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bio
TODD PASTERNACK
EMERGES FROM THE OMINOUS SEAPODS AND THE LO FABER BAND WITH HIS OWN BAND,
marlow, AND DEBUT ALBUM, WHITE OUT.
"I'm always listening and feeling while I play," says Todd
Pasternack, the singer/songwriter/guitarist behind marlow. Todd�s
songwriting influences--strains of Tom Petty, Aimee Mann, Sheryl Crow,
Ween, and the Black Crowes, among others, shine through and entwine with
Pasternack�s own unique musical approach, one developed and road tested
through years of prog rock and jamband experience, and now infused with a
bit of a rock flavor. The album spans the spectrum from touching ballads
with beautiful harmonies... to hard rockers spitting with confused
anguish. Former Shania Twain guitarist David Malachowski marveled at
Pasternack's guitar technique, calling it "particularly fluid and
inventive."
Having survived a tumultuous relationship intensely illustrated on his
debut rock album, White Out, Pasternack has harvested a tremendous amount
of strength and inspiration. Lyrically, he delves deep into the core of
human emotion, revelation, and growth. "I really had to record these
songs for psychological reasons as well as musical ones. It was time to
exorcise the demons of my dramatic relationship of 2000: Sex, drugs,
fists, overdoses and sometimes love." In his personal interpretation
of a 21st Century love story, Pasternack also shares his perspective on
moving on and what its like to look back. Collectively, the songs provide
a window into the life of both Todd and his audience. "Music is life.
When you are so honest lyrically, that's when the most penetrating music
occurs, spiritually speaking."
Earlier in his career, Todd was well known in and around Albany, NY for
his muscular efforts fronting the Mr. Ferguson Band, a local groove-rock
outfit that achieved notoriety in New York and throughout New England. The
then 22-year-old Long Island native co-produced Mr. Ferguson's two albums
and gained a considerable reputation for his various songwriting and
production contributions to other area musicians. That reputation turned
heads of the well-established Ominous Seapods when their guitarist, Max
Verna, announced his eminent departure. On New Years Eve 98/99, Verna
confidently and ceremoniously passed his guitar to Pasternack, inducting
him into a jamband scene spanning far beyond the northeast. The change
seemed a natural course given that Pasternack had sat in with the Seapods
on several occasions. Todd remembers, "The Seapods, as a whole, were
an influence on Ferguson. We always really dug how they built jams."
Never a stranger to adventure in realms of either soul or song, Todd
carried that torch of Seapod legacy throughout a Rykodisc/Palm Pictures
recording contract releasing "The Super Man Curse" with producer
Glenn Rosenstein, and while touring extensively throughout the US, Canada,
and Mexico. Along the way, Pasternack shared the stage with moe., Mike
Gordon of Phish, John Medeski of Medeski, Martin and Wood, as well as
Butch Trucks and Oteil Burbridge of the Allman Brothers, and DJ Logic.
Three years had passed before that torch grew cold.
When the jamband scene experienced a strong shift in 2001, both the
Ominous Seapods and God Street Wine ended a run that lasted roughly a
decade. At that point, another merge transpired musically. Lo Faber of God
Street Wine had written an entire 2 CD rock opera called Henry's House and
recruited Todd, as well as Tom Pirozzi and Ted Marotta of the Ominous
Seapods, to help bring it to life. Faber's project has also joined
together and afforded Pasternack the priceless opportunity to work with
such talented musicians as Jason Crosby (album keyboards), opera trained
Angela Ford (vocals, keyboards, percussion, and acoustic guitar), Devin
Greenwood (keyboards, vocals), and David Eggar (keyboards,cello) who has
toured with acts such as The Who and Modern English. "I feel we've
really become a band. We really listen to each other and feed off each
other. And one really good thing is that we're all fans of the music Lo
wrote. It's really the best thing I've been a part of. That's also why I
couldn't think of another band to play all the songs on my album."
While marlow essentially consists of fellow Lo Faber Band members, it's
immediately apparent that Pasternack�s musical style leads them through
a very different course than with Faber at the helm. To hear it for
yourself, marlow�s White Out, which was produced, recorded, and mixed by
Todd Pasternack, Ted Marotta, and Lo Faber at The Great Northern in
Argyle, NY, can be found at www.marlowmusic.net.
website
www.marlowmusic.net
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