So, a Jew, a Mexican, and two Armenians walk into a bar and…
a) Melt your face
b) Rock your world
c) Steal your heart
d) All of the above
Those four guys from different ’hoods, of different walks and perspectives, they’ve forged a connection in music, alchemy and, if they’re winning, the Dodgers.
So, go ahead, call ’em alchemists, neo-alchemists maybe, or, to be proper about it, the alchemist element.
But they’re not looking for the combination to turn lead, mercury or any variety of metal into gold.
Instead they’re combining a bit of soul with a dash of jazz, taking a line from a famous musical and blending it with commentary on addiction, terrorism, Katrina and matters more personal still.
They’re speeding up on purpose, stopping on a dime and delivering it all with a growling exclamation point. They’re keeping their sense of humor while keeping it sonically heavy, unpretentiously literary and purposefully hooky.
They’re hearing what happens when a tool-slangin’ telemarketer with a big voice and bigger bag of jokes joins forces with a tough, tatted Little League coach, an adidas track suit-sporting newspaper designer and, most recently, a kid who happens to be an uber-dedicated student of the drum.
Dave + Omar + Hamlet + Art, and wouldn’t you know it, the whole elemental mash-up equals... metal!
Art Andranikyan, a student at Hollywood’s acclaimed Musicians Institute, added his hefty skill set to the potion this spring, joining a unit that, since coming together in late 2004, has made a habit of playing to hundreds at a time at the Roxy, the Whisky, the Key Club, the Knitting Factory, the Viper Room and other Southern California venues.
For their next act, the band has captured its signature sound that’s on regular display at those lives shows on a soon-to-be-released CD entitled “Ernie” (the follow-up to “Bob,” the band’s introductory offering in 2005).
The self-produced “Ernie” showcases singer Dave Podell’s lyrical dexterity, creative vocal melodies, strong, soulful rock voice and, ‘cause there’s no hiding it, mad charisma.
He’s supported by Omar Marin’s ever warm bass, funky-heavy lines and Hamlet Nalbandyan’s oft-inventive guitar work, which meanders from ballistic to groovy to thick and heavy and back around again.
The four-song disc includes the impossibly catchy, violin-enhanced “Da Da Da,” a hard-rock breakup song for the ages that immediately became a crowd favorite.
“Mr. Sulu,” a musical essay on what it means to live in the moment, is partially a soaring guitar-driven epic, partially successful jazz-rock fusion that goes down smooth.
“Off The Rock” is a gritty, bubbling tale that you won’t be able to turn away from.
And “Hunger, Pt. 1” is a gorgeously melodic, impressive technical exercise that combines all of the alchemist element’s best attributes while serving up a platform for a heartfelt discussion about one of society’s oldest plights.
“Ernie,” like the live experience it complements, is musical alchemy achieved.
It’s golden.
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