Ezra Vancil
Dallas, TX | Established. Jan 01, 2014
Music
Press
"With a warm sound that epitomizes the roots of singer/songwriter, Vancil’s upcoming album is a collection of love and calm, and beauty."
"The guitar on “Wild Girl” is exquisite. This beautiful song will make you fall in love, with the music and with whomever you’ve been considering falling in love with. Vancil’s vocals are spectacular."
" It’s going to be a five-star masterpiece for sure." - Sidestage Magazine
"Dylan-esque approach to poetic expression and melodic craftsmanship, delivered and enhanced by the soft yet subtle gravel of a Ray Lamontagne-like leading voice. It’s the sort of song that just works, that sounds beautiful, entrancing – immediately familiar and addictive. "
"Ezra Vancil writes superbly reflective and imaginative songs that seem deeply personal, honest, and unusually thoughtful at the very same time. "
"It’s is a bold yet beautiful way to write. Complicated Man comes through with the absolute power of a memorable, infectious hook, as well as the undeniable, emotional realness required to carry the sentiment along in an authentic and moving way. The artist’s playing, his musicianship, his skills in songwriting and composition, his awareness of what works and his limited concern for that regardless – it all feels so true to the moment, and it’s topped of gorgeously by a warm and wonderful leading voice. Without question, the upcoming album You is one to look out for." - Stereo Stickman
"There is a sense of optimism within the music that captivates the listening audience and incites a deep understanding with the songwriter’s existential apparitions. The primal elements of the music tap into a natural concept of sound that resonates within the laws of timeless talent." - Artist Rack
"Vancil's knack for writing heart-warming gems that will turn you into an instant fan. The vibe of "Complicated Man" feels as if it blends together a seventies folk-style with modern storytelling lyrics to melt away your troubles. He sets the mood with only his voice and an acoustic guitar on the country tone of "Wild Girl," before involving the whole band on "Settle Down Good" as you are drawn in by his lyrics and his charm." - JPS Music Blog
" with each song woven into just the right spot to where it spins a story; and this is one of those once in a lifetime records. One of such an extreme caliber that most bands/artists could only dream of releasing something like this." - The Music Enthusiast
Often confused for a solo artist, Ezra Thomas is actually a band. The union of singer-lyricist-guitarist Ezra Vancil and percussionist Aaron Thomas began in 1996 with their first disc, Buck 50. Five years of playing in the Dallas roots scene culminates for them with The Weight of Being, a quietly seductive album that won them a 2003 SXSW showcase. The album burns slowly and ethereally through 12 tracks that speak to the struggle between the body and soul. Ruminating through lost love and melancholic yearnings, Ezra Thomas employs folk, R&B and modern rock to weave a sadly beautiful sound. If you’re a fan of Peter Gabriel, The Cash Brothers or Daniel Lanois, you will love the way The Weight of Being lifts from despair into the bottom corners of light. —AW
- Performing Songwriter
Ezra's Songs Road to zion and Take Me With you placed in the semi-finals 2015. - http://www.songwritingcompetition.com
"The Weight of Being" who we are and where we are in life is at times overwhelming. Music from artists like Ezra Thomas allows us to lighten that load for a short time while we let the music take us away. The name of the band is taken from its two main players, Ezra Vancil (Vocals, Acoustic Guitar / Electric Guitar, Mandolin, Resonator, Lap steal Guitar, Keyboards, percussion) and Aaron Thomas (Drums, percussion, Udu drum, Tablas, Congas, djembe, vocals, keys, guitars, mandolin, Harmonica, programming).
There is something about this music and Ezra's vocals that got my attention immediately. Although he reminded of Cat Stevens in some way, his voice was very hard to pinpoint and difficult to make any comparisons to.
Upon reflection of this recording, I became fascinated with the beautiful instrumentation and melodies. Their lush compositions sucked me right in. Their sound is a roots-country inflected alternative rock-pop sound that is so contagious you will find it hard to pull yourself away from it. At times you will hear flourishes of rocking guitar, but not a lot, they seem to fall into the right spots at the right times in each track. There are primarily melodious driving rhythms and beats that are very pleasing to the ear, and evident throughout this album. The lyrics are contemplative as well. On "Two Hands" they sing- "Two hands in the dark are not enough to hold you." Some powerful words indeed, with passionate music to drive it all home. That kind of feeling and thought is apparent in every song they perform.
This is a fabulously consistent project that will please many different tastes, probably too many to count. To put it in a few words…you will hear 12 tracks of pumped up emotions put into some excellent music that makes for a vital combination hard to clarify in a review alone, you will have to hear it and absorb it all to really get it.
- MuzikMan
There is something instantly familiar yet refreshingly new about The Weight of Being, the highly promising debut from Dallas-based act Ezra Thomas. The latest collaboration of Ezra Vancil and Aaron Thomas, who last were seen sharing words and music in the pop/rock band Dogma and the Universe, Ezra Thomas also includes Mark Hallman, a producer/musician whose production credits include Carole King, Ani DiFranco, David Garza, and Oasis.
Vancil, who was part of the early '90s Metroplex act Gypsy Tree, is the band's lyricist and shares tunesmithing duties with Thomas. Lyrically, Vancil is upbeat and reflective; musically, the group travels some familiar territory but brings along some nice touches that prevent it from ever sounding like a retread of yesterday's music. There are moments that show definite shades of Vancil's pop Gypsy Tree roots, such as "Kingdom Come" and "Paradise," which will be warmly embraced by anyone who adores Blue Sky Black.
Songs like "Stereo" and "Break This Heart" are sort of a techno, postmodern Seals and Crofts -- and not in a bad way. It's not often that the words "lush" and "folk" land together in the same sentence, but in the case of Ezra Thomas, it feels like a natural fit. There's enough of an edge to keep this out of the E-Z listening category, just enough pop to keep it from being too folky, and just enough techno to keep it from being completely acoustic. Without ever sounding fragmented, Ezra Thomas takes all these elements and layers them into one airtight package that goes into the ears easily and comes out as a catchy tune you'll find yourself humming after the disc has stopped spinning.
- Paula Felps
...Perhaps I'm getting sentimental, but I think we all like to rub ourselves against something soft and comforting every once in while. Ezra gives me that something. I'm curious as to whether he gives it to you as well... - Cat's Litter
Ezra Thomas and The Weight of Being inhabit a very specific genre in my head, which I classify as "Country Music for People Who Don't Generally Admit to Liking Country Music" -- which is one of the people I typically happen to be. In this very specific genre in my brain you'll find artists like Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois, Julie and Buddy Miller, Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle. What each of these artists share is a rootsy sound that's deeply informed by country but not chained to it, and a lyrical introspection that shies away from easy country tropes like patriotism and the easy condemnation of those who don't like country (no slam on country, since today's rock has its own hackneyed tropes, like how everything is so damn depressing all the time). What you get here is grown up music for grown up people -- and that's me, too.
There's a whole lot I'm enjoying on Weight. My favorite track by a considerable margin is "Kinsman Redeemer," with its elegiac use of biblical metaphors surrounded in evocative sounds giving a good approximation of someone reaching toward redemption, and very possibly succeeding. It sounds like a good Lanois track, and anyone who knows me knows I consider that pretty high praise. "Where I Am," which follows it up, is nearly as good, an affirmative declaration of love without reservation: "When I meet you here/ It don't have to solve a mystery," vocalist Ezra Vancil says (instrumentalist Aaron Thomas supplies the second half of the band name). "You don't have to bring solutions." It's not that love is uncomplicated, just that it's its own thing. Album opener "Stereo" also sets the right tone, the right mix of longing and promise to bring a lover back to you.
Weight is consistently enjoyable -- at its least, it's no worse than your average Dave Matthews Band track, and there's always something going on sonically. Vancil's vocals are pleasantly rough and have just enough sorrowful gravity to them to give weight to whatever he's singing; even when he's singing about something as silly as "walking against the wind" (on "Paradise") he sells it like he means it.
Fans of Country Music for People Who Don't Generally Admit to Liking Country Music will want to seek this one out; it's a fine album and happy addition to the genre. I'm already looking forward to what comes next from Ezra Thomas.
- John Scalzi
Ezra Thomas and The Weight of Being inhabit a very specific genre in my head, which I classify as "Country Music for People Who Don't Generally Admit to Liking Country Music" -- which is one of the people I typically happen to be. In this very specific genre in my brain you'll find artists like Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois, Julie and Buddy Miller, Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle. What each of these artists share is a rootsy sound that's deeply informed by country but not chained to it, and a lyrical introspection that shies away from easy country tropes like patriotism and the easy condemnation of those who don't like country (no slam on country, since today's rock has its own hackneyed tropes, like how everything is so damn depressing all the time). What you get here is grown up music for grown up people -- and that's me, too.
There's a whole lot I'm enjoying on Weight. My favorite track by a considerable margin is "Kinsman Redeemer," with its elegiac use of biblical metaphors surrounded in evocative sounds giving a good approximation of someone reaching toward redemption, and very possibly succeeding. It sounds like a good Lanois track, and anyone who knows me knows I consider that pretty high praise. "Where I Am," which follows it up, is nearly as good, an affirmative declaration of love without reservation: "When I meet you here/ It don't have to solve a mystery," vocalist Ezra Vancil says (instrumentalist Aaron Thomas supplies the second half of the band name). "You don't have to bring solutions." It's not that love is uncomplicated, just that it's its own thing. Album opener "Stereo" also sets the right tone, the right mix of longing and promise to bring a lover back to you.
Weight is consistently enjoyable -- at its least, it's no worse than your average Dave Matthews Band track, and there's always something going on sonically. Vancil's vocals are pleasantly rough and have just enough sorrowful gravity to them to give weight to whatever he's singing; even when he's singing about something as silly as "walking against the wind" (on "Paradise") he sells it like he means it.
Fans of Country Music for People Who Don't Generally Admit to Liking Country Music will want to seek this one out; it's a fine album and happy addition to the genre. I'm already looking forward to what comes next from Ezra Thomas.
- John Scalzi
...The album burns slowly and ethereally through 12 tracks that speak to the struggle between the body and soul. Ruminating through lost love and melancholic yearnings, Ezra Thomas employs folk, R&B and modern rock to weave a sadly beautiful sound. If you’re a fan of Peter Gabriel, The Cash Brothers or Daniel Lanois, you will love the way The Weight of Being lifts from despair into the bottom corners of light. —AW - Performing Songwriter
Road To Zion #1 In Rock Category - songoftheyear.com
The Song of the Year song and lyric writing contest is currently accepting entries - songoftheyear.com
Discography
Ezra Vancil - You (April 2018 Album)
Ezra Vancil & The Congregation (LIVE) From the deep (2016 Live Album)
The Wills Session (2016 Single)
Take Me With You - (The Essential Recordings) - Ezra Vancil (2015)
Sinners & Saints - Ezra Vancil (2013) (Ezra Vancil)
Promise Land - (Ezra THomas) 2005
Weight of Being (EZRA THOMAS) - 2002
Photos
Bio
The Story of 2018 album 'You' - Press Release
ETERAN SINGER/SONGWRITER
EZRA VANCIL RETURNS TO HIS DEEP SEATED
ACOUSTIC AMERICANA ROOTS TO
CHRONICLE AN EXTRAORDINARILY PERSONAL
“HISTORY OF LOVE” ON HIS FULL LENGTH ALBUM ‘YOU’
Though this era of streaming and downloading has relegated the notion of analyzing album covers to something of an afterthought, Ezra Vancil’s discerning fans will immediately pick up on something unique about the sepia toned artwork on his new full length collection, simply titled You.
The veteran Dallas based singer-songwriter is walking through a brush filled field, trusty acoustic guitar over his shoulder, fronting the eye-catching triangular logo with the album title – but his name is nowhere to be seen. There’s a powerful method behind this cool, slightly risky (from a promotional standpoint) madness. After years of heavily introspective songwriting and performances as a hard edged, Peter Gabriel influenced alt-indie rocker, Ezra marks his long-awaited return to his acoustic Americana roots with a set of songs focused not on him but “the other” – in this case, his wife of ten years.
“Instead of the usual songwriting approach, with me thinking about and analyzing my feelings,” he says, “I wanted to turn the perspective around and write about my significant other, with songs that are meaningful to both of us. One of the song titles is ‘History of Love,’ and that’s what it is. I had a vision for the project and wrote out a narrative, with ten songs signifying our decade together. I wrote a song
for each year that defined the patterns throughout our marriage – from a narrative on how we met, through our separation and until we reunited. There’s an actual life event that corresponds with every song. It runs from infatuation to marriage to even our ‘divorce years,’ and then falling in love again.”
Explaining the fascinating arc whose details he frames in music that’s raucous and lively one minute, soulfully grooving and harmonically lush and graceful the next, Ezra adds, “We were best friends growing up, got married much later in life, went through a divorce in our eight years of marriage, went on to other lovers and lives and eventually decided to try again – and fell into a new kind of unconditional love.” Though he does not refer to it directly in the songs, at the core of the couple’s turmoil and breakup were individual substance abuse issues. The story’s ultimate theme of survival and redemption is driven by Ezra’s recovery, which in turn gave him the strength to help his wife overcome her own addictions.
You opens with the gentle acoustic ease of “Galveston,” about the end of Ezra’s first marriage, finding the strength to let her go and to wish her well; and “Complicated Man,” which taps into his lifelong infatuation with his future wife and the beginning of their reunion and upbeat love story in their early 30’s. As a child of hippie parents himself, he relates to her inner hippy, but still struggles to accept her as a “Wild Girl” who swims with dolphins and runs off to every corner of the world. As he learns to embrace her path, the two discover an explosive sexual re-awakening in “Get Together (This Ain’t No Love Song”). “Broken King” finds Ezra acknowledging deep flaws and addressing the dichotomy of finding the loves of their lives under extraordinarily challenging personal circumstances. The fearful tension that she might leave leads to “Don’t Push Me Away” and her subsequent divorce filing, which is followed by the random dalliances of the grass is always greener tune “Polka Girl from Tennessee” and “History of Love,” which taps into the reality that sometimes letting go is the most loving thing one can do. Hope and redemption enter the picture when they decide to reconcile and “Settle Down Good” and he realizes that “You Were Meant to Be Mine.”
Ezra says, “My current vibe is a return for me to the music my parents played and what they introduced me to – mostly songwriter music, 70’s folk and country and artists like Cat Stevens, Jim Croce, Simon & Garfunkel, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, The Band and Joni Mitchell – mixed with the folk/Americana gospel feel that was always around me. I also see You as a return to my true musical heart. I think over the years, I tried to hide the ‘Texas’/Country/Americana aspects of my influences and it was really liberating and fulfilling to let them really be a part of this new album.”
Band Members
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