Nick Gangel: percussion Lauren Bernozzi: percussion Forrest Mulerath: rototoms, clapping Jonas Emmanuel Fricke: drums Jeremy Bernozzi: drums, percussion, vocals Ruth Garbus: vocals, clarinet, violin Mikey Cham: double bass Sequoyah Leaf: noise, clarinet Timothy Findlen: noise Ron Schneiderman: noise Caitlin C. M. Senni: accordian Icarus Grover Wittman: dogchain Flash-C: trumpet Jeremiah Chapman Morelock: vocals, acoustic
electric and bass guitars, ukelele, piano,
synthesizer, percussion, tympani, bells,
chimes, gamelan, noise Joanne Chapman Morelock: vocals, flute Tobias Novak: piano Scotty Thunderlips: bass, guitar
Influences
phil ochs, neurosis, beethoven, queen, david bowie, neutral milk hotel, mary o'hara, shotakovich, godspeed you black emperor, bob dylan, cat stevens, johnny hobo and the freight trains, john lennon, beatles, his hero is gone, mantits, radiohead, in/humanity, green day, hatebreed, sick of it all, bright eyes, pixies, magnetic fields, nick cave, tom waits, kimya dawson, moldy peaches, nomeansno, citizen fish, subhumans, ramones, screeching weasel, madball, schubert, led zeppelin, black sabbath, guns n' roses, kodo, red army choir, louis armstrong, bessie smith, miles davis, king crimson, sex pistols...etc.
Sounds Like
a cathartic nostalgia fantasy of clunky childhood thunder twinkle
Pretend You're Happy use indie rock to encourage reverence and catharsis in everyday life. Based out of Brattleboro and Burlington, VT, the band plays in a variety of live forms. One night they might be a stripped down acoustic 2-piece, the next an 8-piece electric entourage including two drummers, a doublebass player, and a clarinet-noise player. Their music takes influence from divergent genres such as folk, classical, and hardcore.
With their official 2008 release on Fake Four Inc. and DIY Bandits Pretend You're Happy set out to spread their word further than ever before. Acoustic guitar compositions by Jeremiah Morelock were the initial points of inspiration that formed these now richly orchestrated pieces. Formerly known as "Mantits", Jeremiah gained some recognition throughout the DIY Acoustic Punk movement for his sarcastic solo releases including a split release with Vermont band Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains. In 2005 Jeremiah retired the "Mantits" title to start Pretend You're Happy with Jeremy Bernozzi (drums) and Mikey Cham (doublebass). Eventually the list of collaborators on the project grew to include Lauren Bernozzi, Nicholas Gangel, Forrest Mulerath, Jonas Fricke, Ruth Garbus, Seqouyah Leaf, Timothy Findlen, Ron Schneiderman, Caitlin Senni, Ike Wittman, and Flash-C. During the summer of 2007 a decidedly hi-fi recording full of introspective lyrics, quirky yet lush orchestration, 9 parts pop and 1 part dissonance was completed. "Pretend You're Happy" is a rare album that brings to mind some of the finer moments of recordings by Neutral Milk Hotel, Sufjan Stevens, Polyphonic Spree and The Decemberists all while maintaining a strong and original voice of its own.
Today they routinely play throughout the New England area at DIY punk venues, bars, and coffee houses with additional members including Joanne Morelock (vocals, flute), Tobias Novak (piano), and Scotty Thunderlips (bass, guitar). Jeremiah and Joanne recorded a demo CD in July 2009 titled "Foreshadows in Acoustic Redux," in preparation for their upcoming 2-person acoustic tour. The recording presents a few songs that will be included in a much more layered, orchestrated, and noisey form on their second full length recording, due out sometime in the coming year. As for long-term goals, the group is more focused on process than on destination. As their music displays and their lyrics profess, they are looking forward to playful expansion and exploration.
Been a long time since I visited the page. New songs are great. I had planned on coming down to see you guys back in January in Burlington, but alas, getting down there happened to be too big of a hurdle for my finances at the time. Things are going much better in that department. Are you going to be playing in the B-town area again any time soon. It's been a long time since I've seen a live show and would love to come out and show my support.
just wanted you to know i listened to all your guys' stuff the other day and i enjoyed it very much, dont stop playing, you have cornered some niche i cant define.
Thanks for being a friend of RAVAGE and THE SOCIETY FOR WORLD WIDE RAVAGE! Now we need your help to spread the word...
The new Ravage album "The End Of Tomorrow" is available now on METAL BLADE RECORDS - check out the title track at our myspace and pick it up at your local music retailer, itunes, your favorite mail-order or wherever music is sold. Let's bring some real heavy metal back to the charts!
The album features 12 tracks of traditional melodic heavy metal/ thrash in the vein of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Testament etc
Includes a cover of Judas Priest's "Nightcrawler" and artwork by Ed Repka ( MEGADETH, DEATH, etc)
Take a picture of yourself with the album and post it on our myspace and you could win a free t-shirt! SEE RAVAGE ON TOUR NOW!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!! RAVAGE The End Of Tomorrow BUY MYSPACE
Hey there... Can't wait to hear the new tracks!!! How's the mix-down/mash-up goin'??? Losing your mind and all objectivity yet??? :) Also wanted to mention that if you want any more trpt. tracks, perhaps i could go down to Albany wherever you and Paul have been recording and do some tracks w/ him.... Just a thought... Catch ya later, Kevin.
I'm liking the new songs, especially "The Song I sing." My favorite is still a toss up between "The Other Side of the Earth" and "If there's No Light". Good luck on getting the tour going. In that I'd recommend you talk to Al Ravage. He knows his way around getting shows in MA. Until then, peace!
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