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HOTLINE TO THE UNDERGROUND MONDAY DEC 21, 2020

December 22, 2020 thesomervillenewsweekly Leave a comment

BY JOE VIGLIONE

OUR CHRISTMAS ISSUE WITH A FOCUS ON TWO ARTISTS

If you've seen Teen Wolf star Ian Nelson – try Law and Order Special Victim's Unit where he's playing Erick Hendrickson – the grandson of a billionaire in the episode Decline and Fall, you know the rising star has acting talent.  Now you can add singer/guitarist to the resume.

Ian has a debut single, five minutes and eleven seconds of infectious pop on YouTube entitled “21st Century Love.” Perhaps it can be a new generation's “Modern Love” from David Bowie or an even newer generation's take on  “20th Century Man” from the Kinks in the 1970s, for it is a well-produced  music video with an additional live version on a separate YouTube: https://youtu.be/x39R7YiMZEY

Nelson has a good, soothing voice and endearing stage presence.   He can join Johnny Depp, Slash and other guests with Aerosmith in the future, no doubt.

Going Track by Track with Greg Paquette

The albums Single Stone

and

Retro Active

Q: Greg, when did you release Single Stone and how long between the follow-up, Retro Active



A: Single Stone was released on April 20, 2018, and Retro Active was released two and a half years later on 12/1/20.



Q: Please tell us your thoughts about each track on both albums.





1)Absolute Crime    6:06   



Originally written for my musical, “The World in Blue.” It is a fan favorite that will soon be licensed to Twenty Two – Zero, and organization dedicated to stopping veteran suicide. We originally recorded this as a demo but Joey Hovey had such a killer drum track that I wanted to add it, even though it was a cover.”

2)Nobody Tries    5:05   



Another song taken from “The World in Blue.” It feature Benny Hill on sax, and was a great time to mix the sax and guitar duals.



3)A Farewell to Lovers    4:25  



Also taken from “The World in Blue.” Cool progression and solos. Jake Miracle did a particularly great job on vocals here.



4)Steppin' Out    3:42   



Written by David Hinds of Steele Pulse. The only cover I'vereleased, and likely the last. But I love how the three guitars play off each other.



5)Talk to Me Soon    4:36  



Fun to record. The cynical lyrics are juxtaposed by the party atmosphere of the song. Billy Schneider played the synth guitar, which really pulled it together.



6)You Don't Call Me No More    3:39   



An old Option One favorite that my old band members loved and wanted to include. Joey Hovey, my drummer and Engineer from that album, did a great job dialing in the guitar amps for this recording.



7)How Many Worlds Do We Need    4:34   



Yet another tune from “The World in Blue.” Cool groove between drums and bass, and some hot guitar licks.



8)Setting Sun    4:46   



This one also features Benny Hill on sax. It is simply about the damage drug and alcohol abuse can do to a relationship. Strong images of nature, and my personal favorite from the album.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

9)Into The Sunset     (Editor: For this song we see you got airplay on December 5 from Good Music Radio )

I originally planned on producing this myself and including many of my west coast musician friends. But COVID changed those plans, so fortunately I asked my son, Chris Paquette, to produce it, and I ended up doing all of the instruments except drums and synths. His ideas about choice of material and guitar sounds were vastly different, um, better, than mine. It was a great production experience, and I love the results.

1)Doing Something Right    3:52   



I thought this was going to be the first single, but I was wrong. It's about the nuances you notice in your partner after many years.

My 12-string makes it's only appearance on this album, and the Gretsch that joins it in the second verse is x-rated. I actually imagined Aerosmith when I wrote this.



2)Crazy To Be Here    2:47   



One of three duets on the album, all from “The World In Blue.” I freakin LOVE duets and each one represents different stages of a relationship.



3)Swing    4:29   



My 88 year old neighbor grew up on a cotton plantation. He got his first guitar in 1950 and still plays today. This tune was inspired by some of the stories he has told me over the years.



4)Stark Raving Mad    2:39   



A political song that everyone can agree on. We're ALL sick of the politicians. But this has some of the hottest guitar licks on the album.



5)Members Only    3:42   



This is my son's little gem. It was originally intended by me to be a hard rock tune, but he had different, better ideas. It sounds like an “eat the rich” song, but was actually written about my friend's old landlord, who would get really drunk and let all the skeletons out of his horrid closet.



6)Paradise    3:51  



I watched The Camp Fire from my old mountain house in Northern CA. We were 8 miles away from the largest and deadliest fire in the states history. I was traumatized by the loss of life, and writing this song enabled me to discuss it without choking up. The violin and chiming church bell at the end were my son's contributions, and they make the song.



7)Coming Back For More    5:04   



A duet about people that find their significant others later in life, and the anxiety that goes along with it.



8)Pick Yourself Up    4:09   



When I wrote this, I thought it was going to be slayed to a reggae dancehall beat, but my son said, “No Dad, this is a rocker.”




9)The One I Fell In Love With    4:27   



The third duet from the album. It has my personal favorite guitar solo of the album.



10)Crazy Friends



A simple, solitary guy and his guitar thinking about all the plans that changed as a result of COVID. I've gotten many messages about this one. I guess a lot of people feel the same way.


PART 2   RETRO ACTIVE ALBUM

RETRO ACTIVE