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Their musical path during the last four years could be compared to a long walk. The project of Kat began as a changing group of musicians and has grown to be the stable lineup of the band that recorded "A Long Walk".
With the compositions and lyrics of Kat as a starting point, the band took their time to arrange the 10 album songs with continuous pre-production and rehearsals during the last two years. The recordings began in summer 2012 and were completed in January 2013 by Thodoris Zefkilis in SCA studio.
As in "Verba Time" so here, every song is a small story, but this time the stories are self-contained, with routes through dark dreams, night trips, sunny fantasies, memories and stories of love and separation. In Tango With Lions’ long walk bittersweet melodies and dreamy lyrics encounter rich arrangements. The result is unique: atmospheric electricity with dark outbursts, mystic trombone melodies, an old piano and a dark and solid rhythm section, always maintaining the special atmosphere that hovers around Kat’s voice.
Rocket & The Ghost consists of Kiyoshi Matsuyama (songwriter/vocals/guitar), Brian Kesley (bass), Stuart Bidwell (drums), Sean Gavigan (guitar), and Alan Markley (keyboards). In 2011, Kiyoshi found himself in a difficult position for anyone in a band on the rise. As a founding member of Brooklyn's The London Souls, he had spent the past seven years on an adventure that was nothing short of extraordinary, touring with the likes of The Black Crowes, The Roots, and recording with Ethan Johns at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. As his tastes changed, so did the music he was writing, and Kiyoshi had to move on. Rocket & The Ghost was born out of a brief but powerful songwriting collaboration with Lily Clair of Lily & The Parlour Tricks, who assisted Kiyoshi to flesh out the songs he had written during his last years with The London Souls.Call Rocket & The Ghost a "rock band" would be the easiest way to categorize them, but not necessarily the most accurate. They have all the proper elements: thunderous drums, booming bass, the fuzz and wail of two electric guitars, and it's clear that the rock n' roll music of the '60s and '70s had indelibly left a mark, both on Kiyoshi's songwriting and showmanship. Although, laced with those old influences came some playful new ones, such as the at once shocking yet beautiful use of vocal range, which can reach Harry Nilsson highs and Johnny Cash lows all in one breathe. In addition to the arrangements, carefully constructed yet wildly dynamic, showcase the band whispering in your ear one minute and hollering at you from the top of a mountain the next. Then there are the songs themselves, which draw as comfortably from 1920s Americana as they do from millennial pop music without losing their fundamental garage grit. At their heart they are folk songs; they tell stories.Kiyoshi tells us,"I feel like a recording is only special when it conveys the personality of everyone involved. We really put ourselves into these songs. I hope people hear that first before they think about the style we play in or what other people are saying about it. I hope they hear people that care about each other playing the music that they love".
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Swear and Shake is fronted by the guitar wielding Kari Spieler and the guitar and banjo playing Adam McHeffey, the two expertly blend their vocals, melodies, and confessional lyrics. Rounding out the quartet are old friends Ben Goldstein on drums and Shaun Savage on bass guitar. The group released their debut LP, Maple Ridge, in 2012 and have their sophomore album set for release in 2014 (date tba).
