About The Tambourine People.
The Tambourine People is a project conceived & helmed by voice actor & musician/producer Chris Mezzolesta.
Devised for February Album Writing Month (FAWM) 2020, The Tambourine People began as a project of love in the middle of a dark time. Chris Mezzolesta committed to writing and recording 14 songs in 28 days, which is the FAWM challenge; in the days preceding February, Chris was listening to various late-60s music including the 'bubblepsych' of The Lemon Pipers, whose 1968 #1 record "Green Tambourine" was one of Chris's early 45s. Around this time Chris was also listening to the cult progressive rock album '666' by the Greek band Aphrodite's Child, in which there is a recitation containing the lines,
We are the people.
The rolling people.
The why people.
The waiting people.
The wanting people.
The tambourine people.
The alternative people.
The angel people.
As has happened many times before in his life, Chris put 2+2 together and got 5. The Tambourine People would be born, and our message would be Tambourine Love. In need of harmonies to fill out the sound, Chris enlisted fellow voice actors Lori Furth and Nancy McLemore to give the music a sunshine pop sheen, inspired by groups such as The Love Generation, The Sunshine Company, The Free Design, The Association, Spanky and Our Gang, and others.
Working at a somewhat feverish pace, Chris composed in the mornings and recorded & mixed in the evenings, taking 1 to 2 days to completely conceptualize, compose, arrange, record and mix each song from start to finish. Given that Lori & Nancy were working remotely, it is remarkable what was accomplished in such a short time. (Chris's trip to Birmingham, Alabama to re-record Nancy's vocals was his last, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; his flight to LA to record Lori was regrettably cancelled but we were able to achieve all the overdubs remotely.)
Devised for February Album Writing Month (FAWM) 2020, The Tambourine People began as a project of love in the middle of a dark time. Chris Mezzolesta committed to writing and recording 14 songs in 28 days, which is the FAWM challenge; in the days preceding February, Chris was listening to various late-60s music including the 'bubblepsych' of The Lemon Pipers, whose 1968 #1 record "Green Tambourine" was one of Chris's early 45s. Around this time Chris was also listening to the cult progressive rock album '666' by the Greek band Aphrodite's Child, in which there is a recitation containing the lines,
We are the people.
The rolling people.
The why people.
The waiting people.
The wanting people.
The tambourine people.
The alternative people.
The angel people.
As has happened many times before in his life, Chris put 2+2 together and got 5. The Tambourine People would be born, and our message would be Tambourine Love. In need of harmonies to fill out the sound, Chris enlisted fellow voice actors Lori Furth and Nancy McLemore to give the music a sunshine pop sheen, inspired by groups such as The Love Generation, The Sunshine Company, The Free Design, The Association, Spanky and Our Gang, and others.
Working at a somewhat feverish pace, Chris composed in the mornings and recorded & mixed in the evenings, taking 1 to 2 days to completely conceptualize, compose, arrange, record and mix each song from start to finish. Given that Lori & Nancy were working remotely, it is remarkable what was accomplished in such a short time. (Chris's trip to Birmingham, Alabama to re-record Nancy's vocals was his last, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic; his flight to LA to record Lori was regrettably cancelled but we were able to achieve all the overdubs remotely.)
The album was completed on the FAWM website by the end of February 2020; release progress slowed through the rest of the year due to COVID-19, but now the balloon is inflated and ready to go, with CDs and 180 gram vinyl LPs on hand. We'll be leaving soon, so get on board and take a trip with us!
This album was conceived and recorded as part of February Album Writing Month, FAWM.org