Story: Ralph Greco, Jr.
It’s a good day for me when I can immerse myself in prog rock….as I did Saturday, October 7th, at the Williams Carlos Williams Center, in Rutherford New Jersey. Hopping around to drool over Keith Emerson’s original Moog, and then jawing with Annie Haslam of Renaissance fame as I once again marveled over her artwork (I have met the lady a few times previously when I interviewed her) I made my way around one pm to catch Aziola Cry’s set in the big theatre space of the complex.
Pretty much from the jump Aziola Cry showcased their intricate maneuvering around Jason Blake’s Warr Guitar. Along with guitarist Mike Milaniak and drummer Tommy Murray (and for me, Murray is the spectacular center of this Chicago-based trio), here was some very impressive semi-heavy prog.
What was most interesting to note with Azoila Cry was that Milaniak’s electric guitar was upfront, even more so at times, than Blake’s Warr Guitar, which made for a unique layering of sound; although he does step out a times, Blake mostly provides the bass riff to the songs while occasionally sailing single higher notes over the top (the Warr Guitar is based on pretty much the same tapping principal as The Chapman Stick).
The songs themselves?
From the chunky roil of super heavy “The Ironic Divide,” to “Where Once Bore Wings,” where we saw and heard Murray completely on fire and Blake lending a more spikey high end over the plodding bass, to the semi-swiftly changing tempos of a couple of new numbers coming from their upcoming album (Blake joked that playing a 22-minute epic for a prog crowd wouldn’t probably be a problem…and it wasn’t) we got to hunker down with this band and surf their unusual sound.
Aziola Cry had the crowd on their feet at the end, heralding a long weekend of great things to come.
Please be sure to check out our recent interview wit Jason: https://emmreport.com/warr-guitarist-jason-blake-discusses-radiant-dusk-and-much-more-exclusive-profile/
Ralph Greco, Jr. is the devilishly clever nom de plume of professional writer/musician Ralph Greco who lives in the wilds of suburban New Jersey. He is also a podcast co-host, but as everyone has a podcast these days, this fact is of very little consequence.
Ralph can be reached by writing ralphiedawriter@gmail.com
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