Artist description Unapologetically melodic 3-man rhythm section

Music Style vocal- and percussion-driven rock and roll

Musical Influences Stewart Copeland, Roger Waters, Beastie Boys, Talking Heads, early Bowie

Similar Artists Tragically Hip, Barenaked Ladies, Vertical Horizon, Peter Gabriel, 3rd Eye Blind

Artist History ***************** Cover Songs: review ************************************** ---------- I Have The Touch by Peter Gabriel ---------- "Security" is a fantastic album and "Plays Live" is full of different treatments of its material. Our live cover of "I Have The Touch" draws on both recorded versions: I like the "Security" version for its busy, unrelenting drum groove and the version on "Plays Live" for it's mid-song energy explosion with that long drum fill. It raises the energy level all the way to the end, and seems to say, "You thought that looped drum machine was the real drum beat, you fool." So The Regressives simulated this feel by holding off the full-on drums for a while. I also love Gabriel's voice in the live version; it really fills a big, reverby room well. Peter Gabriel is a vocalist I admire tremendously, and so I knew singing this song would be a blast. Being a trio, it was fun to hear the stabbing keyboard riff played with double stops on the bass. We also bring the dynamic to a whisper in the "only, only wanting contact" sections, to explode out with distorted guitar and full drums at "with YOU...shake those hands". PG has long been an inspiration to me and this is a cover I strongly feel we should try to get permission to record. JV. ------------------------- Moonage Daydream by David Bowie ---------- This song is brilliant. It's chord structure is simple, repetitive and oh-so effective. The humming on the way into the chorus is truly inspired--it's a bit we do with bass guitar because we weren't comfortable touching it. The recording on "Ziggy" uses delay, both on the electric solo and the voice, very well. The Regressives played this at Don Hill's and the soundman actually accommodated me with such delay (without my asking). I also recall a girl in the audience singing intensely with every word. It reminded me of the concert video of the Ziggy Stardust tour, with a girl in the front row singing along. This is a song that reaches people. And when you try to belt this one out, you realize what an underappreciated vocalist the man who sold the world really is. JV. ------------------------------------------------ Psycho Killer by The Talking Heads ---------- In the late 1970s, the era of corporate, complacent leer-jet rock, The Talking Heads must have been viewed as amateurish freaks--English majors posing as rock musicians, but without the accompanying pretension and with plenty of endearing quirkiness. David Byrne is some kind of disturbed genius. I once heard him say that he wrote Psycho Killer--the first song he ever wrote--just to see if he was capable of writing a song(?)! Interesting subject matter he chose.The Talking Heads' version begins with a steady bass line, which is soon joined by a jangly but hesitant guitar and a marching drum beat, all of which work together in that herky jerky Talking Heads fashion. To distinguish our own version, we tried to bring out the latent drama of the song. Rather than bass, our version begins with acoustic guitar, and Jeff's strumming is violent, increasing in intensity until it truly borders on psychotic. To complement it, the drum part sounds as though it was beaten over the head and dragged from Led Zepplin's Immigrant Song. And then there's the ubiquitous Regressives dramatic pause just before the third chorus, "I hate people when they're . . . not polite . . . ". JS

Group Members *Jeff Venables / Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist -------------------- *Giancarlo Libertino / Bass, Backing Vocals ------------------------------- *John Schneider / Drums

Instruments Guitar, Bass (dry and distorted), Drums, Sense of Humor (dry and distorted)

Albums The Miracle Vending Machine, Unnecessary Noise Prohibited

Press Reviews "You listen to this once, hear something, listen again, and hear something else.It's something of a rarity, when a disc confounds you as you try to get a feel forwhat it's all about. The mostly folk-rooted, vocal-prominent music seeps out of thespeakers and slowly takes hold of you. While some songs sound at times like a mix ofAmerica and early Bowie, they could change course dramatically by the time thechorus comes around. After repeated listening, you get a sense these guys areartists in the truest sense of the word - the vocal lines, the musicianship, thesong arrangements, there's a feeling that a lot of hard work went into the 13 tuneshere, and it was time well spent. Oh, and they have a good sense of humor too(listen for the toilet flushing). Confused?Get the disc and work it out for yourself." Bill Ribas, NY Rock ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "I thought I was going to hear some really awful shit. Your CD blew me away." --Bobby Steele, ex-Misfits; The Undead

Additional Info The Commiserati, 3 on the tree (club demo)

Location New York, NY - USA

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