Posts Tagged ‘Break of Reality’

Hey Break listeners,

Patrick here.

After you’ve had a chance to stream the new album this past weekend, I wanted to post a review of the album, as recounted by a very close friend of mine.

Justin and I grew up in a little town in New Jersey called Midland Park. We met in elementary school there, and have since been best friends. In High School, Justin was responsible for corrupting my mind with terribly loud bands: Bands like Metallica, Slayer, Unearth, and many more. And he also took me to my first rock shows. He polluted my perception of music, and thus, Break of Reality was born.

As you can imagine, Justin’s opinion is quite important to me, and being how big of a musical influence he had on me, I wanted to share his thoughts of the new album with you:

“Spectrum of the Sky” review and a heartfelt account of the road traveled (Nicknames anyone?)

I’ll cut right to the chase: I love track five. I can’t remember the name of it, but it moves me. I’m a sucker for those major keys. I guess you’ll just have to hear it for yourself to know why I have my copy on repeat.

I had the pleasure of sitting through some of the most grueling months of my life with the man behind the cello, Patrick Laird, referred to in this review in his various nicknames. Watching my best friend kill himself over something he has become so passionate about is pure consumption in the most draining of contexts. When he tells me he can’t play Guitar Hero, I know he’s gone postal…

A few spins later…

For starters, the new album, entitled “Spectrum of the Sky”, is filled with tons of complex arrangements and compositions, but never loses its accessibility. P-Liddy has been running himself ragged over the past nine months constructing what I truly feel like, from a brutally honest friend and fan, to be his best work EVER. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to his music as well as my own, and I have never been so amped to listen to something he’s shown me before. I am the cynic that likes to test his creativity. I love to infuriate him with my critiques because I know what he is capable of achieving. I never saw Patty Cakes work as hard before and this album is a true testament to his work ethic and passion for creating amazing instrumental music.

P-funk never ceases to amaze me when it comes to his song writing ability. And let me give it up to Ivan Trevino, “the Mexican flash.” This little Texan lady-killer rips it up on the drums in this album. The dynamics behind the percussion on “Spectrum” are fresh and innovative, incorporating styles and instruments that have not been used on any previous works. Anyone with a rhythmic bone in their body will be able to groove and rock along to Flash’s witty and complex drum riffs and expansive new percussion. There is some serious growth here in all the right aspects of BoR’s music, and Ive is the spine and ambience behind this body of songs.

“So, who is this bozo?!”

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Justin, and I have been friends with Patrick since we were 8-years-old. Being in our ripe 20’s, we have gone through a tremendous amount of life experiences together, musical being the least, to come out on top as the best of friends, which I’m very proud of. Life was all rainbows and cheesecakes growing up in the Suburbs of northeastern New Jersey. We were just two mischievous, impulsive children fueled by loud music and rebellion. Thankfully, we never got into any serious trouble (eh) and had a blast in the process, skateboarding and terrorizing the neighborhoods.

Who knew what would be lurking around the corner…

I remember when Big-P came to me in his freshman year of college in 2003 with his musical concept of a cello and drum fusion rock band. I thought it was a great plan and we instantly collaborated on ideas for every part of the band. After establishing themselves in Rochester, NY, Pat wanted to record the band’s first album, “Voiceless”, and asked me if I would lend my drumming services to the first installment of Break of Reality. Pat and I spent two solid months recording the album and bringing the sound alive for listeners to embrace, and that is exactly what happened from there. Watching the band grow through Rochester and make the daring move to the Big Apple to pursue a career among thousands of musicians and surviving has been the ultimate reward for me as a friend and fan to witness. I was even lucky enough to play a song with the band at the Knitting Factory in NYC (Thanks again Ivan).

Although “Voiceless” has been out of print since their previous album was released in 2006 (The Sound Between), it has opened the door to the future of this band, which has never been brighter than now.

The bottom line is this: “Spectrum of the Sky” is Break of Reality’s most mature sounding album to date. Spectrum has the best production, songwriting, creative-flow, drumming, percussion, cello-work, solos, performance and diversity among any of Break of Reality’s previous works. The title speaks for itself. When I hear the album, all the little shades and emotions pour through the speakers in Break of Reality fashion, and it CRANKS. This album has songs for everyone: classical movements, hard rockers, psychedelic ambience, and of course my favorite, track five (It’s “pretty” but I love it).

Famous last words…

What LMNO-P and Co. have done here is merely tap into the spectrum that awaits them, which I feel will be a long, rewarding future in the music industry. I hope everyone uses my nicknames and enjoys my take on this soon-to-be milestone for the group.

-J

Here’s the single “Spectrum of the Sky” from our upcoming album release bearing the same name:

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If you like what you hear, help us top the iTunes charts by downloading a copy for only 99 cents! Get the song here:

And here’s this week’s video from BoR:

“Spectrum of the Sky”, the single off our upcoming release bearing the same name, will be released Friday, April 24th on iTunes, Amazon.com, or to stream on Myspace and Facebook.

This week, Torch and Phil introduce themselves as the new members of BoR. Check them out below:

Hey Everyone! This is a new press photo of Break of Reality taken by our friend Erin Patrice O’Brien. Let us know what you think!

For more info on Erin’s photography, check out www.erinpatriceobrien.com.

Also, our new members will introduce themselves next week, so stay tuned!

Hello!

I just wanted to quickly say thanks to all of our fans in Texas for making this trip just as memorable as the last one. Also, our new members rock! Patrick and co. are currently flying out of TX today. The new members will be posting some new video blogs at the end of the week introducing themselves to you all.

Finally, don’t feel left out! BoR is planning gigs in NYC, Rochester, Vermont, and a number of other places over the summer. Can’t wait to be on the road again.

Cheers,

Ivan

3-6-09
I’m leaving for Texas later today, and I can’t wait! If you’re not
aware, Break of Reality’s new line up will be premiering a new work
for music and dance. The piece was commissioned by a ballet company in Victoria, TX, my hometown. While we’re there, we’re also
performing an educational workshop in Houston and a larger show in
Laredo.
This will be the first time our new line up performs in public, and
also the first time we’ve performed new music in over TWO YEARS. I
gotta say, I am nervously excited! My stomach is all twisted up,
and the butterflies inside it seem to be growing.
Being a music fan for such a long time, I know how people tend to
respond to “new.” For example, “Their new stuff sucks – Their old
stuff was way better.” I’ve regretfully said that before about music
groups before. The tables have turned, and BoR is now in the position
to get the same reaction.
Are we worried?
Nope. (Well maybe a little), lol.
Ultimately though, we’re done living in the past. The old group was
great, but it’s time to pick up the pieces, start fresh, and bring
“cello rock” to the people again!
From now on, we’re blogging about the new Break of Reality. BoR is
living in the “now”.
————–
Next Week: Video Update from TX! New members are coming soon…

2-27-09

I don’t think the four of us could have stayed together even if we wanted to. We had been through so much turmoil and pressure that something was going to blow up eventually. Erin probably saw this coming before the rest of us did. It was inevitable.

In the end, Patrick and myself were the only two left, and two people can’t make up a rock band (unless your the White Stripes)… and we’re not the White Stripes.

But we couldn’t leave this project. We had put our energy and our souls into BoR for the last four years, and we started something that needed to be continued. We had to do something, even if we had to start from square one.

So that’s what we did:

SQUARE ONE

After months apart, Patrick and I reunited in Jersey and jammed out for the first time (EVER). Seriously.

Sure, we had rehearsed plenty of times, but we never sat down and just “jammed”.

I pulled out my guitar, Pat dusted off his cello, and we just started going, like two high school kids jamming out in the garage. It was a blast.

It was the most fun I had in a long time, and we were actually coming up with some fresh new ideas. We weren’t thinking about lighting our cellos on fire or doing over the head solos. The novelty was replaced with something else. Something fresh.

We were spilling our guts and writing music with no real plan in mind. Just for fun, probably the way it should be. We kept going, for that entire summer.

—————–

Next week on BoR Blog: We’re not exactly sure yet…

Patrick here. Yeah, that’s right.
Even though Ivan is our usual blogger, we’re all tired of hearing him run off at the mouth. (Just kidding dude). But seriously, I wanted to write this blog about our Texas tour and about my first visit to the Lone Star State. Here it goes.
2-20-09
So, Erin was leaving, and Texas was our last “Hoorah”. Several months before getting on the plane, we began building the tour. Starting with Ivan’s contacts from his hometown, we contacted everyone we could: schools, venues, organizations, and the media. We were pleasantly surprised by the success we had. We were able to fill up a good two and a half weeks of back-to-back performances, workshops, and appearances on radio and TV (as I later learned is pronounced “TEEEE V” in Texas). And with even more luck, we found a wicked cool philanthropist Doctor who was gracious enough to cover our flight tickets (and our cello’s flight tickets too) – Thank you again Dr. R!
It was my first time in Texas, and I really didn’t know what to expect, other than what I had seen on Peewee’s Big Adventure back in the 80s. Texas was bigger and better than anything I imagined.
Among other things, I shot a gun (and a rifle), sang karaoke, drove a trailer, wore a T-Shirt in the middle of winter, witnessed my first peacock, and saw Mexico (from inside the Border) all for the first time in my life. What was even better, though, was the FOOD:
Holy mole (no pun intended), was the food and drink good. I ate like a king and gained about 20 pounds. The BBQ, the Tex-Mex, the Bartenders…I could go on and on.
And then there’s the “Whataburger”. For any of you who haven’t been to Texas, Burger King and McDonalds aren’t the only ways to ingest hundreds of calories for pennies. Here’s my video review of my first Whataburger:

But, let’s get on topic here. I loved Texas the most for its PEOPLE. I’ve never met people who were more welcoming, polite, or open-minded. I felt at home there, and for BoR, it was the best trip of our lives.

EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS
The educational workshops in Texas were some of my most memorable experiences. First off, I’ve never seen high schools like these. Honestly, the schools are a cross between castles, college campuses, and Hogwarts, and they like to teach their kids how to love and play music like I’ve never seen. We worked with kids from at least 10 different schools around South Texas, and in each workshop, we connected with the students even more than we have in the past. They were talented, open-minded, and genuinely interested and inspired by our music. These kids are the future of music, and we were all excited to expand their minds with some Heavy Cello Thunder.

THE CONCERTS
Then of course, there were our concerts. Our biggest performances were in Victoria, Corpus Christi, and Laredo, and they will always be fresh in my mind. I’ll never forget walking out on stage in Victoria to a crowd of 1,000 people (this was our first show there). They were so excited to see us and we gave them the best show we could. Aside from playing from the stage, we played out in the audience, on risers to the side of the stage, and I even climbed the rafters halfway through the show to play a solo from the catwalk on an electric cello (PLUG: the electric cello was generously provided to us from The Electric Violin Shop in North Carolina).

The press we received was also unprecedented for us. I can’t express what it feels like as a musician, to see your first “TEEEE V” commercial promoting your own show. On top of that, we were on the front page of some newspapers, and were invited to perform on the radio several times.

ALL IN ALL
I think it’s safe to say that Texas is a large reason why BoR is still together and why Ivan and I (and the new guys we’ll be introducing in the coming weeks), all look at Texas as our second home (and for Ivan of course, his first home). To all our fans in Texas: Thank you for being so supportive, and we honestly can’t wait to come back (in just a few weeks now) and again in the summer. I’m not sure I’ll be able to convince myself to leave this time…
————
Next week on BoR Blog: Putting back the pieces, only to lose another member…