99 Cent Dreams, by Chris Conly

album name: 99 Cent Dreams
band name: by Chris Conly

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1.	D.I.Y. 07:21	download
2.	507 05:58	download
3.	Blaze Your Own PATH 05:34	download
4.	Island Man 05:35	download
5.	Spider Bites 05:35	download
6.	Pagoda 06:54	download
7.	Sharks 07:49	download
8.	Extraordinary Rendition 05:53	download

about: CHRIS CONLY & THE BROMANTICS
99 CENT DREAMS

Chris’s debut studio record as a bandleader, “99 Cent Dreams” is a series of original compositions written for and performed by his band THE BROMANTICS. “99 CENT DREAMS”, recorded in September of 2008, is a wild, genre-jumping, romp through African-inspired rhythms, jazz improvisation, driving blues, mixed-meter progressive rock, and reggae. It is a musical response to urban living, from the perspective of a country boy from coastal Maine. It is also a dance party at times.

The music of “99 CENT DREAMS” evolved from regular gigs at the 507 Bar, The Lucky Cat, and ROSE Live Music, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY throughout 2008.

Special Thanks to:
Mom, for her endless creativity.
Dad, for his relentless work ethic.
David, Maria, Adam, and Jordan S. for bringing my music to life.
YOU! For listening, clapping, dancing, drinking, and SUPPORTING LIVE CREATIVE MUSIC!

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Interview with Chris Conly by James Donahue (of www.SearchAndRestore.com) June 2009.

JD: What’s this first tune all about?

CC: DO IT YOURSELF is a West African influenced 12/8 kind of thing. Over the 2 years performing this piece, I always modified and updated it. I’d add a section here, 12 bars there. The A section features Maria on a tenor Sax solo. The B section is more of a shuffle feel with that African vibe in the bass, and it features a guitar solo, and Kevin Norton adding this supportive Vibraphone texture.

This tune takes the African 12/8 rhythmic thing, and connects it with the American Blues and Rock ‘N Roll tradition. After the guitar solo are these unison lines and breaks, followed by a transitional section which is a quick ode to Steely Dan, and then we’re back to the melody. There is a tag of that last phrase for David to blow over at the end.

JD: So why is the second tune called “507” ?

CC: I named this cut after the 507 Bar on Grand & Union in Williamsburg, where THE BROMANTICS really came together. We had a Wednesday night residency where David (drummer) and I booked all kinds of stuff, and used it as an outlet for all our different projects. We built a whole scene out of that basement – THE NEW BROOKLYN UNDERGROUND – we had everything from spoken word, to jazz, rock, and world music. It was a great reason to play, air out ideas, and drink beer.

JD: That’s cool – you probably developed a lot of the sound of this project there.

CC: Totally. I was also breaking up with a girlfriend at the time, and there’s a bit of that twisted pain in the B section there. I based the feel of the melody on the number 507. (The first 2 bars being in 5/8, and the rest in 7/8) I was influenced by a lot of Eastern European dance rhythms at the time, and I was trying to get a handle on them, so I figured I would write a tune in 5 and 7 and use it as a vehicle.

The B section plays with these bright sounds and a sort of evil, death-metal kind of thing. It’s a constant back and forth – bright, light, happy, then dark, sad, mad. The tenor solo starts over these open harmonics on the guitar, which grows into a minor modal groove in 7. The release is over what we called “the happy chords” in rehearsal, where it jumps into a major key. We debated the cheese factor here a lot. In the studio, it was dubbed “the moment when Jeff Coffin rescues Maria from a mountain top, hanging from a helicopter”. It’s a triumphant epic moment, a celebration of the the good times in life.

The B section is used as an interlude before the guitar solo , which is more of a psychedelic, British blues-rock kind of vibe over that groove in 7, a bit Pink Floyd for a moment. 507 was probably the crowning achievement, compositionally for this record. Every time we played it live, we looked at each other and say, “How does this go again?” But we’d always pull it off, you know?

JD: Blaze your own PATH, like the subway from Manhattan to Jersey City?

CC: Exactly. When I first moved to the area, I lived in Jersey City for a year to save money, and I took the PATH train everyday. It’s kind of a grinding experience, and I was going for that vibe. It’s kind of and instrumental, urban, working-man’s blues. I’d be on the train at 6AM going to work up in Queens cleaning floors, and I was surrounded by people drinking coffee and passing out with their Daily News open. There I was with my iPod, and staff paper composing. What a scene!

This cut features special guest Brad Whitelely on organ, and Maria on baritone sax. Maria is from Chicago, the home of the electric blues. I don’t think there is a lot of traditional blues in her playing. It’s all soulful, gritty and sexy, but I couldn’t say it’s the blues. I’d say it’s rock ‘n roll. Punk rock. The melody is a call and response between guitar & sax, and they battle in the last solo chorus before the head out.

JD: Listening to ISLAND MAN, all I can say is James Brown!

CC: I don’t think it immediately relates to the music, but that phrase “No man is an island” was floating around in my head, and I used it as a direction for this jam. No person is unaffected by other people – we’re all connected – especially here in NYC. The guitar line in the A section is another African influenced thing. After writing the tune I heard that new Paul Simon song “Father and Daughter” and I said, “Hey, that’s ISLAND MAN!” This track also features Brad Whiteley on the organ solo, and Maria on tenor. Stylistically, I’d say it’s more of a Soulive, organ trio kind of tune.

JD: What’s with all the different genres? What the hell kind of band is this?

CC: I was waiting for you to ask. By default I guess that means we are a “Jam Band”. Each of us have different musical backgrounds, and I try to draw on that when writing for certain players. For whatever reason, Reggae came to mind when writing SPIDER BITES. I kept waking up with these huge spider bites on my arms, and I get to a gig and couldn’t play. The A section is all about drifting off to sleep thinking, “Is there a spider in my bed?” but I’m too tired to care. The B section is kind of prickly, where the spider is crawling around, looking for a good bite. Then there is the bite – the release – where the venom sinks in. But you I don’t know because I’m asleep…dreaming of a saxophone or something (laughs). Meanwhile the spider is having a field day, feasting, listening to reggae music!

JD: Where did PAGODA come from? Isn’t that a Taoist house of worship?

CC: I got it from The Royal Tennebaums. Pagoda is the servant character that stabs Gene Hackman (again) in the end. If you leave the DVD menu on loop, you can hear this great theme played by a string quartet. So I stole that, and built all the other material thematically from it. This is our dance party jam!

JD: You guys are a Jam Band!

CC: Oh yeah, totally. You go into the record shop and it’s Soulive, Phish, Allman Brothers, THE BROMANTICS. In our hearts, we all love to play – we love to jam! But I don’t think that name is a genre in and of itself. You still have to ask, “Where does the music come from?” We can jam over the blues, but it’s still the blues – it still has a cultural reference. I call the music of THE BROMANTICS “Programmatic Groove Music”. For example, SPIDER BITES is programmatic – it tells a story. For this project I chose not to write lyrics, but I have a concept behind each tune and where I want it to go. Hopefully it takes the listener to that place – if we execute it right – if we do our job. My problem is, every time I play guitar or bass, I just want to make it into a dance party.

There is this somewhat cliched notion that women are emotional and always aware of their bodies, and men are overly cerebral – always thinking and rarely feeling. For me composing starts in a cerebral place. But when it comes time to perform, it’s all about feeling. To update Ellington, if it feels good, it is good!

JD: Sharks, I remember this one from the Lucky Cat shows.

CC: It’s funny how people remember the names of some of the tunes. They are almost caricatures of themselves.

JD: So this tune is about sharks?

CC: The low half of that guitar riff, is an obvious homage to John Williams Jaws score. But I transplanted it into this backwards New Orleans second line feel – a 2/3 clave. Maria plays the melody and solos on baritone sax, and Brad Whiteley laid down some juicy rhodes and organ parts for this track. It’s become a psychedelic New Orleans voodoo experience.

JD: That brings to mind Dr. John…

CC: Yeah, I guess he would be the progenitor of that style. It is kind of a voodoo thing. It’s a bit of an homage to The Meters as well, with the whole organ thing going on.

I originally wrote this piece to perform with percussionist Kevin Norton (long-time drummer for free-jazz legend Anthony Braxton) while we were both teaching music at a camp up in Maine, where I’m from. I got a chance to play with him, so I wrote a tune. At this camp, all the cabins are named after birds and fish, and I was staying in one called “SHARKS”, so I used that as a starting point. I came up with that syncopated 16th part, and we just sat on that groove, I would blow over it, then try to keep it together rhythmically while Kevin did his thing over it.

JD: So what makes this “rendition” so “extraordinary” ?

CC: Like I said, I didn’t write lyrics for this project – but I hope this tune tells a story, musically. There are obvious political undertones here. I wrote this one while listening to NPR during the (glorious) end of the Bush administration. Just imagine being kidnapped and you don’t know why, or by whom, or where the hell you are. At the same time all this political emotion is set to a “German club anthem” feel. The intro is reminiscent of THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, or one of those cold war nuclear sub thrillers. The intro is like that huge submarine peaking out of the ocean to reveal how enormous it is, with this great militaristic push. Even the tenor solo is kind of creepy and suspenseful. Those breaks at the end of the sax solo are like being water boarded, getting your head shoved under water. The sax cries over the top, “I’m not the person you’re looking for, I don’t know what you’re talking about, torture is not and effective interrogation technique!” The guitar solo is about that moment you realize you have to make an escape – you realize it’s all or nothing. The break down to the sax chorale is all about the light at the end of the tunnel – a dizzying, piercing sort of pain – like the angels are coming for you. You realize, “I’m still alive, I can feel pain, but I know there is a better place!” They continue to torture you. There is a recapitulation of all the themes over the head out.

JD: So what happens in the end?

CC: Exactly.

JD: Do you escape?

CC: You’ll have to buy the next record!
credits: released 02 October 2009
THE BROMANTICS:
Chris Conly – Guitar, Compositions
Maria Eisen – Flute, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax
Adam Minkoff – Electrical Bass
David Andrew Moore – Drums

SPECIAL GUESTS:
Kevin Norton – Vibraphone (D.I.Y.)
Brad Whiteley – Organ, Rhodes, Keyboards (BLAZE YOUR OWN PATH, ISLAND MAN, SPIDER BITES, SHARKS, EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION)

Engineered and Mixed by Eric Heveron-Smith.

Mastered by Rob Calhoun, Los Angeles, CA.

Basic tracks recorded at Seaside Lounge Studios, Brooklyn, NY, September, 2008. Overdubs recorded at Studio 537, Brooklyn, NY.
tags: tags: rock blues country funk Brooklyn
license: All rights reserved
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