|
Listening to Chameleon Red can be a bit like putting your iPod on shuffle; they’re a study in contrasts. A heartfelt and earnest original tune might be followed by an unabashedly gleeful rendition of a cheesy TV theme song. Rough-edged rockers rub shoulders with tender ballads with three-part harmony. Chameleon Red paint from a broad musical palette incorporating elements of rock, folk, soul, metal, and psychedelia into original songs full of infectious melodies, insistent rhythms, and heartfelt, intelligent lyrics. With equal gusto, they play a wide variety of sometimes-unusual cover tunes. The band hails from the mountainous northeastern corner of Tennessee, an area whose musical tradition runs as deep as the mountain hollows and is as rich and colorful as the leaves in October.
The band’s ambitious debut album is entitled Transposition, a two-CD rock opera telling the story of Jack, a troubled young musician who wrestles with rejection, spiritual crisis, and ambition in order to discover his
true and authentic identity. Honest, engaging, sometimes heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting, the opera includes songs that range from tender acoustic ballads to loud, aggressive rock. Transposition clearly bears evidence of Chameleon Red’s diverse influences, which include the Beatles, the Carter Family, Led Zeppelin, Marvin Gaye, and Neil Young.
Transposition is also the impetus for the formation of the band
Chameleon Red. The opera, conceived and written by vocalist/guitarist Brian Hearl, started out as a solo project. But what would have been his eighth solo album morphed into a group effort as he drew in past collaborators and friends to help. Chief among them was John Franjione, a musical comrade whose vocal, bass, and keyboard talents brought a funky, yet melodic color to the music. In the aftermath of the release of Transposition, the band has continued evolving from a recording unit into a live band.
Collectively, Chamelon Red is about the pure desire to create music and forge community in an increasingly fragmented and alienated culture. Transposition exemplifies this approach, a work created simply because it had to be.
|
