Saturday, August 30, 2008

A band a day...The Senate

On August 7th, I went on an assignment to help tape a band called The Senate. Normally, when I go to a show, I would have likely gone onto the Myspace of the band just to hear what the band sounded like...but this was one of the few cases that I didn't. I figured it would just be like any other band.

However, in the 45-minute set at the NYC performing arts venue known as The Triad, I got to see the most original band I've ever seen perform live.

The Senate is:
Michael "MyKel" Coppola (Vocals/Rapper)
Crystal Joy (Vocals)
Stephen Loos (Guitars)
Russell "Shoelace" Savarese (Guitars)
David "D Bass" Holder (Bassist)
Benjamin "Benny Blanco" Rivera (Drums/Percussion)

When you think of the government, you think (or rather should be thinking) that it is a collective representation of the people.

When I think of The Senate, I think that it is a collective representation of the music that they listen to.

Quite literally, the musicians in this band come from all sides of the musical spectrum.

They are influenced by artists like Jay-Z, Sarah Vaughan, The Deftones, and Billy Joel

However, when you see them live like I did, you actually get somewhat of a different experience.

I hear Jay...Mary J., some Gym Class Heroes, The Roots, and a mixture of Chevelle and the Deftones.

What struck me about this band is that they appreciate all forms of music and are not limited to just one brand. They like their hip-hop, they like their top 40, and they like to rock. As a matter of fact, they opened their show with Van Hagar's "Right Now" backing MyKel's rapping.

What also strikes me is the concept of the band.

When I think of a traditional band, you know who your leader is...and most of the time, it's the lead vocal.

But when you think of that analogy of the government's Senate and the band The Senate, what you get instead is a group of leaders.

In other words, even though MyKel and Crystal do most of the vocals, it doesn't mean that they necessarily lead on all of the songs. They had guitarist Stephen Loos sing a song and at the very end of their set, they asked their drummer to come up and sing for them to a rousing applause...because what drummer in a band gets that kind of play?

There's no glass ceiling or barrier between the leads and the rest of the band and that is a great concept for a band. 

They are currently working on their debut album Mistaken Coincidence.

Long Island bands beware because The Senate currently has the floor.

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