Paul Amiel (keyboards, vocals), John Feodorov (lead vocals, guitar), Mark Reynolds (bass, percussion), Amanda Sloane (keyboards, vocals)
Influences
Roxy Music, Brian Eno, The Kinks, Bowie, Mott the Hoople, Ian Hunter, Kurt Weill, Peter Gabriel, early Genesis, Devo, Sparks, Syd Barrett, The Who, Laurie Anderson, Kate Bush, John Cage, Sergei Prokofiev, Tom Waits, Wall of Voodoo, Emerson Lake and Palmer, The Residents, Noh Theater, Bertolt Brecht, Kabuki, Pansori, various folk traditions, Navajo chant, European medieval music, Monteverdi and a host of others.
Sounds Like
We sound like a not-so-communist more upbeat Bertolt Brecht on a good day.
Ecce Hobo (pronounced "etchay hobo") create art-pop music with influences as diverse as German cabaret, The Kinks, Gregorian chant and Hank Williams. Our songs are melodic, catchy and sometimes sardonic existential diatribes. Our shows are multi-media performances incorporating projections and props. Ecce Hobo is liturgical Latin for "Behold the Hobo!" Our new CD is entitled, Where the Devil Dances and is available from CD Baby.com.
For further inquiries, please contact Ecce Hobo at: eccehobo@earthlink.net or visit our webpage for info, samples and gossip.
Below are a couple of reviews of "Where the Devil Dances":
"Ecce Hobo takes its influences from every genre I can imagine, from country to electronica to big band, and swirls it around to produce a sound that lies somewhere between the two obscure poles of Robert Crumb and The Residents. The disc comes with a video for "The Moon," an urgent and mysterious song that could creep you out in the right circumstance.
Ecce Hobo is a collaboration of Seattle’s John Feodorov and Paul Amiel. The press release shows them as a set of serious musicians, willing to travel around the world to study and use instruments you’ve never heard of like the Gu Qin and the Ney Flute. No word if there’s a Gass involved, but I’d expect nothing less from this pair. Where The Devil Dances is a pleasant experience involving serious musicianship, interesting lyrics, and a crisp, well-thought-out mix resulting in an intriguing and accessible disc. It’s not pop silliness or longhaired intellectualism, but like stumbling onto a really cool indie movie before anyone in the press catches on. Behold; a great record!"
by Carl F Gauze, Ink19.com.
"This debut from local quartet Ecce Hobo is a tribute, both lyrically and musically, to the everyman and his futile search for truth. Vexing tales from sinners and moralists alike burst forth from a backdrop of wild instrumentation, from slinky jazz to countrified folk, in a collection of upbeat, yet disquieting songs. Good and evil duke it out in melodic fashion, and though a victor is never officially crowned, the inclusion of philosophy in a rock record is rare and refreshing."
by Katie Sauro, Seattle Sound magazine issue 6.
