Courtesy Page
Welcome, from The Tambourine People. Click to download the courtesy version of the TAMBOURINE LOVE album in MP3 or WAV, as well as group photos and other artwork.
The debut album TAMBOURINE LOVE is available now in multiple formats, including CD and vinyl, and, since we're looking to party like it's 1969, reel to reel tape! Not to mention, coming soon, 8 track tape! The leadoff track Tambourine Love also leads off the 3-disc compilation International Pop Overthrow Volume 23, released on Omnivore Recordings, following the group's live debut at the Chicago installment of the worldwide pop music festival. The track has also been programmed by legendary rock presenter Rodney Bingenheimer on his weekly SiriusXM show.
The music on TAMBOURINE LOVE fondly recalls the beautiful sunshiny vibe of 1968-70 pop, yet doesn't necessarily live there full-time. Founder and composer CHRIS MEZZOLESTA was encouraged by friends to participate in February Album Writing Month aka FAWM, an internet creative exercise in which participants strive to compose (and ostensibly record) a full 14-song album within the shortest month of the year. Chris had been recently diving back into some of the sounds of his youth, in particular the bubblepsych of THE LEMON PIPERS and their hits Jelly Jungle, Rice Is Nice, and especially their 1968 #1 smash GREEN TAMBOURINE. Thus the idea was already germinating when Chris listened through another favorite album, Greek prog outfit Aphrodite's Child's bombastic opus 666, which contained a spoken phrase "We are the people...the why people...the waiting people...the tambourine people." That solidified the group name and the musical approach, though sunshine pop would extend to British flower-psych, folk, and even some proto-funk, reflecting the styles of some of Chris's favorite recordings growing up.
Composing/arranging all of the songs and playing all of the instruments, Chris recruited some voiceover colleagues to assist with the all-important female components of the vocal harmonies. LORI FURTH and NANCY McLEMORE carry on their own busy voiceover businesses. Lori is also Chris's fellow member in the podcast voice acting troupe THE SUFFOLK & GOODE PLAYERS, for which Chris is also musical director and has also garnered various audio fiction awards for their scripted audio plays. Lori also provides lyrics and vocals for Suffolk & Goode Players musical productions, Nancy is a former member of the troupe and sings jazz in and around Birmingham, Alabama. Working at a feverish pace all through the month of February, Chris composed in the mornings, recorded and overdubbed through the days, and mixed into the night. Lori and Nancy emailed vocal tracks as needed. By the end of the month, the project was completed, and to such a surprising level of quality & personal satisfaction, that Chris decided that it must become an actual album. Further post-production ensued beyond the end of FAWM, and has led us to where we are now.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
Tambourine Love was the first song written for the project, on the heels of the Lemon Pipers deep dive. It was a firm attempt to capture the beautiful vibe of late-60s groups such as The Association, The Cowsills, Sunshine Company, Love Generation, Spanky and Our Gang, and others. The message is one of music as a healing force, of working together rather than at odds. It might be considered a quaint concept these days, but music is still an extension of the soul, and when souls intertwine, it is a beautiful and hopeful thing. Lights was written, as the entire project was, just before the pandemic sent us all inside for the next 2 years, and speaks perhaps of Chris's desire to get out more and interact with people , looking at bright lights rather than sitting inside looking at screens. It would be a while but hopefully with time and intelligence, we'll all be able to get out and get our faces in the bright city lights & feel some joie de vivre again. Riverside Park began with the title, watching YouTube videos about locations in New York City for inspiration - a story then unfolded, a sad story however, that needed a plaintive voice to sing it, Nancy takes the lead on this one, with Chris digging deep into his jazz education to lay the foundation. Restoring the shiny mood, we travel across the pond for Next Bus To The Sun, stylistically a nod to Brummie psychsters The Idle Race (Jeff Lynne pre-Move and pre-ELO), and a good old mind trip from which one may not want to return. Snacks optional.
In not wanting to repeat himself, Chris called upon his recent studies of the Japanese language to compose Atarashii Uta (New Song) completely in Japanese, with a light acoustic pop framework and effective use of a cheap plastic melodica, of all things! Taking it to the backyard, Chris's egg machines, aka hens, make a guest appearance, on, what else, Chickens. Taking a slightly more techno approach, possibly due to exhaustion from the intense production schedule, things are a bit more sparse here, singing the praises of backyard chickens, with a background wash of "the girls" throughout. This track has been featured numerous times on the legendary "Dr. Demento Show" due to its quirkiness. Rounding out Side One is a ragtime ditty espousing the wonders of that new miracle formula now being touted at your 1880s town square medicine show, Fresh Out Of Love? We'll Make More.
Side Two starts out with heavy metaphor. Get Into A Garden features Lori on lead vocal, and draws distinct analogues between life and gardening. Phrases that come off as punny at first, are actually somewhat philosophical, man! A halftime rock shuffle, with the album's only guitar solo (maybe Chris forgot on the other tracks!) Were You There is a lament on the state of things today, when we weren't at each others' throats all the time. Same sentiment as a lot of the other songs but from the other direction, a sad look at where we are now as opposed to then. Tambourine Trampoline is a Bo Diddley/Johnny Otis cooker, mixing in a little science fiction with a little hippie idealism - if we all bang our tambourines while we bounce up to the sky, we should be in good shape! Contains the album's only Theremin solo (gotta get them all in). Tri-Cornered Hat Man is a paean to a favorite YouTuber and historical reenactor, Jon Townsend of Townsend's, who has videoed hundreds of installments on 18th century cooking, life in colonial times, and more. A true wealth of knowledge. Lori and Nancy contribute co-leads on this one.
Power For The Many is a folky entry, early-60s in spirit but right up to now in its assessment of where we should be heading as a country and as a society. More metaphors for power in this one. Freak Flag celebrates individuality and non-conformity, or just having a blast. Paying tribute to early bass influence Larry Graham and the wonders of the one-chord song done so well by Sly and company. Don't you just wanna??!! We climb into our multi-colored balloon and get ready to fly away, waving goodbye to everyone, in the Tambourine Love (Reprise). We leave the listener with some food for thought and a hopeful message to choose love, choose music, choose tambourines, Lori and Nancy once again assist Chris in delivering the thoughtful questions & suggestions.
THE TAMBOURINE PEOPLE are:
Lori Furth - vocals
Nancy McLemore - vocals
Chris Mezzolesta - composition, production, mixing, vocals, guitars (6 & 12 string acoustic & electric), basses (4 & 5 string electric, upright acoustic), keyboards & VSTs, recorders (sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, bass), Theremin, ukulele, digital drums, snare drum, percussion
For press, interview or programming inquiries, Chris Mezzolesta 800-356-5519, chris@thetambourinepeople.com.
The debut album TAMBOURINE LOVE is available now in multiple formats, including CD and vinyl, and, since we're looking to party like it's 1969, reel to reel tape! Not to mention, coming soon, 8 track tape! The leadoff track Tambourine Love also leads off the 3-disc compilation International Pop Overthrow Volume 23, released on Omnivore Recordings, following the group's live debut at the Chicago installment of the worldwide pop music festival. The track has also been programmed by legendary rock presenter Rodney Bingenheimer on his weekly SiriusXM show.
The music on TAMBOURINE LOVE fondly recalls the beautiful sunshiny vibe of 1968-70 pop, yet doesn't necessarily live there full-time. Founder and composer CHRIS MEZZOLESTA was encouraged by friends to participate in February Album Writing Month aka FAWM, an internet creative exercise in which participants strive to compose (and ostensibly record) a full 14-song album within the shortest month of the year. Chris had been recently diving back into some of the sounds of his youth, in particular the bubblepsych of THE LEMON PIPERS and their hits Jelly Jungle, Rice Is Nice, and especially their 1968 #1 smash GREEN TAMBOURINE. Thus the idea was already germinating when Chris listened through another favorite album, Greek prog outfit Aphrodite's Child's bombastic opus 666, which contained a spoken phrase "We are the people...the why people...the waiting people...the tambourine people." That solidified the group name and the musical approach, though sunshine pop would extend to British flower-psych, folk, and even some proto-funk, reflecting the styles of some of Chris's favorite recordings growing up.
Composing/arranging all of the songs and playing all of the instruments, Chris recruited some voiceover colleagues to assist with the all-important female components of the vocal harmonies. LORI FURTH and NANCY McLEMORE carry on their own busy voiceover businesses. Lori is also Chris's fellow member in the podcast voice acting troupe THE SUFFOLK & GOODE PLAYERS, for which Chris is also musical director and has also garnered various audio fiction awards for their scripted audio plays. Lori also provides lyrics and vocals for Suffolk & Goode Players musical productions, Nancy is a former member of the troupe and sings jazz in and around Birmingham, Alabama. Working at a feverish pace all through the month of February, Chris composed in the mornings, recorded and overdubbed through the days, and mixed into the night. Lori and Nancy emailed vocal tracks as needed. By the end of the month, the project was completed, and to such a surprising level of quality & personal satisfaction, that Chris decided that it must become an actual album. Further post-production ensued beyond the end of FAWM, and has led us to where we are now.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
Tambourine Love was the first song written for the project, on the heels of the Lemon Pipers deep dive. It was a firm attempt to capture the beautiful vibe of late-60s groups such as The Association, The Cowsills, Sunshine Company, Love Generation, Spanky and Our Gang, and others. The message is one of music as a healing force, of working together rather than at odds. It might be considered a quaint concept these days, but music is still an extension of the soul, and when souls intertwine, it is a beautiful and hopeful thing. Lights was written, as the entire project was, just before the pandemic sent us all inside for the next 2 years, and speaks perhaps of Chris's desire to get out more and interact with people , looking at bright lights rather than sitting inside looking at screens. It would be a while but hopefully with time and intelligence, we'll all be able to get out and get our faces in the bright city lights & feel some joie de vivre again. Riverside Park began with the title, watching YouTube videos about locations in New York City for inspiration - a story then unfolded, a sad story however, that needed a plaintive voice to sing it, Nancy takes the lead on this one, with Chris digging deep into his jazz education to lay the foundation. Restoring the shiny mood, we travel across the pond for Next Bus To The Sun, stylistically a nod to Brummie psychsters The Idle Race (Jeff Lynne pre-Move and pre-ELO), and a good old mind trip from which one may not want to return. Snacks optional.
In not wanting to repeat himself, Chris called upon his recent studies of the Japanese language to compose Atarashii Uta (New Song) completely in Japanese, with a light acoustic pop framework and effective use of a cheap plastic melodica, of all things! Taking it to the backyard, Chris's egg machines, aka hens, make a guest appearance, on, what else, Chickens. Taking a slightly more techno approach, possibly due to exhaustion from the intense production schedule, things are a bit more sparse here, singing the praises of backyard chickens, with a background wash of "the girls" throughout. This track has been featured numerous times on the legendary "Dr. Demento Show" due to its quirkiness. Rounding out Side One is a ragtime ditty espousing the wonders of that new miracle formula now being touted at your 1880s town square medicine show, Fresh Out Of Love? We'll Make More.
Side Two starts out with heavy metaphor. Get Into A Garden features Lori on lead vocal, and draws distinct analogues between life and gardening. Phrases that come off as punny at first, are actually somewhat philosophical, man! A halftime rock shuffle, with the album's only guitar solo (maybe Chris forgot on the other tracks!) Were You There is a lament on the state of things today, when we weren't at each others' throats all the time. Same sentiment as a lot of the other songs but from the other direction, a sad look at where we are now as opposed to then. Tambourine Trampoline is a Bo Diddley/Johnny Otis cooker, mixing in a little science fiction with a little hippie idealism - if we all bang our tambourines while we bounce up to the sky, we should be in good shape! Contains the album's only Theremin solo (gotta get them all in). Tri-Cornered Hat Man is a paean to a favorite YouTuber and historical reenactor, Jon Townsend of Townsend's, who has videoed hundreds of installments on 18th century cooking, life in colonial times, and more. A true wealth of knowledge. Lori and Nancy contribute co-leads on this one.
Power For The Many is a folky entry, early-60s in spirit but right up to now in its assessment of where we should be heading as a country and as a society. More metaphors for power in this one. Freak Flag celebrates individuality and non-conformity, or just having a blast. Paying tribute to early bass influence Larry Graham and the wonders of the one-chord song done so well by Sly and company. Don't you just wanna??!! We climb into our multi-colored balloon and get ready to fly away, waving goodbye to everyone, in the Tambourine Love (Reprise). We leave the listener with some food for thought and a hopeful message to choose love, choose music, choose tambourines, Lori and Nancy once again assist Chris in delivering the thoughtful questions & suggestions.
THE TAMBOURINE PEOPLE are:
Lori Furth - vocals
Nancy McLemore - vocals
Chris Mezzolesta - composition, production, mixing, vocals, guitars (6 & 12 string acoustic & electric), basses (4 & 5 string electric, upright acoustic), keyboards & VSTs, recorders (sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, bass), Theremin, ukulele, digital drums, snare drum, percussion
For press, interview or programming inquiries, Chris Mezzolesta 800-356-5519, chris@thetambourinepeople.com.
