Page 10 - Rider University

10
Friday, September 23, 2005
‘ASHES’ IGNITE SUMMER SHOWDOWN STAGE
Local Jersey band refreshes rock ’n’ roll scene with stunning live performances
By Casey Sky
At a time when fascism is
steadily creeping into federal policies
and consumerism is homogenizing
everything from jeans to dreams, radiant
cheers of “hallelujah” seem appropriate
when things work out as they ought to.
Certainly schizophrenic spasms of praising the rock ’n’ roll gods are suitable for
celebrating a deserving band’s victory.
Without further ado, a truly refreshing central Jersey band must be introduced. Last week, the band Ashes are
Nutritious was recognized for its raw
musical magic when it won JerseyShows.
com’s Summer Showdown Finals, a
summer-long battle of the bands held
annually at The Rail. With this triumph
in its back pocket, Ashes will record a
full-length album—finally, because the
three-song demo is a killer tease—and
play at Sayreville’s Starland Ballroom
on Oct. 9. By its side will be the bands
What about Frank?, The Pennyroyals,
P.R.Y.D.E. and many others to perform
in this fifth anniversary show.
It is worth driving a substantial distance and paying an unjust cost to watch
Ashes because it is a quasi-life-changing
experience.
With his singing, reminiscent of
Stone Temple Pilots’ Scott Wieland,
combined with emotionally packed
hardcore-ness on top of his theatrical
stage presence, frontman Billy Clifton
almost instantaneously stepped up to
Tool’s Maynard James Keenan’s celestial
pedestal.
Ashes first pierced the protective
shell of each listener with its brand
new song, “Purgatory.” Wide open and
overflowing with amazement at his raw,
orgasmic episode, the crowd stood feeling vulnerable, hungry and strangely
fulfilled. No one tore his or her eyes
away from Clifton’s brown locks waving
in the ocean wind as they witnessed his
impassioned ballad.
By the time Ashes are Nutritious
played its title track “Protrusions of
Truth,” the outdoor moonlit stage held
everyone’s attention, including the
venue’s security guards and bartenders.
Some nerds bopped and rocked out
to themselves, but the majority of the
crowd stood stunned, still and silent—a
rare occasion indeed.
Once again, Ashes are Nutritious
reminded an admiring (and drooling)
audience of what music is and has
always been about. Bass player John
Scalise plucked at heart strings with bass
lines that resounded endlessly with some
undefined emotional sentiment. In a
single performance, he instilled a new
taste for, and deep appreciation of, bass
guitar, not only in other bass players,
but also in all those who could not even
distinguish bass from guitar.
Likewise, drummer Craig Lawlor
Photo by Casey Sky
Ashes are Nutritious, an up-and-coming band from central New Jersey, triumphed
in JerseyShows.com’s Summer Showdown Finals, held annually at The Rail.
captivated the listeners with his intensely
personal beats, which sometimes gradually, but always genuinely, transformed
the surrounding atmosphere to his state
of being. With the perfect combination
of single and double bass, Lawlor kept
every heel from the pavement.
Paul Grocz collected these ingredients and added melodically hypnotizing
guitar solos to balance the band’s four
corners of expression, shrewdly creating
a sound unmatched by today’s mainstream music. Swaying rhythmically,
forgetting about being in the spotlight
and losing himself in the continuous
stream of moments of truth, Grocz illustrated the purest of intentions.
It is a rare pleasure to witness a band
of individuals play together because
each man is constitutionally compelled
to play. Music can touch a person in a
way that nothing else can. Get touched
by the refreshing authenticity of Ashes
are Nutritious. Check them out at ashesarenutritious.com, or on purevolume.
com and Myspace.com.
Rider’s favorite sons release dazzling debut
By Bill Greenwood
Before signing to well-known indie
label Drive-Thru Records, Socratic bassist Adam Swider was a full-fledged Rider
student. Now, he’s making some of
the best piano-driven punk rock since
Something Corporate’s album Leaving
Through the Window. Now, after three
long years of waiting, his band’s debut
full-length album, Lunch for the Sky,
has finally been released, and it was
definitely worth the wait.
Despite the endless comparisons
to labelmates and fellow piano-rockers
Something Corporate, Socratic’s music
is anything but derivative. Unlike the
previous band, Socratic pianist Vincent
D’Amico provides the primary melody
for each song. This is accomplished by
making the piano sound significantly
louder in the mix than usual, allowing
it to stand out more from the traditional
guitar, bass and drum tracks that accompany it. This is a huge departure from
many other similar bands, who simply
use the piano as a supplement to the
regular instrumental formula.
Vocalist Duane Okun does an excellent job of emoting over the first-rate
tunes laid down by the other four members of Socratic. While his voice is
certainly not the best, cracking and
going off-key in several places, it fits in
perfectly with the structure of the songs.
Before long, listeners will find them-
selves unconsciously singing along to
the insanely catchy verses and choruses
contained in almost every track.
One song without so much as a vocal
hook, however, is the opening track,
“Theme From Your Mother’s Garden.”
An instrumental number highlighting
D’Amico’s incredible piano-playing
skills, the track provides an excellent
jumping-off point for the rest of the
record.
The instrumental opening is followed immediately by “Alexandria as Our
Lens,” a mid-tempo song featuring some
very interesting lyrical choices. In today’s
musical climate, dominated by arcane,
hard-to-decipher concept albums, it is
rare to find a song that manages to tell
an easily understandable, yet still satisfying, story—in this case, that of a female
school bus driver who “adopted a sickness when she was young/And neglected
her health so long./She’ll never drive
children of her own.”
While nearly every song on the
record is a winner, the two main standout tracks are “I Am the Doctor” and
“The Dense Indents.” The former glides
along on a bouncy piano/guitar combo
attack augmented by an outstanding
bass line courtesy of Swider while the
latter brings D’Amico’s piano playing to
the forefront while the rest of the band
rocks out. Listened to independently
of the album, these tracks alone are a
good representative for Socratic as a
Photo copyright Drive-Thru Records
Socratic’s Lunch For the Sky hit
record stores on Sept. 6.
band: melodic and thoughtful pianorock throughout with a powerful edge,
courtesy of today’s punk scene.
Lunch For the Sky is far from perfect, however. Clocking at just under an
hour, the disc is entirely too long for its
genre. As a result, listeners may develop
a tendency to latch on to certain songs,
playing them over and over again, while
completely ignoring others. In addition, the album may sound disjointed
and oddly arranged to some first-time
listeners. However, as time goes on and
the band’s sound becomes more familiar,
everything starts to fit together, rewarding those patient enough to let the
record grow on them.
Despite these shortcomings, Socratic
has released a real winner in Lunch
For the Sky. Rider University should
be proud of Swider’s accomplishments,
1.) “Over My Head (Cable
Car)”
by The Fray
2.) “Feels Just Like it Should”
by Jamiroquai
3.) “Riot Radio”
by The Dead 60s
4) “The Catalyst”
by Abandoned Pools
5) “Love Saves From Loneliness”
by Idlewild
6) “Best of You”
By Foo Fighters
7) “Welcome Home”
by Coheed and Cambria
8) “O’Sailor”
by Fiona Apple
9) “Lost In Time”
by Stellastarr
10) “Gold Digger”
by Kanye West
and, hopefully, he will soon grace the
community with an electric live performance. In the meantime, though,
students will just have to enjoy the sweet
sounds of Socratic in the comfort of
their own rooms.