Album Notes

THE SOLO PROJECT EP is the result of a brief collaboration between founding guitarist / producer Jason Achilles Mezilis, and vocalist Oscar Varner, Jr. The music derives its sound from a variety of influence ranging from progressive dirt rock & funk, to old-time Georgia soul and gospel. The production of the record is intentionally bare-bones, in an effort to capture the live, honest approach with which the songs were crafted.

Track 1 - a swampy cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition", captures the only performance of that song by the duo, and Track 5 - "Long, Long Way From Home" is a work of complete improvisation from start to finish, musically and lyrically. The remaining 3 songs are more thouroughly 'composed', as is evident by the dynamic breakdowns and meter shifts. Throughout all the songs the focus is on melody, groove, and soul...in an attempt to capture the feel of a 'live performace' rather than suffer the commonly sterilizing notion of the 'perfect take'. The recording is completely analog, recorded & mixed on an 8-track reel to reel machine with absolutely no computers to be found, save for the mastering and (obviously) duplication process.


The history of The Solo Project is a brief one, and can be traced back 4 years previous when Jason first conceived of the notion of the band, and the sound he wished to capture. After relocating from San Francisco to Los Angeles, Jason took up a job running live sound in a local Los Angeles nightclub, where he was struck by the power and soul of Oscar's vocal late one night in Summer of 2003. A brief courtship ensued, with Jason finally persuading Oscar to come down to his recording studio and track vocals on an unfinished song from a year previous. The following two months led to irregular but highly productive writing and impromptu recording sessions, the results of which are evidenced on this EP. Mike and Ryan kindly offered their skills and assistance at next-to-nothing to help out with the project, and their contribution is greatly appreciated.


THIS RECORDING IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF MIKE KENT - a great drummer, a keen wit, and a kind heart...and a good friend.


Featured artists:
Oscar Varner, Jr. - Lead & Backing Vocals, Drums
Jason Achilles Mezilis - Guitar, Bass, Backing Vocals
with
Mike Kent - Drums on Track 3
Ryan Brown - Drums on Track 5


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