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Cool Stuff About Business and Entertainment in the Greater Harrisburg, PA Area. |
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Cool Stuff About Business and Entertainment in the Greater Harrisburg, PA Area. |
| Local Exposure CD Reviews of Area Musicians by Lora Hirschhorn
’80s remininscent, For The Fans, features nine alternative pop songs with meaningful lyrics filled with substance and delivered through Eckley’s emotion-dripping vocals. With ballads like “Shelter” that include such lyrics as, “let me be your shelter, let me be your answer and let me teach your soul to sing” and “Picture Perfect Family”, another selection, the CD illustrates Eckley’s ability to connect with her audience through her self-written lyrics. “Don’t Let It End”, “Look Into Her Eyes”, and “Is Anybody Out There” all offer danceability with driving percusion and energetic guitar riffs. Varied instrumentation throughout complements the unique tones in Eckley’s voice and keeps the CD uplifting. Percussion is quite dynamic … and believe me, you’ll love those bongo drums. 4/5 mds self produced CD, For The Fans, may be purchased at Encore Books or by e-mail at Marilynec@aol.com. Recording through July will limit 4/5 mds live
performances, but they will be back later in the year to deliver live performances in the
South Central PA area. The Badlees
Amazing Grace includes selections such as, “Amazing Grace To You”, a selection with blended voices belting out inspirational lyrics, and “Long Goodnight”, a song complete with twangy and upbeat instrumentals that has been receiving some local aireplay. In the ballad “Time Turns Around”, the listener feels the emotion in the words with such lyrics as, “yesterday’s a beggar dressed up like a king, tomorrow is a prophet book, he ain’t saying anything, today is just a coward who’s painted like a clown, hoping that time turns around …” Time has certainly turned around for the Badness, as they continue striving for diversity in musical style that serves them well on the Amazing Grace CD. The compilation will appeal to die hard Badlees fans with an appreciation for P.P.H. — Pre-Pete’s Haircut days! Ahhh … that hair! Back to the music… Trust me, this CD is a must buy! Welcome Back, boys … Harrisburg missed you! To purchase Amazing Grace, check out your local record stores or the Badlees, website www.badlees.com for CD and merchandise ordering, additional concert dates and the long awaited Up There Down Here CD release information. [files/NavBar/DefaultNavBar.htm] |
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Four Out of Five Doctors (4/5 mds) consists of
instrumentalists Simeon Zoff on drums, Dave Harris on bass, Ken Volz on rhythm guitar, and
Chris Younken on lead guitar. The rich, soulful voice of Marilyn Eckley echoes with a
clear resonence when solo, while still blending beautifully withVolz’s and
Harris’s vocals for the melodic harmonies in almost every selection that is included
on the CD. 4/5 mds could be described as The Pretenders meet Pat Benatar on strong throat
lozenges, as Eckley’s voice has a refined, angelic quality that is a delight to the
listener. 
Their new, self-produced CD, Amazing Grace,
showcases the Badlees’ best qualities — harmonizing lyrics and varied
instrumentation — this time with a twist. The lead vocal spotlight, usually reserved
for Pete Palladino, is shared with guitarists Bret Alexander and Jeff Feltenberger, and
bassist Paul Smith, a combination that results in a fresh sounding selection of tunes with
a familiarity that won’t take you too far out of your comfort zone. Ron Simasek
maintains a driving rhythm as percussionist, and songwriting credits are shared by
everyone in the band, as well as by Mike Naydock, the group’s longtime writing
collaborator.