Review of Strangest Places and CD Release show

by Silverfish Magazine

This cheerful, boistrous seven piece band hails from Erie, PA and has been pepping up the indie New Wave/Pop/Experimental scene in town since 1999. Originating in a basement full of eclectic clutter seems to have given the founding members the nerve to embrace an eclectic musical style that is reminicent of The Polyphonic Spree being attacked by a 50's band weilding toy robot guns. On their newest LP, the telefonics seem intent to attack the apathetic of the Northeast with a positive shout from the Basement.

This band brings a high-energy performance that carries over to their live shows. Singers Gina Rullo and Josh Zimmer (also keys) playfully entertain the audience with their vocal antics and charisma, while the three man guitar core of John Johnston, Pete Burke, and Fred Krugger (bass) serve up a solid complex of phantasmagoric riffs. Zach Haras (drums) dishes out complex fills and playful beats to match while recent addition Larry Wheaton introduces trombone, somehow finding just the right touch to enliven this madcap adventure of a band. Never overwhelmingly one style or another, the song styles shift from the shout for joy indie anthem 'Cinema Poseur Photography' to the country-music inflected 'Sweet Sweet Home'.

Not only is their new LP a joyful noise, combining playful lyrics with jump-tastic beats, it's even better live, an astounding feat for any band. At the telefonics (and that's with the lower case t) cd release party held January 7th at Forward Hall, the celebration got so confusingly and happily out of hand that I counted no less than 35 people on stage at one time (and never less than 15) singing their souls out to the shout-happy sing along 'I Tried'. The addition of a permanent horn section post-recording has added another layer of complexity to the live show already intricate pattern woven by the combination of vocal/keyboard/guitar/bass/percussion/keys. Sounding more like a 'telefonic spree' and aptly serving out Spree candies to the audience, the telefonics offered a great taste of what Strangest Places has to offer.