lifelong thing. This is passion," Aldrich says.

"We don't really write songs for a genre. We write for the song," he explains. "We all have to feel it. It could be a great rock tune, but if we don't have that gut feeling about the song, no matter how far it's developed, we won't go with it."

"I think we've all looked at each other and just been like, this is ridiculous that we're having this much fun," Dionne says. "We have a blast."
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Unfortunately for the band, however, having a good time onstage isn't the only criterion of stardom.

"We need more exposure," Kelly says. "That's what it takes to make it big. That and a little luck."

While struggling at first, the band recorded and produced its first CD in 2006, the self-titled debut, "TREBEK," and has seen local success since its release.

Trebek has received airtime on the Boston-based rock station WAAF and was also the recipient of four Worcester, Mass., music awards: best CD, best live act, best male vocalist and best rock act.

More recently, the band was asked to contribute a song to the "Kings of Street Punk" album. The record, produced in London, is a major gathering of punk talent, placing the sounds of Trebek alongside those of legendary punk bands, such as the Cockney Rejects and Rancid.

"We're anxious to see what happens with that," Brunelle says. "Just to be included with bands like that is great for us. It's hard to tell because that isn't our home market. They're coming out of London, but if the big punk following picks it up over there, it could help us a lot."

While the band is happy with the success it has had so far, the group is always working to improve the music it puts out, Dionne says.

"We're really psyched with where everything stands but were not even close to satisfied," Dionne says. "I think as soon as you feel like it's enough, you won't make it in this business. Once you think it's good enough, you fail."

Paul Landau can be reached at 594-6481 or plandau@nashuatelegraph.com. - Nashua Telegraph

2007 Worcester Music Awards

Best CD
Trebek


Best Live Act
Trebek


Best Male Vocalist
Matt Dionne, Trebek


Best Rock Act
Trebek - Worcester Music Awards

About the song Commitment...

"Modern rock, bordering a bit on emo but blending a few
diff modern styles, in a way that Dropkick kinda does.

I've gotta admit, your CD cover had me stumped! At first
I thought there was a girl in your band, then I thought the
guys looked similar but I finally figured it out - very cool!!

But more importantly this is ground breaking modern music,
in my opinion. I've been to Warped several times, e.g. & I
think this could be a great addition just like Gogol Bordello
was a coupla yrs ago (but you're MUCH more mainstream).
This is a very dynamic song, which immediately draws me
in, as do the very strong voc perfs (are there 2 of you
singing here btw?). I also like & appreciate how you leave
me wanting more w/your abrupt ending; a good tool when
done 'right' as I feel you've done here. I've asked if I can
have your CD cuz I'm dying to hear more & isn't that always
what you want from someone listening?? :)"
- Taxi

About the song Commitment...

"Modern rock, bordering a bit on emo but blending a few
diff modern styles, in a way that Dropkick kinda does.

I've gotta admit, your CD cover had me stumped! At first
I thought there was a girl in your band, then I thought the
guys looked similar but I finally figured it out - very cool!!

But more importantly this is ground breaking modern music,
in my opinion. I've been to Warped several times, e.g. & I
think this could be a great addition just like Gogol Bordello
was a coupla yrs ago (but you're MUCH more mainstream).
This is a very dynamic song, which immediately draws me
in, as do the very strong voc perfs (are there 2 of you
singing here btw?). I also like & appreciate how you leave
me wanting more w/your abrupt ending; a good tool when
done 'right' as I feel you've done here. I've asked if I can
have your CD cuz I'm dying to hear more & isn't that always
what you want from someone listening?? :)"
- Taxi