| American Gospel — Tall Tales Vol.1 (2012) |
American Gospel — Tall Tales Vol.1
Location: Manorville, NY ~ Long Island, NY
Album release: May 15/November 27, 2012
Record Label: HYPE MUSIC
Duration: 41:40
Tracks:
01. I Know (3:59)
02. Bayonet (2:43)
03. The Hanged Man (3:32)
04. Say (3:00)
05. Hunting Boar (5:30)
06. The Woods (0:44)
07. The Falling Feeling (3:33)
08. Better Off (3:28)
09. Forget Not Yet (2:33)
10. I'll Never Let You Go (4:42)
11. World Lines (3:49)
12. Geronimo (4:07)
Supporting Musicians:
• Logan Labarbera: Trombone/Trumpet (1, 3, 5, 7)
• Jon Degen: Saxophone (1, 10)
• Sarah Pope: Vocals (1, 2, 6)
• Mason Maggio: Vocals (12)
• Christian Van Deurs: Banjo (7)
• Stephanie Tolino: Vocals (9)
• Justin Neiser: Drums (8)
• Ricky Plum: Piano (9)
• George Kalivas: Co-Wrote, Outro (12)
• Billy Duprey: Vocals (7)
Production Credits:
• Greg Andrew DellaRocca: Tracking, Mixing & Mastering
• (All songs written and performed by Gregg Andrew DellaRocca)
Description:
≈ "Gregg DellaRocca (of The Republic of Wolves) created this project to channel his musical talent into a multi-genre record. You want trumpets and trombones and banjos?You want a jazzy saxophone riff to catch you off guard? You want lyrics that will embody the very essence of poetry? All present.
≈ It’s a simple thing to tell a story. It’s a little more difficult to tell a story that never happened. What’s more, few artists can seamlessly mesh true stories with manufactured ones and make you believe every single one of them, much less make you become emotionally attached to them. That’s exactly what happens with these 12 tracks."
In french:
≈ Un projet solo particulierement varié et tres sympa. Gregg DellaRocca a quasiment tout fait tout seul. Impressionant.
Website: http://www.american-gospel.com/
Bandcamp: http://americangospel.bandcamp.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmericanGospel
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanGospel
Press:
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
REVIEW
≈ Submitted by Big Picture Media; Thu, 04/12/2012 - 1:09pm
≈ American Gospel, the solo project of The Republic of Wolves' guitarist/singer Gregg DellaRocca, will be releasing their debut album, Tall Tales Vol. 1, on May 15th. A primarily conceptual writing project, DellaRocca combines story telling and personal experiences to deliver a fun, compelling, and sometimes dark, multi genre musical journey. With an impressive artwork of thought-provoking lyrics and unique instrumental parts, this is without a doubt a record you will not be able to put down.
≈ Started in late 2009, Tall Tales Vol. 1 was recorded over the course of three years in two separate locations, DellaRocca's home studio in New York and his mobile studio in East Palestine, Ohio. In addition to writing the full album, DellaRocca also plays the majority of instruments and handles all of the production work. Over the past four years, he has embraced the DIY method to the best of his ability. The beautiful album artwork for Tall Tales Vol.1 was oil painted by DellaRocca himself, as well as a series of prints that correspond to a few of the stories on the album.
≈ DellaRocca has been writing, recording, and playing for over eleven years. After graduating from Full Sail University with a degree in Audio Engineering, he finally found success in 2009 with The Republic of Wolves and the release of their debut EP, His Old Branches. Aside from writing, DellaRocca also handled the production and recording aspects of the project. The Republic of Wolves is still an active endeavor for DellaRocca, and in November 2010 they released their first full-length album, Varuna. Less than two months following the release of Varuna, The Republic of Wolves released it's counter part, a seven song EP titled The Cartographer and for the first time featured DellaRocca as the lead vocalist and writer. It was then that DellaRocca realized it was his time to release the masterpiece he has been keeping to himself, Tall Tales Vol. 1.
≈ DellaRocca tells us, "This album was an opportunity for me to tell my stories. Some are true and some are not. But all of them together create something I think is special. Within the combinations of imagination, emotions, and pride. I found the timeline of my life so far, and I turned it into song."
≈ See more at: http://www.gratefulweb.com/
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
REVIEW
From the blog of Steve McCoy
≈ I made a discovery today. Streaming free today is an album by a band (dude) I've never heard of. Gregg DellaRocca is American Gospel. Tomorrow American Gospel's album, Tall Tales Volume 1, is out. I'm guessing very few of my readers have heard of this album and I hope you'll check it out. Gregg is the vocalist/singer for The Republic of Wolves.
≈ The album is DellaRocca on nearly every instrument and vocals. Gregg writes...
≈ Tall Tales Vol.1 combines story telling and personal experiences to deliver a fun, compelling, and sometimes dark, multi-genre musical experience. From a production standpoint the entire album was DIY, and for the most part I’m playing all the instruments (with an exception to the horns). Because most of the songs are about stories I could go on and on about them, but for the sake of time I thought I would sum them all up for you on this track by track.
≈ The name, American Gospel, first intrigued me. As a preacher of the Gospel and I often talk about the American version of the Gospel vs. THE Gospel. Match an interesting name with an album titled "Tall Tales" and I had to give it a shot. I had no idea what to expect, but what I found was a creative, thoughtful, and at times provocative album.
We’re stoked to be teaming up with Gregg for a new PropertyOfZack Track-By-Track feature. Check out the meaning behind each track on Tall Tales Vol. 1 below!
Tall Tales Vol.1
≈ Tall Tales Vol.1 combines story telling and personal experiences to deliver a fun, compelling, and sometimes dark, multi genre musical experience. From a production standpoint the entire album was DIY, and for the most part I’m playing all the instruments (with an exception to the horns). Because most of the songs are about stories I could go on and on about them, but for the sake of time I thought I would sum them all up for you on this track by track. Thank you for reading and enjoy! — Gregg
I Know
≈ Beginning the journey; Arranged primarily to elicit the feeling of complete immersion, “I Know” acts as the overture as well as a portal into the Tall Tales world. Covering a wide range of dynamics, “I Know” introduces the listener to many of the musical and lyrical themes that can be found throughout the album. From a story telling prospective, “I Know” focuses but is not confined to a conceptual idea/story I’ve been developing for some time now titled: “Daniel’s Favor” (I plan on elaborating and expanding on these ideas more thoroughly in the future). In a nutshell “I Know” is about finding someone that you’ve lost and understanding that the knowledge, that you know nothing, is in the end knowing something quite profound.
Bayonet
≈ This is a song that deals primarily with religion, death and trying to understand my own purpose in life. Written shortly after the passing of my great grandmother, “Bayonet” is about finding your place in the world, and being able to make the decisions to get to that place on your own. Structurally it’s short and constantly building, It’s broken up into three sections that don’t repeat themselves. In comparison to the opening track “I Know”, “Bayonet” is much more minimal in design, thus creating a strong point of contrast and setting the tone for track to track dynamics for the remainder of the album.
The Hanged Man
≈ "The Hanged Man" is an up-beat, true story of an interaction I had with a psychic while visiting in East Palestine Ohio. During my reading I was dealt The Hanged Man card multiple times. This along with a few eerily precise predictions turned out to be the beginning of an interesting and somewhat painful journey. The Hanged Man card represents being at a crossroads - one with only two options i.e. in or out, up or down, yes or no. "You may find yourself very much wanting to do something but having no idea what it is or how to do it."
Say
≈ "Say" is the product of a temporary realization, an observation about the fortune of existence. While temporarily sedated under the influence of a questionably legal potpourri, I felt thankful to be alive. My normally depressed, cynical self was washed away and I decided to write something with a little more pop. I based the minimal production style of this song on some Hall & Oates recordings and plan to put together some more material like this in the future.
Hunting Boar
≈ In the state called New Hollisberg, in a town they called Truffles, lived an old three star general, with four sons and no daughters. The youngest son James was not like the others, born early his bones were brittle like butter. His brothers were famous, two guards and a butcher, James was unsteady, a boy with no future. The whole town was starving, the swine owned the forrest, they came from the west, and hunted our hunters. One day James was walking, he witnessed a taking, and thought up a plan to stop the invading.
The Woods
≈ "The Woods" begins the second half of the album. It is also an introduction for the song that follows titled "The Falling Feeling". The production on this track is minimal and features duet style vocals. The guitar was recorded outside to give a literal feel in cohesion with the title of the song.
The Falling Feeling
≈ If I was to set numerical values in which to represent the genres that make up this album, “The Falling Feeling” would be the median (it also happens to be placed in the middle of the album). This was the first song written with the album concept in mind more than two years ago, and although it is not the oldest song on the album it did set a standard for the way the rest of it would turn out. From a storytelling prospective this song deals with a few different ideas, and uses them together as metaphors to tell a story about letting go of the past and realizing what you have.
Better Off
≈ Keeping with the multi genre vibe of the album, here is the angsty rock song about how anxiety can ruin a relationship. The style emulates 90’s rock music which has always been a big influence to me.
Forget Not Yet
≈ "Forget Not Yet" is a relationship song that features duet style vocals and a simplistic, clean production style. It is musically minimal but has a strong focus on vocal dynamics and simple melodies. Lyrically the song reflects on a dialogue between two people, but is told through the prospective of the regretful party.
I’ll Never Let You Go
≈ This is one of the oldest songs on the album, I wrote and recorded it while I was attending college at Full Sail University in 2006. “I’ll Never Let You Go” is the first song I ever wrote with a conceptual context. It is based on a short story I did titled “Mercury The Messenger”. This is the same tale “The Republic of Wolves” took it’s name from, and a story I plan to elaborate on with It’s own project at some point in the future. The Sax and talk box solo at 2:32 is a really standout part for me, possibly one of my favorite moments on the album.
World Lines
≈ I have this idea…That the world is replicating and changing itself… Storing the older versions in alternate timelines or dimensions… This is either a natural phenomenon or intelligent life bending time, building and destroying, a true god campaigning for a perfect world… I hope to one day live eternally… A modern lifetime for every timeline… Improvements in each dimension, a constant replicating paradox… Eventually we’ll get it right, the dimensions will stop being made and we will live forever.
Geronimo
≈ Ending the journey; “Geronimo” is the story of an ice fisherman named Geronimo who has been searching his whole life for a fish who’s legend killed his father, and his father’s father. Moments from death Geronimo sets out his last fishing line, (2:14) there’s a bite, and beneath his frisbee sized fishing hole a groaning, blimp sized shadow appears to be growing larger and larger. (2:45) Bursting through the ice, Geronimo is faced with the beast that killed his father and in a moment of understanding, decides not to gore this demon fish. He places his spear at his side, and wraps his arms tightly around the beast. He takes a last breath and then plunges down into the ice. His life flashes before his eyes, he smiles for the first time in a long time, he knows he is not alone…The song begins with the recording of a train that used to pass by my window every half hour while I was living in East Palestine Ohio where I wrote the song. The recording is very ambient and vocally driven, I think there’s an airy sort of cold feeling about it. At 2:14 begins a section that was originally recorded 8 years ago in a basement. I can honestly say that this small section was the first thing I ever recorded and felt really proud of. I couldn’t think of a better way to end the album.
Fortaken: http://www.stevekmccoy.com/
Also:
≈ http://www.live4ever.uk.com/2012/05/review-american-gospel-tall-tales-vol-1/
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
| American Gospel — Tall Tales Vol.1 (2012) |
American Gospel — Tall Tales Vol.1
Location: Manorville, NY ~ Long Island, NY
Album release: May 15/November 27, 2012
Record Label: HYPE MUSIC
Duration: 41:40
Tracks:
01. I Know (3:59)
02. Bayonet (2:43)
03. The Hanged Man (3:32)
04. Say (3:00)
05. Hunting Boar (5:30)
06. The Woods (0:44)
07. The Falling Feeling (3:33)
08. Better Off (3:28)
09. Forget Not Yet (2:33)
10. I'll Never Let You Go (4:42)
11. World Lines (3:49)
12. Geronimo (4:07)
Supporting Musicians:
• Logan Labarbera: Trombone/Trumpet (1, 3, 5, 7)
• Jon Degen: Saxophone (1, 10)
• Sarah Pope: Vocals (1, 2, 6)
• Mason Maggio: Vocals (12)
• Christian Van Deurs: Banjo (7)
• Stephanie Tolino: Vocals (9)
• Justin Neiser: Drums (8)
• Ricky Plum: Piano (9)
• George Kalivas: Co-Wrote, Outro (12)
• Billy Duprey: Vocals (7)
Production Credits:
• Greg Andrew DellaRocca: Tracking, Mixing & Mastering
• (All songs written and performed by Gregg Andrew DellaRocca)
Description:
≈ "Gregg DellaRocca (of The Republic of Wolves) created this project to channel his musical talent into a multi-genre record. You want trumpets and trombones and banjos?You want a jazzy saxophone riff to catch you off guard? You want lyrics that will embody the very essence of poetry? All present.
≈ It’s a simple thing to tell a story. It’s a little more difficult to tell a story that never happened. What’s more, few artists can seamlessly mesh true stories with manufactured ones and make you believe every single one of them, much less make you become emotionally attached to them. That’s exactly what happens with these 12 tracks."
In french:
≈ Un projet solo particulierement varié et tres sympa. Gregg DellaRocca a quasiment tout fait tout seul. Impressionant.
Website: http://www.american-gospel.com/
Bandcamp: http://americangospel.bandcamp.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmericanGospel
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanGospel
Press:
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
REVIEW
≈ Submitted by Big Picture Media; Thu, 04/12/2012 - 1:09pm
≈ American Gospel, the solo project of The Republic of Wolves' guitarist/singer Gregg DellaRocca, will be releasing their debut album, Tall Tales Vol. 1, on May 15th. A primarily conceptual writing project, DellaRocca combines story telling and personal experiences to deliver a fun, compelling, and sometimes dark, multi genre musical journey. With an impressive artwork of thought-provoking lyrics and unique instrumental parts, this is without a doubt a record you will not be able to put down.
≈ Started in late 2009, Tall Tales Vol. 1 was recorded over the course of three years in two separate locations, DellaRocca's home studio in New York and his mobile studio in East Palestine, Ohio. In addition to writing the full album, DellaRocca also plays the majority of instruments and handles all of the production work. Over the past four years, he has embraced the DIY method to the best of his ability. The beautiful album artwork for Tall Tales Vol.1 was oil painted by DellaRocca himself, as well as a series of prints that correspond to a few of the stories on the album.
≈ DellaRocca has been writing, recording, and playing for over eleven years. After graduating from Full Sail University with a degree in Audio Engineering, he finally found success in 2009 with The Republic of Wolves and the release of their debut EP, His Old Branches. Aside from writing, DellaRocca also handled the production and recording aspects of the project. The Republic of Wolves is still an active endeavor for DellaRocca, and in November 2010 they released their first full-length album, Varuna. Less than two months following the release of Varuna, The Republic of Wolves released it's counter part, a seven song EP titled The Cartographer and for the first time featured DellaRocca as the lead vocalist and writer. It was then that DellaRocca realized it was his time to release the masterpiece he has been keeping to himself, Tall Tales Vol. 1.
≈ DellaRocca tells us, "This album was an opportunity for me to tell my stories. Some are true and some are not. But all of them together create something I think is special. Within the combinations of imagination, emotions, and pride. I found the timeline of my life so far, and I turned it into song."
≈ See more at: http://www.gratefulweb.com/
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
REVIEW
From the blog of Steve McCoy
≈ I made a discovery today. Streaming free today is an album by a band (dude) I've never heard of. Gregg DellaRocca is American Gospel. Tomorrow American Gospel's album, Tall Tales Volume 1, is out. I'm guessing very few of my readers have heard of this album and I hope you'll check it out. Gregg is the vocalist/singer for The Republic of Wolves.
≈ The album is DellaRocca on nearly every instrument and vocals. Gregg writes...
≈ Tall Tales Vol.1 combines story telling and personal experiences to deliver a fun, compelling, and sometimes dark, multi-genre musical experience. From a production standpoint the entire album was DIY, and for the most part I’m playing all the instruments (with an exception to the horns). Because most of the songs are about stories I could go on and on about them, but for the sake of time I thought I would sum them all up for you on this track by track.
≈ The name, American Gospel, first intrigued me. As a preacher of the Gospel and I often talk about the American version of the Gospel vs. THE Gospel. Match an interesting name with an album titled "Tall Tales" and I had to give it a shot. I had no idea what to expect, but what I found was a creative, thoughtful, and at times provocative album.
We’re stoked to be teaming up with Gregg for a new PropertyOfZack Track-By-Track feature. Check out the meaning behind each track on Tall Tales Vol. 1 below!
Tall Tales Vol.1
≈ Tall Tales Vol.1 combines story telling and personal experiences to deliver a fun, compelling, and sometimes dark, multi genre musical experience. From a production standpoint the entire album was DIY, and for the most part I’m playing all the instruments (with an exception to the horns). Because most of the songs are about stories I could go on and on about them, but for the sake of time I thought I would sum them all up for you on this track by track. Thank you for reading and enjoy! — Gregg
I Know
≈ Beginning the journey; Arranged primarily to elicit the feeling of complete immersion, “I Know” acts as the overture as well as a portal into the Tall Tales world. Covering a wide range of dynamics, “I Know” introduces the listener to many of the musical and lyrical themes that can be found throughout the album. From a story telling prospective, “I Know” focuses but is not confined to a conceptual idea/story I’ve been developing for some time now titled: “Daniel’s Favor” (I plan on elaborating and expanding on these ideas more thoroughly in the future). In a nutshell “I Know” is about finding someone that you’ve lost and understanding that the knowledge, that you know nothing, is in the end knowing something quite profound.
Bayonet
≈ This is a song that deals primarily with religion, death and trying to understand my own purpose in life. Written shortly after the passing of my great grandmother, “Bayonet” is about finding your place in the world, and being able to make the decisions to get to that place on your own. Structurally it’s short and constantly building, It’s broken up into three sections that don’t repeat themselves. In comparison to the opening track “I Know”, “Bayonet” is much more minimal in design, thus creating a strong point of contrast and setting the tone for track to track dynamics for the remainder of the album.
The Hanged Man
≈ "The Hanged Man" is an up-beat, true story of an interaction I had with a psychic while visiting in East Palestine Ohio. During my reading I was dealt The Hanged Man card multiple times. This along with a few eerily precise predictions turned out to be the beginning of an interesting and somewhat painful journey. The Hanged Man card represents being at a crossroads - one with only two options i.e. in or out, up or down, yes or no. "You may find yourself very much wanting to do something but having no idea what it is or how to do it."
Say
≈ "Say" is the product of a temporary realization, an observation about the fortune of existence. While temporarily sedated under the influence of a questionably legal potpourri, I felt thankful to be alive. My normally depressed, cynical self was washed away and I decided to write something with a little more pop. I based the minimal production style of this song on some Hall & Oates recordings and plan to put together some more material like this in the future.
Hunting Boar
≈ In the state called New Hollisberg, in a town they called Truffles, lived an old three star general, with four sons and no daughters. The youngest son James was not like the others, born early his bones were brittle like butter. His brothers were famous, two guards and a butcher, James was unsteady, a boy with no future. The whole town was starving, the swine owned the forrest, they came from the west, and hunted our hunters. One day James was walking, he witnessed a taking, and thought up a plan to stop the invading.
The Woods
≈ "The Woods" begins the second half of the album. It is also an introduction for the song that follows titled "The Falling Feeling". The production on this track is minimal and features duet style vocals. The guitar was recorded outside to give a literal feel in cohesion with the title of the song.
The Falling Feeling
≈ If I was to set numerical values in which to represent the genres that make up this album, “The Falling Feeling” would be the median (it also happens to be placed in the middle of the album). This was the first song written with the album concept in mind more than two years ago, and although it is not the oldest song on the album it did set a standard for the way the rest of it would turn out. From a storytelling prospective this song deals with a few different ideas, and uses them together as metaphors to tell a story about letting go of the past and realizing what you have.
Better Off
≈ Keeping with the multi genre vibe of the album, here is the angsty rock song about how anxiety can ruin a relationship. The style emulates 90’s rock music which has always been a big influence to me.
Forget Not Yet
≈ "Forget Not Yet" is a relationship song that features duet style vocals and a simplistic, clean production style. It is musically minimal but has a strong focus on vocal dynamics and simple melodies. Lyrically the song reflects on a dialogue between two people, but is told through the prospective of the regretful party.
I’ll Never Let You Go
≈ This is one of the oldest songs on the album, I wrote and recorded it while I was attending college at Full Sail University in 2006. “I’ll Never Let You Go” is the first song I ever wrote with a conceptual context. It is based on a short story I did titled “Mercury The Messenger”. This is the same tale “The Republic of Wolves” took it’s name from, and a story I plan to elaborate on with It’s own project at some point in the future. The Sax and talk box solo at 2:32 is a really standout part for me, possibly one of my favorite moments on the album.
World Lines
≈ I have this idea…That the world is replicating and changing itself… Storing the older versions in alternate timelines or dimensions… This is either a natural phenomenon or intelligent life bending time, building and destroying, a true god campaigning for a perfect world… I hope to one day live eternally… A modern lifetime for every timeline… Improvements in each dimension, a constant replicating paradox… Eventually we’ll get it right, the dimensions will stop being made and we will live forever.
Geronimo
≈ Ending the journey; “Geronimo” is the story of an ice fisherman named Geronimo who has been searching his whole life for a fish who’s legend killed his father, and his father’s father. Moments from death Geronimo sets out his last fishing line, (2:14) there’s a bite, and beneath his frisbee sized fishing hole a groaning, blimp sized shadow appears to be growing larger and larger. (2:45) Bursting through the ice, Geronimo is faced with the beast that killed his father and in a moment of understanding, decides not to gore this demon fish. He places his spear at his side, and wraps his arms tightly around the beast. He takes a last breath and then plunges down into the ice. His life flashes before his eyes, he smiles for the first time in a long time, he knows he is not alone…The song begins with the recording of a train that used to pass by my window every half hour while I was living in East Palestine Ohio where I wrote the song. The recording is very ambient and vocally driven, I think there’s an airy sort of cold feeling about it. At 2:14 begins a section that was originally recorded 8 years ago in a basement. I can honestly say that this small section was the first thing I ever recorded and felt really proud of. I couldn’t think of a better way to end the album.
Fortaken: http://www.stevekmccoy.com/
Also:
≈ http://www.live4ever.uk.com/2012/05/review-american-gospel-tall-tales-vol-1/
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::