The Guitar Player's Resource
The American Standard, the latest CD from New Hampshire's Dreadnaught, sets a new standard for progressive rock - blended with just about every other musical idiom, genre and form out there. Guitarist Justin Walton, bassist Robert Lord and drummer Richard Habib leave no musical trail unblazed - rock, Americana, progressive, instrumental guitar, classical, jazz, you-name-it - all are forced through the Dreadnaught style grinder and out comes some of the most original music to hit New England in a long while. Guitar fans will appreciate the instrumental songs and long, creative instrumental passages, and hear Walton's impressive command of his instrument throughout the CD. Lord drives his bass through some downright nasty and creative processing to get just the right ecelctic flavor for each piece, while Habib keeps the time (not easy, what with the tempos, time signatures and overall grooves changing every thirty seconds!) and contributes some darn likable vocal work. This CD drive the needle into the red on the ol' creativity meter - check it out when you're sure there's nothing new under the sun.
Justin, Rick and Robert have each been active professional musicians for more than a dozen years. Justin is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston; his singular writing and playing style incorporates classically influenced forms and structures into a vivid soundscape of jazz harmony and progressive musical ideas. Rick is an amazingly versatile drummer, adept at playing virtually every form of music from R&B to punk and free jazz. Robert is just as likely to rip up a distortion-drenched solo as he is to swing the backbeat with flatpicked chords, while his compostions are often as musically intricate as they are hummable - a rare feat indeed. Since the tick of the millennium clock, the trio has played over 300 shows across dozens of states.
The three musicians are rabid listeners as well, finding inspiration in the works of Yes, Little Feat, Aaron Copland, the Band, Frank Zappa, Miles Davis, Bach, Don Ellis and King Crimson, among others.
Dreadnaught
United States
Web site: www.dreadnaughtrock.com