Zeroesque

Zeroesque - Zeroesque - 2003 - Zeroesque

Zeroesque's self-titled album is a successful independent release from New Jersey-based tandem Tim Lehner on keyboards and Shawn Christie on guitars. Several guest musicians support them on drums, tenor saxophone and additional guitars. Their style is progressive fusion with great riffs, twisted melodies and stunning complexity. What gives them an extra edge is their approach to songwriting: Lehner and Christie are certainly the kind of musicians who like their music heavy, aggressive and fresh. They write their songs with tons of substance and groove, never overplaying for a mini-second. "Space Race" exemplifies the above-made description starting with fast, fluid guitar runs blended with sublime keyboards and groovy bass rhythms. Guitarist Shawn Christie plays all bass on the record, but the drum work is handled by three different guys, Josh Gasior, Tim Lloyd, and Brian Farr. The song in question features Josh Gasior, whose work appeals to me the most on this disc. Gasior supplies precise drum parts along with Christie's groovy bass forming the backdrop of the track as Lehner and Christie perform intricate melodies on their main their instruments. Immediately after, Tim Lehner comes up with a one-minute instrumental piece on his piano. "You Say" is a more laid-back number showcasing Tim's great guitar work and his understanding of composition. The gift of this duo is not only the playing, but it lies in the intention of what Shawn Christie and Tim Lehner do. "Dizzle Tizzle" goes back to their extremely heavy fusion approach with the keys serving as atmospheric elements as Christie really cuts loose here. The heaviness factor of this band is for sure going to interest many fusion fans who want something different from most of the music out there. The centrepiece of the CD is the 9-minute fusion-laden song, "Feels Like Falling", supported by lush keyboard textures and powerful rhythm guitars. The middle section of the songs stops to a calm mood, almost pure silence, and is suddenly pushed in an unexpected direction thanks to the great drumming and energetic riff patterns. "Ten Fifteen" is a slow ballad with Pete Johnson adding tenor saxophone for a brief moment. Derek Sherinian (he is mentioned in the thank-you section of the booklet), Planet X, Allan Holdsworth, LTE, and Jeff Beck's more fusion-y stuff are obvious reference points to detail Zeroesque's wide musical range. "Tequila Mockingbird" is a song that shows the diversity of their music as it contains a long, slow, delicate jazz piano with restrained guitar playing from Christie. Scott McGill (McGill-Manring-Stevens) plays lead guitar on "Maxilla Gorilla", whilst Vinnie Moore appears on the closing tune, "New Math", playing a distinctive guitar solo. When I did a little research on the band, I found out that Zeroesque keyboardist Tim Lehner was part of Vinnie Moore's touring lineup, and it's certainly great to see all these musicians backing each other up. We should wait for Zeroesque to release their new release and hopefully that one will establish them as a great progressive fusion ensemble that's here to stay, and not just a one-off kind of a band. – from ****/5 Aggressive, instrumental, progressive fusion February 12, 2005 By & © Murat Batmaz © 1996-2014, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates http://www.amazon.com/Zeroesque/dp/B00027JCK0/ref=ntt_mus_ep_dpi_2

The dynamic Philadelphia-based instrumental prog-rock and fusion band Zeroesque is often compared to bands like Liquid Tension Experiment and Planet X. The bands’s music is heavy guitar and keyboard based progressive rock with a strong injection of fusion. Great music and HR by A.O.O.F.C. Check out the band’s “Multipick Technique” album [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 98.4 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Space Race - Tim Lehner 4:11
2 I Say - Tim Lehner 1:06
3 You Say - Tim Lehner 3:07
4 Dizzle Tizzle - Shawn Christie, Tim Lehner 3:53
5 Feels Like Falling - Shawn Christie, Tim Lehner 9:18
6 Ten Fifteen - Shawn Christie, Tim Lehner 4:09
7 Tequila Mockingbird - Shawn Christie, Tim Lehner 3:22
8 Maxilla Gorilla - Shawn Christie 4:06
9 All's Swell That Ends Swell - Shawn Christie 1:42
10 Dujz - Shawn Christie, Tim Lehner 4:48
11 New Math - Tim Lehner 3:54

MUSICIANS

Shawn Christie - Guitars, Bass
Vinnie Moore - Guitar
Scott McGill - Guitar, Soloist
Tim Lehner - Piano
Brian Farr, Tim Lloyd, Josh Gasior - Drums
Pete Johnson - Tenor Sax, Soloist

BIO

Established in 2002, this Philadelphia-based instrumental prog-rock and fusion quartet is made up of guitarist Shawn Christie, keyboardist and producer Tim Lehner (Vinnie Moore, Magna Carta Records), bassist Rob Smith and drummer Rob DiRocco. They have released two full-length albums: their self-titled debut Zeroesque in 2003 and more recently Multipick Technique in 2008. Guest instrumentalists on these albums have included guitar bad-asses Vinnie Moore, Marco Sfogli, Derryl Gabel and Scott McGill, among others. Zeroesque is often compared to contemporary projects such as Liquid Tension Experiment and Planet X. About Multipick Technique: With their second progressive instrumental album, Multipick Technique, Zeroesque has chosen catchy melodies and song structure above mindless acrobatics or soloing for the sake of soloing. Well, okay...there are still a ton of solos. However, with Zeroesque, the compositional integrity is always paramount during writing, recording...and even soloing. Falling in line with Zeroesque's critically-acclaimed self-titled debut CD, Multipick Technique continues the practice of exploring many different styles on one disc, a seeming faux pas in the sea of corporate-sponsored Johnny Pop-punks and teeny boppers that dominate the commercial music industry these days. While the prog-rock and fusion styles are represented on Multipick Technique, there are also well-crafted forays into funk, Latin and even smooth jazz. Perhaps there's also something to be said for musicians that display not only technical mastery of their instruments, but do so within songs that have hooks catchy enough for radio. Here's what some professional ears have to say about the first album: "Wotta rush! The all-instrumental, self-titled debut by this Medford, New Jersey-based duo just may fill the void left by Liquid Tension Experiment." - Elias Granillo, Sea of Tranquility": Their music is progressive rock for the new millennium, and with that I mean it's fresh, fast and heavy." - Andre Hagberg, Prognosis: "Fans of progressive rock a la Allan Holdsworth, Liquid Tension Experiment...listen up and pay attention." - George Thatcher, Heart of the Rock: "This is a splendid album, full of energy and spontaneity, strong riffs accompanied by skillful soloing." - Bob Mulvey, Dutch Progressive Rock Page: "...aggressive, instrumental, progressive fusion, music that is not merely dedicated to riffing for the sake of riffing, but carefully and technically constructed songs that allow the musicians to present their talents in tight ensemble play, as well as ample amounts of virtuoso moments." © MJ Brady, Prognosis

SOME HISTORY

On a more historical note, Shawn and Tim have been playing together since they met in a high school music class in 1993. Josh Gasior, who provided the majority of the drumming on Zeroesque's first album, was also involved at that time, as he and Tim had jammed heavily during the prior year. The trio would initially call themselves Smoke and Mirrors. One of the early jams from this period was even added to a limited-release 5-song EP by Zeroesque in 2007, and there is still much in the vault from this time that may eventually see the light of day. May, 2008 © 2002-2014 Zeroesque http://www.zeroesque.com/bio.aspx