Par Avion Reviews
Record review: Dan Coleron's "Par
Avion"
Published: July 8, 2005
-- Lillie Dremeaux
Anchorage Daily News
Long before I understood symbolism, my mother made sure I developed
an appreciation for sophisticated lyrics. As "The Bed's
Too Big Without You" played during a drive, she informed
her 7-year-old: "Other singers just hit you over the head
with it, 'I love you; I miss you.' But The Police never say
that. All they'll tell us is that the bed's too big."
Dan Coleron's latest, "Par Avion," is an exercise
in such transcendence. The themes of his acoustic rock are ones
we hear on the radio every day: loneliness, introspection, spirituality.
But his messages are encapsulated via such inventive, touching
language and in such inspired musical formats that a few listens
can refine one's views of love and life.
Coleron is blessed with skillful plucking fingers, a fervent,
seamless voice and a knack for penning original melodies. His
poetry provokes reflection and emotion. He could have just given
us that much.
But the fun of "Par Avion" lies in its embellishments:
friendly fills wandering all over the fret board, the slide
of Indian-sounding synthesizer, a chorus that evolves into a
chant. A track nears its obvious conclusion, but you know by
now to expect an Easter egg: a snippet from an apparent voice
mail, the sounding of a gong, the pulsating drone of what sounds
like a motor.
"Par Avion" is about newness: new solitude, a new
city, new possessions, new independence. With that comes people
and places left far behind. In "A Lonely Heart," Coleron
states a simple truth: "It takes a long time to let go/
It doesn't matter what you know."
I suppose life's experiences have taught me that already, but
we rely on our artists to give us proclamations imbued with
meaning, phrases that far surpass "I love you; I miss you."
All over "Par Avion," Dan Coleron has done so, and
for that I thank him.
Relocated singer-songwriter sends love
'Par Avion'
JOSH NIVA
Anchorage Daily News
Staff
Two years ago, Dan Coleron launched plans to depart one home
and return to another, all while longing to journey to an even
more exotic place. Confusing? Try being Coleron, a man with
his heart in three places -- Boston, Alaska and Africa. This
life is hell on the travel budget but gold for songwriting material.
Coleron recounts his travels, travails and torn spirit on his
new album, the aptly-titled "Par Avion" (that's French
for "air mail"). And the singer-songwriter is personally
logging heavy air miles to deliver the CD from his new headquarters
in Boston to his former haunts of Anchorage with a release party
tonight at Snow City Cafe.
"I just owe Alaska so much," Coleron, 29, said from
his Boston apartment last week. "It's where my music career
began and where I received the majority of the support. So I
really feel like I'm coming home, in terms of playing gigs."
The party begins at 7 p.m. There is no cover charge, though
copies of "Par Avion" will be on sale for $10.
Coleron is a bit more settled today than two years ago, when
he decided to head east to his home state of Massachusetts.
He wanted to be closer to family and the pulse of the singer-songwriter
industry.
Around that time, his girlfriend left for a Peace Corps stint
in Africa. Complicating the move was Coleron's attachment to
Alaska, his home for seven years. It was here that mountains
and new friends inspired him to make music his full-time job.
He also wrote, recorded and released most of the material from
his first two CDs here -- 2001's "Bird Point" and
2003's "Silt." And it was in Anchorage's bars and
cafes where Coleron gained the experience, confidence and support
needed to dream big.
"I could have easily stayed and been happy there, and it
really was a flip of the quarter
for me," Coleron said of his choice to leave. "But
when it came time to make the decision, it felt right. The ceiling
is a lot higher here, and it's really exciting."
So is releasing "Par Avion," which shares Coleron's
feelings of separation, yearning, excitement and anxiety during
his transition period. The songs were written and later presented
in sequential order for impact, starting with his girlfriend
departing (Track 1 is "Far Away") to his own move
from Anchorage to Boston (Track 10 is "Brand New").
"I had a lot of space, a lot of time to reflect when I
was living in my cabin in Bear Valley," Coleron said. "It
was really heavy."
Songwriting allowed a release, Coleron said, but a sense of
exhilaration arrived when he recorded the songs in a Connecticut
studio with an all-star cast of players brought in by co-producer
Mark Thayer (co-founder of Signature Sounds Records). Suddenly,
Coleron was surrounded by remarkable musicians who seemed to
know his music and vision almost as well as he did.
"I didn't have to even tell them anything -- they just
got it," he said. "?'Yeah! That's it!' It was really
a unique marriage of musicians.
"It was more me trying to catch up with them, musicianwise,"
he added. "It was like, 'Wow!'?"
Now, Coleron hopes audiences have the same reaction to "Par
Avion." After his release party here, he'll have a handful
of release gigs back in Boston.
And despite his love of Alaska, he can't wait to get back to
Boston. Sure, we've got mountains, but mountains aren't everything.
"I have roots out here, my family and the Red Sox,"
he added, before laughing and saying, "You know, little
things like that.
"Oh, and Jack Johnson walked by me the other day,"
he added. "Jack Johnson! You know what I'm saying?"
Silt Reviews
Can 'Silt' be this fine?
Dan Coleron brings it on his new CD
Anchorage Press
By Crystal Hutchens
Right now a two-foot-tall munchkin is spinning in circles, shuffling
her feet and bobbing her head, doing a dance that perfectly
represents the way the music we're listening to makes me feel.
The album is Silt, a ten-track disk written, performed and co-produced
by Dan Coleron, and from its first note I was transported to
a world where time is of no consequence and only thought matters.
By the third listen the album had merged with my stereo and
now it's all that I can play.
Damn you, Coleron, my other CDs are gathering dust.
Recorded and co-produced by Sean Cobb, Silt also features superb
production. Coleron is backed by the musicians from his former
outfit, The Dan Coleron Trio; Nathan Engbretson brings the bass
lines and Kris Rosenstrater throws in jangly percussion. Still
need frosting? Emily Tornfelt and Sara Zipkin add background
vocals, Peter Townsend brings the mandolin and, yes kids, Scott
Pavey sneaks in a didgeridoo.
Coleron's voice has a sensual quality, like sun-hardened honey.
Whether he's despairing over leaving a lover or taking a lover
on, it can be as soothing as being a newborn cuddled by a lullaby.
On “Sun Moon Earth,” the first cut, Coleron sings
this chorus:
The sun is in my hands
The moon is in my eyes
The earth my love
And it runs through my head at all hours of the day and night.
I wake up singing.
“To Mr. Moe,” the second track, switches from fourth
to third gear as Coleron laments about “the way we use
and abuse this land.” “It's only a matter of time
before we rise,” he sings, “it's about caring for
a sacred land. About loving yourself and your fellow man...
You might say that I am aiming high. Damn right it's life.”
The next two songs, “I'll Just Wait” and “I
Leave You” grind down to a slow churn as we get a glimpse
into Coleron's tender heart. We find him waiting on love as
he sings:
I feel your beauty flowing within
And I would like to fire your kiln
And then spin you around my skin
But I'll just wait.
Then he goes on to express the pain of leaving love gone wrong:
“Many gifts you gave to me. I'd give them all back for
your loyalty.”
On the title track, Coleron walks through silt and miles of
aldered hill to make his way to a lover. The song seems to walk
right through to track six, “One by One,” the most
experimental song on the album. Bouncy bass and jazzy percussion
are framed by melodic keyboard and a Debbie Harry-style free-form
rap. The lyrics tackle transcendental soul ascension and an
earth where only love remains.
The album winds down through glimpses of Coleron's thoughts
and dilemmas. Inside the jewel case is a picture of an American
flag half buried in sand.
Coleron has made a big mark on the Anchorage music scene. Silt
is the second recording he's released in Alaska while dividing
his time between hosting a weekly open mic at Snow City Cafe
and performing his music live at bars, coffee shops and festivals.
The first time I saw him perform, the hair on my arms stood
up and my heart rattled. I'm happy to report that Silt captures
the energy of his live shows - and that every word, every phrase,
every song is placed perfectly.
Coleron heads for Boston in August; the chances of him coming
back without a record contract are, I'd say, slim to none. F
Solo act gets support on diverse disc
JOSH NIVA
Anchorage Daily News
Staff
Dan Coleron could stand alone musically. He could comfortably
wrap himself in the many facets that make him unique -- his
songs, voice, piano, acoustic guitar and harmonica -- and create
perfectly good folk music in the remaining space. But with his
new release, "Silt," Coleron surrounded his music
with sounds he can't create and enveloped himself with influences
he can't deny. And that, mixed with all the things the 26-year-old
musician already is, could be the best indication of the artist
he can become.
Coleron's emergence in "Silt," a 10-song album released
two years after his debut, "Bird Point," is as rich
and fine in rhythm as the title suggests. But labeling the venture
a solo album would clearly miss the project. Coleron is indeed
the heart of the album, but it's the elements he stacked around
him that make the record whole.
The groundwork started at Coleron's songwriting source, where
he drew inspiration and creative release from three interweaving
passions: romance, nature and music. These exercises in love,
Alaska, David Gray and Manu Chao have led Coleron to a place
where he now stands fearless as a songwriter. That confidence
shines in the pace of the album, which rocks ("Silt"),
rolls ("Sun Moon Earth"), hip-hops ("One by One")
and drops ("I'll Just Wait") but remains true to its
folk foundation.
"I listen to a lot of albums that don't change much from
track to track," Coleron said. "This one does, from
a Spanish/Latin rhythm to a hip-hop sort of thing to a Middle
Eastern groove. I think that's one of best parts of the whole
project, how diverse the songs are."
But providing those sounds took more than Coleron's acoustic
guitar and piano could supply, so the man who could play independently
called for backup. A mighty musical support group answered in
the ever-present Kris Rosentrater (percussion) and Nathan Engebretson
(upright bass), along with the subtle presence of co-producer/engineer
Sean Cobb (the album was recorded in Cobb's basement studio
in Eagle River). Coleron also tapped local star Emily Tornfelt
for background vocals and violin help. The results made Coleron
proud to stand amongst a crowd.
"I'm extremely happy with it," said Coleron, who called
the collaborations loose and fluid. "I loved it; it was
probably my favorite group of musicians I've ever played with.
They're all so talented and professional."
With the album complete, Coleron will attempt to stand on his
own. First, he'll offer his new album to locals at a pair of
anticipated record-release parties ("It's like the crew
of a shipyard at the first sail of a ship," Coleron said
of the importance of the events.). Then, this fall, he'll end
his six-year stay in the Anchorage area by returning to his
home state of Massachusetts, where he will learn if his music
can stand out in a sea of bands and musicians.
"It's definitely time to do this thing," Coleron said.
Reporter Josh Niva can be reached at jniva@adn.com.
Dan Coleron celebrates the release of "Silt" with
a pair of
CD-release parties: 8 p.m. Friday, May 16, at Snow City Cafe,
1034 W. Fourth Ave., and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 17, at Borders
Books and Music, 1100 E. Dimond Blvd. Coleron hosts an open
mike at
7 p.m. every Sunday at Snow City Cafe.
To listen to "Silt" and "Sun Moon Earth"
from Dan Coleron's album "Silt," find this story on
www.adn.com.
For more info on Dan Coleron, visit www.dancoleron.com.
Dan's plan
There are some interesting sounds on Dan Coleron's new album,
"Silt." How did they get there? Coleron explains.
* The didgeridoo on the folksy hip-hop groove "One by One"?
"That was a song I was stressing over. It was missing something
for the longest time, and I didn't want to leave it like that.
Then I had a great idea. A didg! I gave Scott (Pavey) an idea,
and he nailed it. I've got a lot of compliments on it. Didg
players don't get their props."
* The unknown female vocalist on "Got Me Going"?
"The backup harmony is my girlfriend (Sarah Zipkin). She's
not a singer, but she can keep a pitch. She never sang into
a mike before. And it's the one song on the album that's about
her, so it worked out really good."
Show Reviews
Trio of Duos' showcases some
of Anchorage's best music talent
EFFLUX: Dan Coleron and his computer put together a great show.
Matt Hopper
Daily News Music Reviewer
Freelance
Anchorage received another gift from our artistic community
last Friday when Dan Coleron's Efflux Productions rolled out
''A Trio of Duos'' for a good-sized crowd at the University
of Alaska Anchorage's Recital Hall, upping the ante for professionalism
on a local level. Sporting a rare necktie, Coleron opened the
evening much like Mike McCormick opens a Whistling Swan show,
greeting the audience and rolling out, with humor, an overview
of the evening.
The name Efflux comes from a Ralph Waldo Emerson essay and means
''steadily flowing forth'' -- Coleron's mantra for life and
his musical career. Walt Whitman's poem ''Soon Shall the Winter's
Foil Be Here'' was read and the show started.
The first artist to take the stage, Emily Tornfelt, was joined
by her father Robert Tornfelt on upright bass. Despite the fact
she missed school that day for being ill and showed signs of
sickness, the 17-year-old songstress performed with an air of
professionalism far beyond her years.
Tornfelt's song-writing style evokes a young Ani DiFranco with
a fixation on moonlit imagery and quirky chord structures. She
showed her versatility by throwing in a few tunes that spotlighted
her finger-picking and skilled use of harmonics.
Fans of the Tornfelt family legacy know about Emily's older
sister, Annalisa, one of Emily's biggest musical influences.
The most touching song of night came when Emily sang a song
she wrote when her sister moved to the West coast. The mood
and imagery of the song brought us into the inner circle as
the sisters embraced their jump from childhood into adulthood,
the eldest offering a few bits of advice before walking ahead
alone, into the night and the future.
Although she played 10 songs, Emily's short, sweet, get to the
point songwriting craft kept the crowd intact.
Melissa Mitchell and Dawn Venters, the next duo to perform,
were a somber contrast to the Tornfelts' bouncy, livelier songs.
With a calm, assured and silky voice, Mitchell changed the mood
of the crowd almost immediately with her first song, while Venters
proved she could hold her own against Robert Tornfelt's ''bachelor's
in cello'' performance.
Mitchell's songs varied between sensitive ballads and the danceable,
peppy ''Little Children,'' which showcased her ability to belt
out some high voltage damage in short bursts, lending a powerful
hand to her otherwise long and brooding songs.
After a short intermission, Coleron took to the stage with an
elfish grin and upright bassist Nathan Engebretson. He started
out with a scorcher of a song, blending in a boisterous harmonica
that accented the overall sound nicely.
Coleron's style of strumming is unique in that it mimics the
thumb picking, walking bass line players of old, but uses the
thumb position to thump the guitar and strings to create a percussive
effect essential to Coleron's rich and colorful acoustic sound.
The Venezuelan native has a bright, uplifting quality that shines
through in his folk-pop songs, creating those positive vibrations
that lend itself easily to dancing.
Coleron's humor is also a drawing point that makes it easy to
feel his music on a real level. He told the tale of ''The Futon
Song,'' a track off his latest album ''Bird Point,'' in which
two characters in the song were real-life pets: Reba the rat,
and Max the parrot. One of the pets hated Coleron with a passion,
and the other escaped with him from Boston to Anchorage, where
it died a peaceful death and floated down Crow Creek during
its eulogy.
Although it's easy to laugh when Coleron tells of how he had
to call his brother in Florida to learn how to put his tie on
correctly before the show, the most memorable pieces of Coleron's
puzzle is his keen sense of melody and his ability to hook you
with a killer line and keep you dialed in for his entire set.
In addition to a great night of music, it must be noted that
Efflux Productions -- essentially Coleron and his computer --
produced an overall visual package that rivaled the musical
side of the event. Beautiful programs, posters, and tickets
all shared a common theme and gave the listener something to
bring home and remember.
Matt Hopper is the new KNBA music director and a supporter and
active member of the local music community.
JOSH NIVA
Staff
Anchorage Daily News
Dan Coleron is merely a single man, but Thursday night he played
as if he were five. Coleron wasn't intimidated by the size of
'90s rock band Blind Melon
(five members) when he chose to single-handedly cover three
of the band's songs for The Big Cover Up at UAA's Wendy Williamson
Auditorium.
He was confident his acoustic guitar, harmonica and quick hands
for percussion would provide a full sound.
Remembering the lyrics was another story.
"I knew the songs, but I just kinda knew the lyrics,"
Coleron admitted after he flawlessly ripped through the set
in front of an all-ages crowd of more than 400.
"Dan is Superman," said Jared Woods, guitarist for
The Roman Candles. "I don't know how he does the things
he does."
Sometimes Coleron doesn't, either. He thought he was in a bit
of trouble Wednesday, the day before the show, so he rushed
to the Internet and printed out Blind Melon lyrics. His cram
session carried into Thursday night, when less than a half hour
before hitting the stage, he was rehearsing backstage while
reading directly from the sheets. He didn't look concerned because
he wasn't. Coleron had a Plan B.
"If I felt really nervous about it," he said, "I
was just going to cover the Grateful Dead instead."
Jerry Garcia never made an appearance Thursday, but the musical
spirits of Johnny Cash, Bob Marley and Tom Petty did as nine
local bands and musicians covered their favorites artists with
three-song tributes in The Big Cover Up, a fundraiser for the
American Red Cross of Alaska. Event organizers said the show
made between $2,500 and $2,700 for the Red Cross.
Sunshine from the Cusp of
Magic
By Crystal Hutchens
AK This Month
You could almost smell the natural talent as Dan Coleron took
the U.A.A. recital hall stage on Valentines Day. He immediately
made a joke pose for a photographer up in the balcony. He was
one of twenty-four performers that evening, but he stood out
from them all.
I had caught a snippet of his song while he was rehearsing back
stage so I knew I was in for a treat. Nothing prepared me for
his angelic stage presence. In yellow tinted glasses, which
he says are for fun and coping with the winter blues, and a
snug hat he spun the audience into a web of undulating crescendos.
Notes that might stand still if they were in someone else’s
song inadvertently ascended octaves and cascaded down the opposite
side. In the spectrum of one serendipitous song we were led
through the heart of the Serengeti and on to the banks of a
riverside as he discovered “ …the will to survive…the
sun is in my hands, the moon is in my eyes, the Earth my love.”
His fingers seem to bounce off the strings as he teases music
from his guitar, and the jaunty playing causes a percussive
effect. Although his mother, who is from Venezuela and played
Spanish guitar at a young age, taught him his first chord when
he was fifteen, he has only been playing regularly since he
was eighteen. Now twenty-five, a Cancer on the cusp of Gemini
(known as the cusp of magic, ah ha), he seems wise beyond his
years. And it shows in his voice.
Experience flows through him in emotional lyrics and his vocals
are like pools of honey glistening in sunlight. On his album
“Bird Point”, released in ‘01, many of his
songs transport the listener to another realm. In the somber
and mood altering At Least, the listener walks through a forest
wood and into the cratered moon. He belts out the chorus “At
least, I have my release” in his traveling octave way,
getting help from Annalisa Woodlee (formerly Tornfelt) on background
harmonies.
Perhaps the best track on the album has the most unassuming
title. The “Futon Song” smacks of every struggling
songwriter’s tale. In the line, “and where am I,
I’m sitting on top of a golden mine, I need to dig a little
more through the grime…” you sense at once that
he is indeed the gold mine, whether he meant it that way or
not.
Every Sunday night Coleron hosts an open-mic at Snow City Café,
and what a gracious host he is. He gives the impression that
he is as comfortable greeting and chatting with the players
as he might be if he were hosting a party in his own living
room. To get the show started, he plays a song or two from his
wealth of over sixty original tunes. He then casually introduces
each performer and the loosely knit group of mostly regulars
applauds cordially as each act takes the stage. Dan twiddles
knobs to adjust the sound and then mingles with the audience
members while they play. Occasionally, you will catch him darting
zigzags through the crowd as a performer is leaving the stage
so he can set up for the next act.
Before Coleron came along, Anchorage was lacking for the kind
of professional open-mic you find in bigger cities like Boston
where he is from. He’s kept it going for a couple of years
now and it has paid off. The weekly venue is as popular and
well run as the open-mics I have visited in Portland, OR. It
has also inspired other open-mics around town.
We are fortunate that a friend turned him onto the idea of visiting
Alaska. He took a greyhound from Boston to San Francisco, hitched
up the coast and caught a ride from Vancouver to Anchorage.
He liked it here so much that he went home, packed his things
and moved here. That was five years ago this March.
Actively involved in performing he has had gigs booked in Homer
and Girdwood this past month alone, in addition to his weekly
hosting duties. And he's now ready to record a new album with
his current band, The Dan Coleron Trio, with Nathan Engebretson;
formerly of SpeakEasy on standup bass, and Kris Rosentrator;
formerly of many Anchorage bands including the Drunk Poets and
Next Twelve on drums. He hopes to be going in to the studio
in May and he's also working toward getting on the college tour
circuit.
When asked what inspires him he says it’s a combination
of Japanese Hawaiian Jewish Princesses, mountains and sunsets
these days. I hope there are many in his future. For more on
Dan visit his site at www.dancoleron.com.
