LOR FRED*Band: The Color Fred
Album: Bend To Break
Genre: Pop Rock
Label: Equal Vision
Tracks:
1. Get Out
2. If I Surrender
3. Hate To See You Go
4. It Isn't Me
5. Complaintor
6. The Tragedy
7. I Didn't See
8. Empty House
9. Minnesota
10. I'll Never Know
11. Don't Pretend
I want to start this review off by answering a question I'm sure at least some of you have. Yes, this is the same Fred Mascherino who once played guitar and sang for Taking Back Sunday [he left the group last fall if you didn't know]. Fred and the rest of TBS were arguing over the writing of what was to be the band's fourth album and instead of fight anymore, Mascherino decided to follow his heart and left to pursue a solo project he'd been working on since he was in Breaking Pangaea. The result is an eleven track album entitled, Bend To Break, which features Mascherino playing every instrument except the drums and singing about everything from drunk drivers to the bitter end of his days in Taking Back Sunday. It's an album that takes you on the journey of life full of love, loss, and hard decisions that plays with more heart than 90% of everything else in the music world today.
Those familiar with Mascherino's work in Taking Back Sunday will notice an instant correlation in The Color Fred with the opener, "Get Out." The song addresses drunk driving, but the correlation comes in the pre-chorus/chorus as Fred uses a dualing vocal style which is basically trademarked by TBS. The song itself is quite catchy and the repetition of, "Get out," seems perfect for a live setting. "If I Surrender, " the second track is a bit more rock-oriented, but with a thick bass line through the verses it's easily just as catchy as the prior track. Even though we're only two tracks in, it's apparent Mascherino not only knows how to write catchy lyrics, but he's also quite good at composing engaging songs that are pop oriented without being too cliche. I mean yes, there are similarities to Taking Back Sunday, but as a whole, the sound is fresh and unique. A Piano leads us into the fourth track entitled, "It Isn't Me," in which Mascherino talks about a break up may be the best representation of Fred's ability to paint a picture with his music. The entire song is about realizing that you are not "the one" for your significant other and the lyrics reflect this from the initial break up, to remembering subtle things that lead you to the realization that, well, it isn't you. Musically, the piano is met with strings, guitar, and drums to to create a sonic landscape that really pulls you in. Following that track comes the blatant tale of the final days of Fred's stay in Taking Back Sunday in, "Complaintor," From the very first line, in which Fred sings, "These four years were a suicide," the listener almost feels like they're given an insiders look at the arguments that lead to Mascherino's departure. The best part is, it's actually really well written and catchy song as opposed to an obvious attempt to complain about TBS. The album takes another slow turn on, "Empty House," but that is not a bad thing at all. Most the song is filled solely with Mascherino and an acoustic guitar, but the simplicity has a way of wrapping the listener and pulling you in even before the drums enter in a crescendo before closing with Mascherino and the guitar once more. It's a beautiful song that sounds quite simple, but is filled with an urgency that you can't deny. The most rock oriented track on the album would have to, "Minnesota," which tells the tale of a destructive person as told through the metaphor of drug use. It's a simple 4/4 time signature with accents on 2 and 4, but, like in the days of Motown's glory, it never ceases to make you want to move and sing along. The album ends with the 6-minute, "Don't Pretend," which details the realization and confrontation of a lover whose been cheating on Fred. It's another song with simple structure, but still Mascherino finds a way to grab the listener's attention. Like most closing tracks, it builds in a glorious crescendo about 4 minutes in and instantly brings to mind Dashboard Confessional via their, A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar, era. It's a beautiful number that hits all the right notes and leaves you with a smile on your face.
Bend To Break is a beautiful album that has no fear of being completely honest with the listener. The lyrics are straight from the heart of mascherino and the music simply accompanies the stories of his life. It's engaging and enjoyable throughout and is perfect for summer drives as well as rainy afternoons indoors. It seems with the rise of the "Myspace" generation that most music released these days seems to have less and less staying power as opposed to simple flash in the pan popularity, but not this record. No, This record is one that, from the first listen, lets you know that it's going to be staying in your stereo for quite awhile.
GRADE: 9.5/10
MYSPACE
*WE RECENTLY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONVERSE WITH FRED FROM THE COLOR FRED AND BELOW YOU CAN FIND THE TEXT TO THE INTERVIEW. YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW HERE.
James [J] and Meaghan [M] from Under the Gun Review sat down with Fred Mascherino of The Color Fred/Taking Back Sunday at The Orbit Room in
J: Welcome to Under The Gun Review, this is James and Meaghan and we’re talking to Fred Mascherino from The Color Fred and Taking Back Sunday as you may remember him. We’re outside The Orbit Room in
F: Yea, how you doing? I started wanting to do a solo record back in my original band Breaking Pangea, but I then joined Taking Back Sunday and became extremely busy. I kept writing however and about a year ago when I started making The Color Fred record I had over 40 songs and I basically just demoed them all at home in my basement. I then picked the best ones and got together with Lou Giordano and I, along with my drummer Steve Curtiss, hashed out the songs and recorded them last summer. Now we’re out on tour and Steve’s with me as well as two old friends who round out the live group and, well, we’re having a freaking blast.
J: The album, Bend To Break, was released last October and it’s pretty straight forward lyrically. There’s really no denying what, “These four years were a suicide,” could possibly be about and I was just wondering if that’s something you did intentionally or if that’s simply how the lyrics came out?
F: It really was how it came out. It’s funny because while we were recording it, Lou, who produced the record suggested like, “Hey, I don’t want to change your lyrics or anything, but maybe change a word here or there,” but it was really important to me to not water it down. It was really just how I felt. I was still in Taking Back Sunday while recording it, but the last to years with them [TBS] was just really hard and I had to write about it and make something that I felt was honest because I was questioning what I was doing and that’s how I wound up here.
J: What was the final straw for you that made you decide to just leave Taking Back Sunday and dive full time into The Color Fred?
F: Basically, we were on the Projekt Revolution tour and trying to write the fourth album. After being on my own and making my own record I was realizing that things weren’t working well and we weren’t coming together like we had on the previous albums we had recorded together. I was questioning and wanted to take a break, but I was the only one who felt that way. So, I decided that these were songs I believed in and that I needed to just be with that for now.
M: On a more personal note, you’ve been on tour constantly since the fall and we were wondering how your wife handles you being away on the road all the time?
F: That woman is a saint. It’s definitely not easy. I started touring the year we met when I was in a band called Brody and we did one national tour and I decided I wanted to do this forever and have been touring ever since. You know, it’s the hardest part of what I did. Just being away and knowing that I’m making their lives hard as well especially since we have kids. The good thing is that when I come home, I don’t have another job to be at and I can spend all my time with her and the kids. We can go to the parks and do whatever we want so we feel like we have it pretty good.
M: How did your family react to your decision to leave Taking Back Sunday and do The Color Fred?
F: Well my kids are really little, like under 5, but my wife and I definitely made the decision together. It’s a completely different world when I call home because I’m excited about what’s going on and it no longer feels like a job, but rather like my passion because it’s what I want to do. I tried to go along with it [TBS] for awhile, but it wasn’t working for us so she definitely supported me.
J: So what does the rest of 2008 hold for The Color Fred?
F: We’re finishing out the month with Chiodos and then we have Bamboozle in
J: Are there any plans to record by the end of the year?
F: Not this year, but I hope to start working on it this summer. I’ll start writing and take some of the songs that didn’t make the previous record and work on them. I haven’t really thought about it too much, but this is a project I want to last a long time and I want to continue to make new music for people and keep sharing my work with everyone.
J: The packaging for Bend To Break is very eco-friendly. Why was that so important to you?
F: I wanted everything about this project is supposed to be part of my personality and things I’m passionate about. This is why I hand wrote the lyrics inside and I wanted everything to come from me. Global warming is something I’ve been passionate about for awhile and we started to bring it to the forefront with Taking Back Sunday. We played Live Earth and before that we met with Al Gore. So, I wanted to continue that because it’s something I’m really into and it’s probably the most green packaging you’ll find. The plastic part that holds the cd is corn starch and it’s all biodegradable. It’ll melt in water, so don’t get it wet. Most of the rest of the packaging is made from recycled material and it’s just something I really wanted to do and Equal Vision was very cool and understanding.
J: You obviously have an eye on the political world. Do you have any candidate you’d like to endorse?
F: I wouldn’t go as far to endorse because most the people I support will probably never get elected to anything. However, out of the three, I really side with Barack [Obama] because he really seems like he could be some kind of change, if a president can be that effective. I really just want the opposite of what we have now so whoever can do that gets my vote.
J: Where would you like to be in 5 years?
F: I’m very comfortable with where I am right now. I love singing and I’ve been writing since I was ten years old and I like being the person who delivers my lyrics and I just want to keep doing that as long as I can. When I was in Taking Back Sunday, it was hard to picture myself doing the same things to years down the road, but with this I feel I could continue it for the next 10 years and never be any less happy.
J: There seems to be a pattern with people who leave Taking Back Sunday in that they form new bands that become quite successful. We have Jesse Lacey and Brand New, John Nolan and Straylight Run. You actually toured with John right after leaving TBS, was that a conscious decision or just a random grouping?
F: We called each other. The funny thing is that when in TBS I felt like everyone compared us [John and Fred] as if music is some sort of competition. The weird thing is that why all this is going on, we’re real friends and we would laugh and wonder why people wanted to like put us head to head. So as soon as I left I knew I wanted to tour with John so I called him and yea, it was just two friends who wanted to do it. I was trying to make a statement that there aren’t any wars in music. At least, that’s what I’m saying, I don’t know about John [laughs] he may have just wanted to tour.
J: Do you have any contact with the members of Taking Back Sunday?
F: Thing ended pretty amicably. In fact, Matt Rubano and I went out to eat right after I left and talked about the past and the future and everything. It’s been tough to talk recently since they’re working on the record and I’m on the road, but I would still call them my brothers.
F: People assume I left because of Adam and mainly that’s because that’s why the other members have left, but really I didn’t have anything against him in particularly, I was just ready to move on. He’s a really good guy.
J: Well Fred, I know you’re busy and that you have to go on soon, but we want to thank you for sitting down with us. Do you have anything else to say to everyone?
F: Yea, thank you. Just come to a show. I don’t think people understand the project till they see us live. Just come and hang out with us, I’m always around and yea, thanks a doing this
*Written By: James Shotwell*
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