The Beginning of
the Journey:
On a Sunday morning in mid-December many years ago, in a rehearsal space in
Rohnert Park, California, 3 men met for the first time to jam and explore if any
sort of musical magic could be made. A Craiglists ad posted by Bay Area drummer
Kevin Aiello brought guitarist Eric Barnnett and bassist Damian Sisson
together, and in a matter of time the band Points North, an all-instrumental,
yet super hard-rocking Northern California band was born.
“We got together on a Sunday morning and started playing to
a basic song idea that Eric had brought in (rather than playing an endless jam
in ‘E’). It all felt good and our main intention was just to get together every
couple of weeks and have some fun. Before you knew it we had about 45 minutes
worth of working material,” recounted Kevin Aiello.
Guitarist Eric Barnett remembers the beginnings of what
would turn out to be a solid musical relationship. “We basically met each week,
just writing and jamming and then eventually doing a little home recording that
became our first demo. From there,
we decided to book our first gig which turned out to be at Time Out in Concord,
Ca. It wasn’t easy, getting a show as an unknown instrumental three piece and if
it wasn’t for Damien, who was in about a thousand bands at the time, we
probably wouldn’t have gotten one.”
Points North has labored for many years creating a sound
that makes them unique among the lead guitar driven bands that are so
ubiquitous in most music scenes. What sets them apart is that Points North approaches
their guitar-driven music featuring the guitar as the vocals of the band. It
makes for an unusual experience with a hard rock band. In the Points North experience the
listener is given the freedom to experience the full instrumental thrust of the
music without the interference of words, allowing the guitar virtuosity of Mr.
Barnett to squeal, moan and wail in place of a vocalist.
The Road To Rock
& Roll:
Rock and roll has the audacity to be loud, obnoxious and
over the top. That is just the nature of rock and roll; it can’t help but be
that. But every now and then, rock and roll comes in a softer, more melodic package
and can send us into a state of peaceful aural bliss while still teasing our
synapses into understanding that it is rock and roll that is entering into our
wee bitty brains. Points North does just that; they compose and create beautiful
hard rock music.
Points North welcomes their debut album on newly signed-to
record label named Magna Carta. Road Less Traveled (2012) is pure
Points North; astral shreds of electric guitar over the foundation of pulsing drums
and bass. It maintains simplicity of instrumentation with the complicity of
composed symphonies.
“The folks at Magna Carta are wonderful, and they really get
us. They’re a musician’s label;
lots of our favorite artists have put out records with them.” Says Eric.
Kevin adds, “It is still amazing to me. I’m 56 years old –
who else do you know who gets their first record deal at 56 these days?? It is
generally younger players that get these kinds of deals. And thankfully it was
Magna Carta who saw the potential in us.”
Recorded at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California, a
school known for it’s incredible sound engineering programs. Road
Less Traveled was made on a budget. “We knew we wanted to do a record, we
had a full set ready to go,” states Eric Barnett, whose crazy curls and
piercing eyes are very much a part of his guitar-maestro mystique. “Then our
friend Dave DeVillers came along. We had known him a while and he was enrolled
in the Music Technology program at Foothill College and he really liked the
band. He called me to ask if we’d
come in and do the typical student project; a demo, recorded and mixed over a weekend.”
 |
| Album Artwork by John Gentry |
Road Less Traveled
is a beautiful album. While the tendrils of Eric Barnett’s searing guitar riffs
permeate the listener’s ears, the foundations created by the elegant
grandiosity of Kevin Aiello’s drums and Damien Sisson’s heart thumping bass lines
also hold and caress one’s ear. The band works their alchemy to create magic
straight from the cauldron of hard rock.
“Everyone writes their own parts for the most part, but
typically someone comes in with a song structure as a starting point. But we
also work collectively to improve on the ideas and everyone always has a voice
in those dialogues, and sometimes one or the other of us would come up with a
new part or idea that would change the arrangement, “says Eric.
From the scorching opening guitar squeals of “Vast Horizons”
to the sweet and soaring closing of “Sweet Solitude”, every song tells a story
with sound. “The Phoenix”, which brings the soul to joyous flight amidst the rhythm
and guitar is a high point on the album. “Maiden Voyage” drowns us in a deluge
of pure, fast-paced rock. “Delay
Song” is a fun and playful romp of changing beats, while the guitar echoes
while it gently weeps. I like to think of Points North as a band for cerebral metal
heads who use their head for thought as well as banging. The song structures
created by Points North are complex and change time signatures, feelings and
moods while taking you on an aural odyssey, on path that resembles a Road Less
Travelled.
The Future:
Even amid the departure of bassist Damien Sission, before
the release of Road Less Traveled,
and re-cementing the lineup with Whitesnake bassist Uriah Duffy, the future path
of Points North will be guided by the music. With upcoming tours to promote the
new album, the band is solid and ready to make a name for themselves in the
music industry as serious players.
Says Kevin of the changeover of bassists, “Damien has an
approach and style on the bass that is all his own; lots of two-handed tapping
and very percussive. The parts he created for the Points North tunes along with
his own tune-contributions were very unique and made it all the more difficult
for us to find a replacement for him when he wasn’t available.” And upon
meeting Uriah Duffy, Kevin continues, “I was floored the first time I saw him
play. I was thrilled to be playing a show with a ‘major’ rock star in the
house!”
Uriah’s dynamic stage presence, star-power and incredible
talent ushers in a new era for Points North. Uriah’s transition into the band
was sweet and natural, “We all have a great deal of congruent experience and
musical overlap, yet we can also bring our individual voices to the table. Eric
is very particular about parts and arrangements and Kevin has such a massive
vocabulary on the drums and always chooses the right beat for a passage. This
has made song writing a very fun and natural experience, something I don't know
if I've ever felt before. It's very
rewarding.”
Points North is a band that has worked hard to find their
voice amid the clamor of a thousand other bands looking for an audience. Their
live shows bombard us with sonic pleasures of big sound and the connections
between each of the players depict a professionalism of seasoned and talented
musicians. They are a unique band that deserves to find recognition and their
music is worthy of your time.
http:www.pointsnorth.com
Points North "High Wire" video
All photos and text Carolyn McCoy ©2012
Thanks mucho to Dan Rauck for kicking butt as my editor! ox
Moonmama says, "Yeppers...music is a good thing..."
No comments:
Post a Comment