Now available digitally exclusively on iTunes!
CHASING DOWN A SPARK: The new release from the former Gathering Field frontman. "Chasing Down a Spark" was produced by Kevin Salem (Emmylou Harris, Freedy Johnston, Rachael Yamagata) and mixed by the legendary Joe Blaney (The Clash, Blues Traveler, The Raveonettes). The new CD features guest appearances by Maia Sharp, Rachael Yamagata, Donnie Iris and The Clarks' Rob James and Scott Blasey.
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"CHASING DOWN A SPARK" Review - WYEP 91.3 FM
Pittsburgh's own Bill Deasy, frontman for '90s band The Gathering Field, has been releasing his own solo albums in recent years. The follow-up to 2003's well-received Good Day, No Rain is another collection of terrific choruses and uplifting lyrics.
The new CD is produced by Kevin Salem, a singer/songwriter who emerged out of Boston to become recently an in-demand producer and session player for many indie-minded artists. Over the years, Salem has worked with indie rock bands Dumptruck and Madder Rose, as well as singer/songwriters Freedy Johnston, Matt Keating, and (more recently) Rachael Yamagata.
The album's lead-off tune is "Until I Get It Right," a hopeful song about perseverance in the face of troubles. "Down this road might find anything, rocks or gold," sings Deasy, over a backing track that falls somewhere between alt-country and jangle-pop. The song, with its gently soaring chorus and diamond-in-the-rough lyrics, sets the tone for the rest of the album.
The song "Levi" is an almost film-noir-ish pastiche set in New York City, featuring lines like, "She greeted me sadly then asked me my game/A five-dollar whore with a ten-dollar name." Both "Fireflies" and "Now That I Know What It Means" are engaging songs about trying to make a go at love, and "Pale" is about after a relationship heads south.
The CD features a number of familiar names. The Clarks' Rob James is one of the band members throughout the album. Scott Blasey and Donnie Iris also pop in to contribute backing vocals on one song each. Non-Burgh friends on the disc include Maia Sharp, who adds some harmonies on four songs, and Chicago singer/songwriter Rachael Yamagata does so on two tracks.
Chasing Down a Spark is a dozen rootsy songs which continues the evolution of a fine Pittsburgh songwriter. Well-crafted songs, giant choruses, rock guitars, and whole ton of talent. What more can you ask for?
- Mike Sauter, WYEP Music Director
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"He calls to mind Paul Westerberg and many of the finest rock songwriters who mix poetry and drunken bluster, yet somehow sound macho and sensitive at the same time"
- Performing Songwriter Magazine
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ABOUT THE ARTIST:
"It hit me over the head when I was six years old," says Deasy. "Elvis Presley. Truly hit me over the head. I don't even know exactly how I became aware of him. On my sixth birthday I got a record called 'Legendary Performer, Volume 1,' a collection of his very first hits. From that day on I would run up to my room when I got home from grade school, put on whatever Elvis record I was listening to at the time and bounce on the edge of my bed and just sing Elvis. It got to where every single corner of my bed had an indentation just from rocking and I had to keep flipping my mattress."
While his early fixation with Elvis Presley in his Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania bedroom may have set him on his career path, his inspiration to become an artist was further fueled by the discovery of such notable craftsmen as Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison, who he refers to as his "holy trinity of songwriters." Deasy says, "There are many artists that have kind of shaped me but Jackson Browne and Bruce Springsteen really affected my writing." As for Morrison, Deasy adds, "I don't think I write so much like Van Morrison but he really inspires me. There's a mystical element to his writing that's so cool."
Like the songwriters cited above, Deasy has that rare ability to really touch people through his songwriting and perhaps this is the thread that ties the myriad of early influences together with his own work. "When I write songs," says Deasy, "I try to take my life experience and put it out there in a way that people can relate to. I feel like I've done my job if a song resonates with other people; if it connects with them in some way." More than anything, this is probably the reason that his music has attracted fans of all different ages in every state and overseas in places like the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Japan.
The new CD, "Chasing Down a Spark," was produced by Kevin Salem (Freedy Johnston, Emmylou Harris, Rachael Yamagata) and mixed by the legendary Joe Blaney (The Clash, Blues Traveler, The Raveonettes.) The majority of the new CD was recorded in Woodstock and New York City and features stellar guitar work from the Clarks' Rob James and producer Kevin Salem. Two members of Deasy's Pittsburgh based band, Scott Tamulinas and Dave Throckmorton provide bass and drums, respectively. Rounding out the equation is a host of all-star NYC session players like Rob Arthur on keyboards, Oli Kraus on cello and David Mansfield on pedal steel and violin. The CD also features guest appearances by such Pittsburgh notables as Donnie Iris and the Clarks' Scott Blasey as well as recording artists Rachael Yamagata and Maia Sharp.
Starting with the hopeful and anthemic "Until I Get it Right" the songs on "Chasing Down a Spark" take us on a musical and lyrical journey looking at relationships and life from many different angles and perspectives. Deasy describes this batch of songs as being about people at a crossroads and an almost accidentally "well-matched group of seekers and strugglers."
"Levi" is signature Deasy; an adventure told through the voice of a character adeptly created for the occasion. The hero stumbles through a surreal New York City odyssey only to find his soul unexpectedly stirring by the black Hudson River. The gritty yet majestic "Wishing Well" is another song where Deasy shines through as a storyteller and the brutal honesty of songs like "Naked" and "Now That I Know What it Means" provide a balance to the light-hearted "Fireflies." Deasy gives voice to different ways relationships can go south in "Sweet Forgiveness" and "Something So Hard," which depict the challenge to let go and move on. In "Pale," the character confronts their dishonest partner with irony: "Your story's flimsy, like a cardboard box on a rainy sidewalk." "Pass Me On" speaks to the human spirit and embodies all the reasons that Deasy's appeal transcends so many boundaries. The haunting and ethereal "And I Wait" is a great lead-in to the muddy delta feel of "Turn Your Light On," the album's final track.
Deasy's first glimpse of national attention came as lead singer/songwriter of his former band, the Gathering Field, when the title track from their independently released album "Lost in America" became a bona-fide regional hit and brought them to the attention of several major labels. A bidding war ensued and the band ultimately signed to Atlantic Records who re-released the album. Almost immediately the label underwent re-structuring and the band struggled for several years to be released from their contract. Soon afterwards, the Gathering Field put out "Reliance," followed by "So Close To Home", an album of songs they'd played live for several years but had never recorded. During that time Bill also released a semi-acoustic solo album, "Spring Lies Waiting," which he has referred to as an "intentionally low-key affair." He explains, "I had written all these songs that didn't quite fit with the Gathering Field and I felt a need to get them out there." After 6 years devoted to the band, it was an opportunity to return to his roots as both a singer and songwriter and be able to express a vision all his own. During that time Deasy secured a new publishing deal and started making trips to Nashville to collaborate. The Gathering Field eventually disbanded and Deasy stepped out on his own.
In 2003 he released "Good Day No Rain," on which four songs were produced by Gregg Wattenberg (Five for Fighting, Pat McGee Band, Dishwalla) and the balance co-produced by Deasy and Dave McNair. The album brought rave reviews and several songs received airplay both across the country and overseas with a few winding up on the playlist of some significant radio stations.
Deasy is an avid reader and his literary leanings have probably influenced his songwriting as much as his musical heroes. As one fan declared, "He's the only person who can use the word 'circumnavigated' in a song and make it work!" His songs are not only emotional; they're intelligent - and yet completely accessible. In August of 2006 Bill Deasy added "published author" to his list of accomplishments with the release of his first novel, "Ransom Seaborn", which went on to win the 2006 Needle Award.
Besides Deasy's ability to turn a phrase, his distinctive voice is yet another appealing factor. Several fans have remarked that he could "sing the phonebook and make it sound good!" Certainly, it was that amazing voice that brought literally thousands of people to his website upon hearing him sing "Good Things Are Happening" in a commercial for ABC's Good Morning America and got him the surprising gig in the first place. The campaign was intended to last only 10 weeks but it became so successful that it remained on the air for 3 ½ years.
Deasy continues to show his diversity as both a songwriter and performer. His songs have been recorded by a wide array of artists including Kim Richey, Martina McBride, the Clarks, British pop star Howard Jones, Billy Ray Cyrus, Bijou Phillips and Michael Stanley. He has shared the stage with an equally diverse group, opening for the likes of Bob Dylan, Norah Jones, Patty Griffin, John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen.
Bill Deasy has a unique style all his own and perhaps this is the reason his fans have a difficult time comparing him to other artists.
But that's a good thing.
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Please visit Bill's website at www.billdeasy.com for up to date news, complete tour date listings, press, video and more audio clips!
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Visit Bill on myspace at www.myspace.com/billdeasy
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