{"id":44994,"date":"2020-02-08T10:38:32","date_gmt":"2020-02-08T15:38:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=44994"},"modified":"2020-02-08T10:38:34","modified_gmt":"2020-02-08T15:38:34","slug":"on-stage-crack-the-sky-keeps-defying-categories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=44994","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Crack The Sky keeps defying categories"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"<\/a>

Crack The Sky<\/p><\/div>\n

Crack the Sky, which is viewed by some as a rock band and others as a prog band, was formed in Weirton, West Virginia in the early 1970s and is still performing and recording in 2020. On February 9, the Ardmore <\/span>Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389,\u00a0www.ardmoremusic.com<\/a>) will host \u201cAn Evening with Crack the Sky.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the last 40 years, the band has had a few periods of dormancy but has also shown a lot of resilience. C<\/span>rack the Sky has released more than 25 albums over four decades and is currently operating with three of the five original members still in the lineup.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 20<\/span>20 edition of Crack the Sky features original members singer\/composer John Palumbo, guitarist Rick Witkowski and drummer Joey D\u2019Amico along with longtime guitarist Bobby Hird, keyboardist Glenn Workman and bassist Dave DeMarco.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the longest-running Crack the Sky line-up,\u201d said Palumbo, during a phone interview Tuesday from his home in South Jersey. \u201cThis line-up has been together for nine years. There are good people in it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1975, Rolling Stone declared CTS\u2019 first album for Lifesong Records \u201cdebut album of the year.\u201d In 201<\/span>7, the band signed to Loud and Proud Records and in 2018 simultaneously released two new CDs \u2013 \u201cCrackology,\u201d a re-recorded best of package and \u201cLiving In Reverse,\u201d featuring 12 brand new originals which continue to solidify CTS\u2019s reputation of genre-bending progressive rock.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded <\/span>the two albums <\/span>at the same time<\/span>,\u201d said Palumbo. \u201cWe started recording \u2018Living In Reverse\u2019 and, during that process, our label suggested a career retrospective since we were already in the studio. <\/span>The album of new material was the first one we finished.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody has their own studio. I\u2019ll write the song, do a demo and then send it to other guys. The recording is all centered at our main studio at Rick\u2019s house in Weirton. I\u2019ll send the demos to Rick and Bobby, and they add their parts. After that, Joey adds the drum tracks and then Dave puts bass on it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAn Evening with Crack the Sky<\/span>,\u201d <\/span>which was introduced last January at the Ardmore Music Hall, will be comprehensive enough to please even the fussiest of the band\u2019s fans.<\/span><\/p>\n

During this special, one-night only performance, CTS will play an eclectic assortment of songs from its repertoire, including tracks from \u201cLiving In Reverse.\u201d Featuring an assemblage of genre-defying tracks, \u201cLiving in Reverse\u201d charted at\u00a0#7 Heatseekers, #31 Independent Current Albums, and\u00a0#40 Top Current Albums.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur set list goes all the way back to the 1975 \u2018Crack the Sky\u2019 and 1976 \u2018Animal Notes\u2019 albums,\u201d said Palumbo. \u201cFor example, we still play \u2018Robots for Ronnie\u2019 and \u2018She\u2019s a Dancer,\u2019 which were on out first album.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The band\u2019s fans will be happy to know that new CTS music is on the way.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, we\u2019re doing four or five gigs and then we have to take a break to work on our next album,\u201d said Palumbo. \u201dWe\u2019re 16 songs into it with songs that I wrote. Then, we\u2019ll peel \u2019em off and get down to 10.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe demos are done. The actual stuff that the guys did is pretty much done. We\u2019re waiting for more keys and bass and we\u2019re putting some string and horns on. We have some of it mixed already.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Crack the Sky has never had a major hit and probably never will \u2013 and that\u2019s all right with Palumbo and his mates.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a good thing that we\u2019ve never had a hit record,\u201d said Palumbo. \u201cIf we did, we probably wouldn\u2019t be doing this now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Crack the Sky \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/UWYNrHMY5_4<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAn Evening with Crack the Sky\u201d will start at 7 p.m. on February 9. Tickets are $29.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Fredo Disco<\/p><\/div>\n

Fredo<\/span> Disco is the name of an indie rock band that is playing a show on February 8 at the Foundry at Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal Street, Philadelphia, 215-309-0150,www.thefillmorephilly.com<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Fredo Disco is also the name of the band\u2019s leader, songwriter and singer \u2013 sort of.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy real name is <\/span>Fredo<\/span> Fosco and not <\/span>Fredo<\/span> Disco<\/span>,\u201d said Fosco, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon as the band was travelling to a gig in Hartford, Connecticut.<\/span><\/p>\n

In his Facebook bio, Fosco said, \u201chi im <\/span>fredo<\/span>. i am 18. my real name is <\/span>fredo<\/span> fosco but my phone always autocorrects it to <\/span>disco<\/span> so here we are. these are some songs that i write and record. in 2018 some of my friends joined <\/span>fredo<\/span> disco<\/span> and their names are max, colin, and aidan. max plays guitar <\/span>🎸<\/span>. colin plays drums <\/span>🥁<\/span>. aidan plays bass <\/span>🎣<\/span>. enjoy our tunes, eat some food, and stay cool <\/span>😎<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Fosco and his crew are on tour now and will play a show on November 22 at the Theatre of the Living Arts (334 South Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1011, <\/span>http:\/\/www.lnphilly.com<\/span><\/a>) as the opening act for Tiny Moving Parts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMe and my buddy Colin started playing music together in high school,\u201d said Fosco. \u201cWe wrote a ton of songs together back in 2017. He was in a band called Clear Confusion and then went away to college \u2013 to St. Louis University.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA little while later, Max from that band came back home after going to school at Belmont University. The summer before I left for college, me, max and Colin recorded our first album \u2013 \u2018Very Cool Music for Very Cool People.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI started school at DePaul <\/span>University. A few weeks into college, we got some tour offers. So, I dropped out of college. I was only in school for about three weeks.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Fosco has two \u201cDisco\u201d projects going \u2013 fredo disco and disco inc.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cdisco ink is all electric guitar rock,\u201d said Fosco. \u201cIn fredo disco, I play acoustic guitar.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe put out two EPs in 2017 \u2013 \u2018What a Year\u2019 and \u2018School Spirit\u2019 \u2013 and both were fredo disco. Last year, there was the album and we also did an EP called \u2018Boredom Keeps Me Up at Night\u2019 \u2013 and that was a disco inc EP.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Fredo Disco has stayed prolific.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe just put out a single called “never tell u\u2019 on November 22,\u201d said Fosco. \u201cLast Friday, we released another single called \u2018Harmony Korine (The Game).\u2019 They were both recorded at the same time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A lot of young musicians forego the traditional method of recording tracks in a brick-and-mortar studio and opt to record at home on a computer using programs like Logic and ProTools, Fosco takes the D.I.Y. attitude a step deeper.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of my recording on my phone,\u201d said Fosco. \u201cA<\/span> lot of \u00a0my recordings \u2013 EPS, singles and album \u2013 have been made on my iPhone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Not all Fredo Disco releases have been made on an iPhone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded the two new singles at Headroom Studios in Philly with engineer Joe Rinehart and mixer Kyle Pulley,\u201d said Fosco. \u201cWe were in the studio for about four days. It was very interesting because we had never gone out of state to record before.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe picked that studio because a lot of recordings by my favorite band s were done there. We just went there and pumped out a couple singles in a few days.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext, we\u2019re going to make another EP. We\u2019re looking to do it in April or May. We want to put it out this summer and then go out on tour again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for <\/span>fredo<\/span> disco<\/span> — <\/span>https:\/\/youtu.be\/eSlCUtNekA8<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at the Foundry which has Have Mercy as the headliner, will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $22.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Crack the Sky, which is viewed by some as a rock band and others as a prog band, was formed in Weirton, West Virginia in the early 1970s and is still performing and recording in 2020. On February 9, the Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[11857,7426,12811],"class_list":["post-44994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-crack-the-sky","tag-featured","tag-fredo-disco"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44994","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=44994"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44995,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44994\/revisions\/44995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}