Prog Ensemble Dario and the Clear has released a new album titled “Optic Nerve.” The release features an impressive collaboration of musicians that have worked with Dario on previous recordings and several new musical guests. He was reunited with keyboardists, Jamie Peck and Natt Kerr, as well as his Woodstock friends, Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel) and Jerry Marotta (Orleans, Peter Gabriel & Paul McCartney). Trey Gunn (King Crimson) is on Warr guitar. Music engineer, Eric Dalton, joins Dario for the first time on bass and backing vocals and Robert Kopec on upright and electric bass. Adam Siegel joins on alto sax. “Optic Nerve” is a combination of progressive, ambient and rock.
Says Dario, “The message is to find yourself not just as an artist but a human being. Through all the craziness in the world I had to keep reminding myself that after the Dark Ages came the Renaissance, I really think that will happen. We’ve had so much time to reflect and dig deep into ourselves. For the recording process I was really concentrating on what I call the ‘three I's.’ Instinct, Intuition and Intent. As a result the creative process was so much freer.
Watch the Video for “This Moment”:
Biography Dario Saraceno was born in Ripacandida, Italy and moved to London, England during the height of Beatlemania. After his mom took him to see the Beatles at an outdoor concert, he was profoundly influenced and became infatuated with becoming a musician. Fast forward to his teenage years and music became a reality when he purchased his first guitar.
Dario took an unusual approach. When most musicians were aspiring to play covers, Dario was immediately drawn to writing original music and spent time learning multi-track recording.
After graduating Berklee College of Music, Dario toured with his band, Decoy and worked as a session guitarist, touring and teaching. His instructional book, “The Shapes Remain the Same” was published in 2010.
After his Decoy project came to a close, Dario went solo, starting a new band he named Dario and the Clear. Dario and the Clear has released five albums since 2011. His recent album “Optic Nerve” was born out of a creative burst during the coronavirus pandemic when there was time for a great deal of self-reflection.
Track list: 1. Deities and Splendor 2.Smile/Lies 3. Sustained and Distorted 4. Saint Street 5. This Moment 6. Designated Skin 7. Tattooed Prophet.
“Amazing variety of timbres and depth.” Steve Ball, Guitar Craft League
“Fantastical…Cool and iconic voice…and the mood is great. I see it as a thought-provoking and passionate recording.” Joe Battista, Director, The 13th Street Theater
“Young Love” is the first single from NYC based power trio OGD from their forthcoming debut album “The Big Game” produced by master drummer Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney, John Mayer). The band features Derek Olivero (Guitar, Lead Vocals), Bobby Gavin (Drums, Vocals), and Dave De Ranieri (Bass, Vocals). The band recorded the album in upstate New York at Dreamland Recording Studios. Famed album cover designer Hugh Syme (Rush, Aerosmith, Dream Theater) was recruited to create a package for the CD and vinyl harking back to the pre-digital days of rock-n-roll including a 20-page booklet of Hugh’s art.
The video was produced by Doug Hatley inspired by the album artwork from legendary artist Hugh Syme. Watch the video for “Young Love” here:
Hailing from the ashes of Outland, Olivero and DeRanieri joined forces with Gavin to form OGD creating modern day rock with shades of Rush, Kiss, and even Clutch. “The Big Game” features 10 original compositions co-written by Olivero, Gavin, DeRanieri. The album was mixed by Michael Cozzi who’s worked his sonic magic on releases from Phil Keaggy, Tony Levin, Deep Energy Orchestra, and Security Project, his band with Jerry, Trey Gunn and Happy Rhodes. The album was mastered by world-class mastering engineer Chris Athens with the vinyl cut by Chris Muth.
Get ready to join the game when the album drops on August 25 with a full vinyl package set to release later in the year.
“I was so impressed by the prog-level energy and complexity and how it coexists wonderfully with the accessible and ‘radio-friendly’ aspects of the song structure. ‘The Big Game’... some really big music ... great playing, arrangements, and lead vocal .... and a world class sound overall! And no wonder — with the masterful production by maestro Jerry Marotta and his team!” - Hugh Syme
Says Derek, “Writing music for me is about a feeling or mood brought on by past or current life events. It could be from a memory, walking away from something or someone, a deserted highway, experiencing unknown, going into the wild, the universe and what is out there or a scene from a movie. Something that sticks out and strikes a chord in me. I'm always exploring and wondering where does the path lead. Most of the songs were written based on life experiences. The meaning is left up to the listeners interpretation. Always searching, The Journey continues with our first studio Album ‘The Big Game’ recorded at Dreamland studios NY. Produced by the legendary Jerry Marotta.”
Says Dave, “I’m thrilled with the OGD album. It was amazing to work with Jerry Marotta who I listened to and admired for so many years. We all did our best to do justice to these songs. I love albums you want to hear without skipping a song. I think we achieved that with ‘The Big Game.’ The album artwork is beautiful. The cover draws you in, and the images inside reflect each song. Hugh Syme did stellar work and that is yet another thrill, as I’ve been admiring his work on all my Rush album covers for years. Now he’s done our album!”
Says Bobby, “We all have added our mark on the music and it shows drive, passion, creativity and anything to anyone with an ear to listen too. There is something for everyone to enjoy and get down with the momentum and drive of OGD.”
The thing that always gets to me when I’m listening to music is sincerity. Neil Young has it. Bruce Springsteen has it. Otis Redding. Steely Dan, Aretha Franklin. Sinatra. The Band. The Beatles. You get it. As time goes by I find it harder and harder to buy into what music is selling these days. It’s fake, manufactured, constructed etc … When Derek Olivero, Bobby Gavin and Dave De Ranieri contacted me looking for a space upstate to set up and jam I sold them on Dreamland Studios which I’ve been running for about 12 years. Large Church built in the late 1800’s. Big sound. Big acoustics. I greet them at the Church entrance and say hi. Okay … he’s gotta be from Brooklyn. This ones gotta be from the Bronx and the 3rd guy sounds either Queens or Brooklyn. They set themselves up. Bobby Gavins drums sound like cannons! Derek’s guitar is screaming at me. Slapping me in the face. Daring me to utter a single sound. Dave Da Ranieri's Bass is enabling me to forego my next colonoscopy. Okay, these guys know how their instruments are supposed to sound. Check. I’m all ears now. They start rocking it. I hear lyrics like ‘Innocence Ran’ next up ‘The Word’ The freaking Word!!! How brazen is that! Does Derek Olivero actually think he knows what ‘The Word’ is? That’s badass if you ask me. Then ‘Setting Sun’ ‘Out In The West’ ‘Scary Night’ ‘Unknown’ and finally … ‘Young Love’ I get my engineer to start rolling tape. Let’s record some of this stuff and listen back later to see if I wasn’t imagining what I’d heard. In the end I told them they had to let me make the record for them and we had to record it at Dreamland with a few guitar overdubs done at Jersville Studios. My studio in my house.
I love the record we made. I love these maniacs. We are now lifelong friends and the record is finally about to hit the airwaves. ‘The Big Game’ watch for the videos. Seek out the music. I mean what I say …
Sincerely, Jerry Marotta
OGD: Derek Olivero - Guitar, Lead Vocals Bobby Gavin - Drums, Vocals Dave De Ranieri - Bass, Vocals
“Young Love” Written by Olivero, Gavin, DeRanieri Audio Produced by Jerry Marotta Video Production and Animation by Doug Hatley Band Video by Jerry Marotta Album Cover Artwork, Direction, and Illustrations by Hugh Syme Audio Recorded at Dreamland Recording Studios in West Hurley, NY Additional Recording at Jersville Studios in Woodstock, NY Audio Engineer - Ken Helmlinger Assistant Engineer - Ariel Shafir Mixed by Michael Cozzi at Moscozzi Studio in Seattle, Washington Mastered by Chris Athens for Chris Athens Masters in Austin, Texas Band Photography - Natalie De Gennaro & Francis X DeGennaro Strategic Liaison - A.J. Chippero
The Bucket List is the collective effort of guitar extraordinaire Phil Keaggy, legendary bassist Tony Levin and rhythm master Jerry Marotta featuring 12 original instrumentals that showcase the strengths of these three musicians.
Having recorded over 60 albums since the late 1960’s, Phil Keaggy is one of the most admired guitarists in the Contemporary Christian music world. Phil’s talents have earned him two Grammy nominations as well as being a seven time recipient of the GMA Dove Award for Instrumental Album of the Year.
How many musicians can claim they recorded/toured with King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Yes, and let’s not forget John Lennon? Bassist and Stick player Tony Levin can and that’s barely scratching the surface of his musical biography. When Tony’s not bouncing between King Crimson and Peter Gabriel, he’s usually found on the road with The Stick Men.
For over a decade, Tony along with drummer Jerry Marotta were the rhythm section for the classic Peter Gabriel years. Jerry’s unique percussion style has graced the music of Paul McCartney, Hall & Oats, Elvis Costello, The Indigo Girls and so many others. These days, Jerry never takes a break working with The Security Project, The Marotta Brothers Band, The Fragile Fate and Flav Martin.
The genesis of this super trio can be traced back over ten years ago when Phil, Tony and Jerry first met in Woodstock for an impromptu jam session that lead to a live show and a whole lot of improvisation left in the can. Over the years the material was revisited and reworked then left to age in the barrel a little longer.
Fast forward to 2018, the recordings are given a fresh breath of air plus added tracks to formulate a collection of actual songs. The end result is executive producer Paul Grimsland finally getting to tick off a box of his Bucket List. Like a fine wine, The Bucket List has been aged to perfection and is ready for consumption from an audience thirsting for this musical delight.
To kick off the release of The Bucket List, Phil, Tony and Jerry aka KLM have several very special shows planned to showcase the album. Don’t miss KLM live in concert as this may be your only chance to cross these performances off your Bucket List.
Peter Gabriel's rhythm section of his classic line-up, Jerry Marotta and Tony Levin, reunite for the backbone of this album!
Soul Redemption is the debut release from singer/song writer Flav Martin and drummer Jerry Marotta. The duo harmoniously blends modern adult rock with traditional world pop. Whether performed in a cafe in Italy or on the polo fields of Indio, these songs would feel comfortably at home in either environment.
Soul Redemption is a harmonious blend of modern adult rock and traditional world music.
Credited as one of the most innovative acoustic guitar players on the scene today, Flav Martin blends beautiful melodies with intricate technique, voicing, and a percussive style that leaves people saying “How does he do that?”. Throughout his career Flav has performed with David Crosby, Al Stewart, Suzanne Vega, Tommy Emmanuel and more. Flav’s many writing credits include Saturday Night Live, PBS, Canon Films. All but two of the songs on this album were written by Flav.
World renowned drummer, touring and session musician/producer Jerry Marotta has left his mark on countless recordings by Paul McCartney, Hall & Oates, The Indigo Girls, Marc Cohn, Sarah MacLachlan, and John Mayer to name but a few. He first entered the music scene as the drummer for Orleans with the hit single “Still the One” followed by a decade of performing and recording with Peter Gabriel. His rhythmic drumming and world music inspired percussion complement the acoustic flavor of Flav’s guitar.
Fans of Peter Gabriel will delight as Jerry Marotta and Tony Levin, the rhythm section of his classic line-up, reunite for the backbone of this album. Also backing up the duo are their long time friends Peter Primamore (piano), Thor Jensen (guitar), Marc Shulman (guitar), and Gary Schreiner (harmonica/accordion).
Watch the official Soul Redemption video:
Tracklist: 1) Soul Redemption 2) Please 3) Drinking You 4) I Knew It Was You 5) Tell Me To My Face 6) Rio De Janiero 7) Wild Moon 8) Coffee Song 9) How Could You Leave Me Now?
