{"id":44630,"date":"2019-12-21T08:31:22","date_gmt":"2019-12-21T13:31:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=44630"},"modified":"2019-12-21T08:31:25","modified_gmt":"2019-12-21T13:31:25","slug":"on-stage-rockin-christmas-puts-local-stars-in-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=44630","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Rockin’ Christmas puts local stars in spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, <\/span>Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Tantric\u2019s singer Hugo Ferreira could ask the band\u2019s live audience if he could sing a fado song for them. Having no idea what he was taking about, they would probably respond \u2013 \u201cforget that\u2026just rock out, dude.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ferreira is an Portuguese-American singer, songwriter and musician who has been the front man of the hard rock band Tantric since 1999. Ferreira would have no problem singing fado, a unique Portuguese style of blues, but Tantric fans would rather hear him play the band\u2019s music which has American blues-based rock in its DNA.<\/span><\/p>\n

On December 21, Ferreira and his current bandmates will be rocking the house at Philly\u2019s \u201cRockin Christmas\u201d concert \u2013 a show featuring nationally-renowned rock band Tantric as well as fellow national recording artist and Philly native Brian Quinn.<\/span><\/p>\n

The concert, which will start at 4 p.m. at 2300 Arena (2300 South Swanson Street, Philadelphia, https:\/\/2300arena.showare.com\/eventperformances.asp?evt=158<\/a>), features a line-up that definitely has a Philly vibe.<\/span><\/p>\n

Quinn (Candlebox) will be performing a special, intimate acoustic set with former bandmates Brian Bortnick (Octane), Bobby Pirylis (Octane) and Danny Beissel (Fosterchild\/Featherborn). The concert will also showcase a variety of established and emerging Philly artists.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the event\u2019s CEO and Founder Sam Adams, \u201cThe show will be a \u2018celebration of some of the best music in Philadelphia.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Brian Quinn<\/p><\/div>\n

In addition to the nationally renowned artists, \u201cRockin\u2019 Christmas\u201d will showcase the diverse talents of several of Philly\u2019s favorite bands including Zeke Sky, Marsha Drive, Zenora, The Otherside, Roygbiv, Future Stars Students and Richards Rocks Academy Students.<\/span><\/p>\n

Candlebox is a band from Seattle, Washington with a key member from Philadelphia. The group has released six studio albums, which have achieved multi-platinum and gold certification, as well as numerous charting singles, a compilation, and a CD+DVD.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Candlebox was in its early days, Quinn was a young musician in Pennsylvania \u2013 and a devoted Candlebox fan.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the late 1990s, Quinn moved from his hometown of Pittston (PA) to Philadelphia. Soon after arriving, he co-founded the Philadelphia-based rock band\u00a0Octane\u00a0(2000-2005).\u00a0During this time, Quinn was named \u201cBest Guitarist\u201d in the Philadelphia region by the Philadelphia Music Awards in 2001 and 2004.<\/span><\/p>\n

After five successful years with Octane, Quinn left the band to form a blues-based hard rock band that would later become known as\u00a0Fosterchild. Then, Quinn joined Candlebox a few years ago when the band needed to replace its guitarist.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKevin and I were labelmates when I was with Fosterchild,\u201d said Quinn, who now lives in King of Prussia. \u201cWe met at a label showcase and stayed in touch after that. When personnel changes started with Candlebox, he asked me to join the band.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Danny Beissel<\/p><\/div>\n

Beissel has spent the past decade performing with such musical stalwarts as Jeffrey \u201cSkunk\u201d Baxter (Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers), Barry Goudreau (Formerly of Boston), James Burton (Elvis, Ricky Nelson) and more. He released his debut album \u201cFeatherborn\u201d earlier this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first record from his new project \u201cFeatherborn,\u201d the album is described by Beissel as a \u201cthe culmination of [his] musical voyage\u201d after fronting such super-star bands as The American Vinyl All Star Band, which featured current and former members of Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Boston, The Wailers and Fosterchild (with members of Candlebox, Tantric, and FUEL).<\/span><\/p>\n

Tantric\u2019s current line-up adds to the local vibe of the event.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur lead guitarist Sebastian LaBar is from Media,\u201d said Ferriera, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon from his home in Boston. \u201cAnd, our bass player Jaron Gulino is from Downingtown.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the years, Tantric has had more than 25 members. Ferreira has been the constant \u2013 but he is not truly an original member.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Tantric<\/p><\/div>\n

Guitarist Todd Whitener, drummer Matt Taul and bassist Jess Vest formed Days of the New with singer\/songwriter Travis Meeks. The group chalked up a history of band brawls, missed shows and cancelled tours with Meeks at the forefront. In 1998, Meeks fired his former friends.<\/span><\/p>\n

The trio began writing new songs and formed their own band \u2013 Tantric. In 1999, Ferreira, who had been in a band called Merge, merged with the three others to form the first full working incarnation of Tantric.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eight months later, Tantric\u2019s demos caught the ear of Maverick Records. A deal was struck that gave the group healthy advances and budgets to record an album in Nashville with producer Toby Wright. The album \u2013 Tantric\u201d \u2013 dropped in 2001.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2005, Vest left the group and Taul and Whitener departed two years later. In late 2007, Ferreira began searching for new bandmates and then released Tantric\u2019s third album titled \u201cThe End Begins\u201d in April 2008.<\/span><\/p>\n

Members came and went over the next decade. Line-up stability arrived in 2017 with the arrival of LaBar and Gulino.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis particular line-up is the best I\u2019ve ever had,\u201d said Ferreira. \u201cThese guys have been around since the life cycle of this record. All of them were on the record except for Ian (drummer Ian Corabi).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ferreira was referring to the band\u2019s most recent album, \u201cMercury Retrograde,\u201d which was released in October 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had incredible chemistry with Sebastian and Jaron right from the start,\u201d said Ferreira, who was born in Luanda, Angola (which at the time was a Portuguese colony), speaks Portuguese fluently and is a fan of Porto FC (and Port wine).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe all knew we hit the jackpot with this relationship. It\u2019s a symbiotic stage of friends who like to be around each other along with a great music relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt all happened by word-of-mouth. Jaron was the first to come in and he brought on Sebastian, I trusted Jaron\u2019s judgement \u2013 and the fact that I knew those two had played together in the past. That gave us a head start.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had done enough gigs that we had a solid relationship before we went into the studio to make the album. We know what each other is going to do which is especially important in adapting and improvising.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe adapt our show to the audience every night. The two most important elements in a show are the players and the audience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tantric plays around 250 shows a year but took enough time off from the road to record \u201cMercury Retrograde\u201d in early 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe album came out on Pavement Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of Sony Records,\u201d said Ferreira. \u201cWe cut it in Detroit at Pearl Sound Studio with co-producer Chuck Alkazian.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tantric, fresh off its European tour with Attic Theory, is slated to perform a set that spans the band\u2019s seven-album career — including such hits as \u201cBreakdown,\u201d \u201cAstounded\u201d, and \u201cLive Your Life.\u201d The Gold-selling rockers will also unveil their latest single \u201cAngry,\u201d for which they just released a video in late November.<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Tantric \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/Svexrdjv2Tc<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Philadelphia\u2019s \u201cRocking Christmas\u201d will start at 4 p.m. on December 21 at 2300 Arena. Tickets are $20.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another band with Pennsylvania roots will be wrapping up a national tour with a show in the area this weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Crobot<\/p><\/div>\n

On December 22, Chameleon Club (223 North Water Street, Lancaster, 717-299-9684, http:\/\/www.chameleonclub.net<\/a>) will host an all-ages show \u2013 Crobot\u2019s \u201cYear of the Dawg Tour.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Crobot — Brandon Yeagley (lead vocals, harmonica), Chris Bishop (guitar, vocals), Dan Ryan (drums) \u2013 is a rock band from Pottsville that describes its music as \u201cDirty. Groove. Rock.\u201d James Lascu and Eddie Collins share the role of touring bassist for Crobot.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don\u2019t know where to categorize us,\u201d said Yeagley, during a phone interview last week as the band was travelling to a gig in Springfield, Missouri.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say we\u2019re a tad different than a radio rock band and more digestible than stoner rock. We try to hold on to our identity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In August, Crobot released a new album titled \u201cMotherbrain\u201d and the lead single, \u201cLow Life,\u201d celebrated a Top 40 debut on both Media Base and the Billboard Rock Airplay Chart.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Yeagley, \u201cIt\u2019s an anthem about this outside perspective on the definition of a low life.\u00a0\u00a0There\u2019s a misconception that being a touring musician without a lot of money makes you a lowlife, but how is that really any different from the rest of the world? And, if that does make you a lowlife, we\u2019re okay with it!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

During late 2017, Crobot began writing songs for \u201cMotherbrain.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had been writing songs for three years before we went in to make the album,\u201d said Yeagley. \u201cAs soon as an album comes out, we start writing for the next one.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis album was a little different. Usually, we don\u2019t have a lot of time between tours. For this one, we had more time because of lineup changes and label changes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur previous label was Wind-Up and they got bought by Concord Music \u2013 a major label that focuses on its big acts like Paul McCartney and James Taylor. We got caught in that storm and got tossed around.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe shopped our band around, and Mascot Records was interested from the get-go. We\u2019ve been having a great experience with Mascot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMotherbrain\u201d is Crobot\u2019s first release with Mascot.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent about a month in Marietta, Georgia working with producer Corey Lowery,\u201d said Yeagley. \u201cWe lived there while we were recording. We wanted to spend most of the time in the studio rather than with outside activities. We didn\u2019t want any distractions.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

According to Yeagley, \u201cI think it\u2019s a much darker record, musically, lyrically, and thematically. It\u2019s some of the heaviest material we\u2019ve<\/span><\/p>\n

ever done, but it\u2019s also some of the funkiest.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re widening the Crobot spectrum even more. It\u2019s the catchiest too. It\u2019s less about wizards and dragons and more about everyday turmoil and the struggles of life. Corey made it digestible and appealing for not just dudes with beards or chicks with dicks.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lowery, who has produced records for Seether, Saint Asonia, Sevendust, and Stereomud, understood what Crobot was looking for.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCorey helped bring darkness to the album,\u201d said Yeagley. \u201cWe wanted to focus on the grungy side of the songs. Chris Cornell died when we were writing the songs. It just happened that that sound was the way we were leaning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Crobot\u2019s roots go back to Pottsville at the beginning of this decade.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cChris and I were in cover bands together in Pottsville,\u201d said Yeagley, who went to high school at Williams Valley in nearby Tower City.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cChris was from Tennessee and had moved to the Pottsville area. Instead of playing in cover bands, we wanted to do original band music.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDan came aboard in 2017. Eddie has been touring with us for about a year. We love playing live shows.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe like to keep every show different \u2013 some of the jams are a little longer and some are a little shorter. We\u2019re very spur-of-the-moment. It\u2019s important for us to stay organic and let things happen naturally. And it\u2019s important for us to always be Crobot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Crobot \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/bhfaPK70ShM<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The all-ages show at the Chameleon Club will start at 6 p.m. Tickets are $15.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Tantric\u2019s singer Hugo Ferreira could ask the band\u2019s live audience if he could sing a fado song for them. Having no idea what he was taking about, they would probably respond \u2013 \u201cforget that\u2026just rock out, dude.\u201d Ferreira is an Portuguese-American singer, songwriter and musician who has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44632,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[12717,12718,11964,7426,12715,12716],"class_list":["post-44630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-brian-quinn","tag-crobot","tag-danny-beissel","tag-featured","tag-rockin-christmas","tag-tantric"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44630"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44630\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44631,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44630\/revisions\/44631"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}