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(UK) "JAW DROPPING" -
5 stars - CD Baby
(Germany) "ROCK COLOSSUS" -
4.5 stars - Eclipsed Magazine
(USA) "ABSTRACT, CEREBRAL, ANGULAR, QUIRKY & JARRING"- All Music.com
(Australia )"A MAELSTROM OF MUSIC" - ModMove
(Mexico) "SUPERDYNAMIC" - Tarkus
(Netherlands) "INTELLIGENCE, HUMOUR & GUSTO" - JazzFlits
(Italy) "INSTRUMENTAL VERTIGO" - Eventyr Records
(Serbia) "BLOODY HARD ROCK" - Rock Express
(Portugal) "PERFECT PERFORMANCE" - Prog-Pt
(Russia) "3 COMPLETELY WILD & CRAZY GUYS" - In Rock Magazine
(France) "A REVELATION" - Harmonie Magazine
(Japan) "PUNCHY AGGRESSIVE ATTITUDE" - Euro Rock Press Magazine
(South Korea) "BRAND NEW JAZZ" - Jazzmatazz
(Chile) "TIGHT AND EXCELLENT BAND" - Arproch
(Norway) "ACTIVE INSANITY" - Tarkus
(Mexico) "SIMPLY ASTONISHING & UNCLASSIFIABLE" - Radio Educativa
(Costa Rica) "ON MY TOP 10 LIST for 2003"- Musica Progressiva
(Panama) "UNIQUE AND PROGRESSIVE FORCE" - Mundo Rock Zero
(Spain) "TRUE VIRTUOSI" - Spanish Progressive Rock
(Finland) "WHAT THE DICKENS" - Colossus Magazine
(Latvia) "TRUE MASTERS OF THEIR TRADE"- Panaceja
(Indoneisa) "I WAS STUNNED" - Metal East Teen
(Denmark) "YOU'RE WARNED" - Music By Mail
(Scotland) "SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE" - Zeitgeist
(Uzbekistan) "MIND-BLOWING" -
(Argentina) "WELCOME TO THEIR WORLD: EXTREME SENSATIONS" - Nucleus
(Israel) "RELENTLESS INTENSITY" -
(Quebec, Canada) "EXCELLENT WORK " Proglands
(Panama) "ENORMOUS MUSICAL CUFF ON THE EARS"- Avant Garde Music
(Belgium) "NEW AND ADVENTUROUS" - Radio Dakka Dakka
(Canada) "NOT A DULL MOMENT" - Proggnosis
(UK) "BOUNDARIES ARE BROKEN" - Hairless Heart Herald
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Reviews
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I can't believe this record --really!
This rating goes to 5 stars: unfortunately I can't allocate it a hundred bright shiny things! This is an excellent record for ANYONE. Jaw-dropping stuff for musicians, especially. They'll wig out to the melodies, which interact in tasty fashion with the time sigs and quirky rhythms. Highly recommended, folks!-- d. h. spider
CD Baby
August 2006
"Rock Colossus"
Eclipsed Magazine
(Germany)
TriPod's debut CD was released three years ago but was not officially offered for the first time in our region until now. It is impossible to ignore, and necessitates us giving new and intense consideration to this Rock Colossus, which plays without guitar or keyboard. Using only bass, drums and saxophone, this trio has a unique configuration and fits within a musical grouping including artists such as John Zorn and Frank Zappa. Similar to "21st Century Schizoid Man", which was devilish and made you look over your shoulder all the time, TriPod's "Dance of the Kabuki" is another example of how to escalate the joy of music; the perfection of the piece is incomparable. "Conversation Drag" awakens your senses to great ideas that others would surely make into a entire album. "As The Sun" with its art rock disposition could be compared to Crimso's work such as "The Court of the Crimson King", which is extreme.
--ChiPot
Eclipsed Magazine
Translated by Iris Romano
Inspired New York sounds "TriPod" at the Zappanale 17 - Grand rock without guitar and key board!
Good rock music without guitar and keyboard - can that be played at all? With "TriPod" it is. The New York band, with the songs of singer and bassist Clint Bahr, was a first time visiting artist at the 17th annual Zappanale in Bad Doberan. Musicians from Germany and from around the world met at that three-day Music Marathon in Mecklenburgian, which always inspires thousands of new fans. The festival at the Baltic Sea coast is a unique and international homage to the American avant-garde composer Frank Zappa and his music. In addition to the Progressive Metal Jazz Jam Rock of "TriPod", also to be experienced at Zappanale 17 was Hochkaraeter. In addition were special guest stars, guitarist Adrian Belew (USA), discovered by Frank Zappa, and also jazz rock legend Soft Machine from Great Britain.
The most grand, and remarkable, were the songs of Clint Bahr and his two fellow band members Steve Romano (drums) and Keith Gurland (saxophone). One could hear influences of King Crimson, Jethro Tull and also jazz legend John Coltrane. Clint Bahr admitted that they were not familiar with much of Frank Zappa's works. Nevertheless, the Zappanale consists of approximately 70 percent of interpretations of the music by the "Maestro" played enthusiastically by performers and 30 percent progressive rock. "The best thing about being here, however, is the public. They really impressed me" said the bassist. "Without exception, they are connoisseurs of the scene. That is a rare experience."
--Bernd Hamann
Der Anzeigenkurier
TriPod's music can be best described as a conglomeration of Black Sabbath, Metallica, King Crimson and Van der Graaf Generator. The band plays a strange mixture of instruments, Bass, Drums and Sax. An amazing live act !-Burg Herzberg Festival
March 2006
"ABSTRACT, CEREBRAL, ANGULAR, QUIRKY, CLUTTERED & JARRING!"
All Music.com
(USA)
TriPod is a rarity: a rock band that has never used a guitarist and has gone out of its way to broadcast that fact. The guitar, of course, is the instrument that has guided countless rock artists over the years — from Chuck Berry's rockabilly in the '50s to Bob Dylan's folk-rock in the '60s and '70s to Slipknot's forceful alternative metal in the '90s and 2000s, terms like "guitar-powered" and "guitar-driven" have been applicable to the vast majority of rock recordings. But TriPod is among the exceptions; the New York City-based threesome has, since the late '90s, been rocking loudly and aggressively without the use of a guitarist. TriPod's sound, which is best described as avant-garde rock or alternative rock, is essentially built around horns (mostly sax), electric bass, and drums — a combination of instruments that one would expect to find in avant-garde jazz rather than rock.
And in fact, avant-garde jazz — especially electric avant-garde jazz — is a strong influence on TriPod, whose influences have ranged from Ornette Coleman & Prime Time and Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society to John Zorn, King Crimson, Primus, Yoko Ono, and the late Frank Zappa. There are, at times, hints of Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music in TriPod's work, but Roxy Music was much smoother and a lot more polished; TriPod can be a very noisy, chaotic band — Roxy Music was never as abrasive as TriPod, whose members clearly identify with the inspired, passionate chaos of free jazz. The New Yorkers do not go out of their way to be accessible; their material can be abstract, cerebral, angular, quirky, cluttered, and jarring — and that fondness for abstraction has made the threesome perfect for the downtown Manhattan club scene, where hipsters who fancy Henry Threadgill, Ann Dyer, and Ivo Perelman have also been known to appreciate avant rockers such as My World, Mark D., Dadadah, Lo Galluccio, and Philadelphia's Huffamoose.
TriPod was formed in 1998, when Clint Bahr (lead vocals, electric bass) joined forces with reedman Keith Gurland (alto and tenor sax, clarinet, flute, background vocals). From the beginning, Bahr and Gurland agreed that TriPod would use neither guitar nor keyboards — and while a lack of keyboards isn't all that unusual for rock, the absence of a guitarist and the fact that Bahr and Gurland had no desire to hire one made TriPod stand out in the Big Apple's insanely crowded rock scene. Between 1998 and 2001, Bahr and Gurland went through a series of drummers — in terms of drummers, TriPod was a revolving door during that period. But in 2002, the drummer position became more stable with the arrival of Steve Romano (who is still with the band). TriPod had only been together a few months when, in 1998, they caught the attention of Genya Ravan, formerly of the '70s horn band Ten Wheel Drive. In 1999, Ravan produced TriPod's debut album; in 2003, they recorded their sophomore album (a self-titled disc) for the Moonjune label and co-produced it with Ron Allaire.
--Alex Henderson
All Music.com
November 2005
"A MAELSTROM OF MUSIC"
ModMove
(Australia)
There are those that say the true avant-garde doesn’t and cannot exist in recorded music. That as music goes through the recording process, it becomes something commercial in nature and the danger and unpredictability is removed. While there is some truth in those words, there are music projects that are so far removed from the mainstream and so challenging that they come close to fitting that lofty description.
TriPod, the band and album hail from New York City and that location makes perfect sense when you spin the 14 tracks. Just like walking down the streets of NYC and hearing a different language and seeing a different lifestyle around every corner, the songs here constantly evolve and change, almost every bar itself is a self-contained composition. Also like the Big Apple with its constant change of cadence in the spoken word, the tracks here almost defy all standard time signatures. In most hands this level of movement would equate to an unmitigated mess, not so here.
This trio sounds like a mix of so many different bands that it transcends mere comparisons and becomes unique. Imagine 12 string bass, bass pedals, flute, sax, clarinet, theremin, drums and acoustic and electronic percussion just to name a few, used and abused in the service of some very original compositions. It’s beyond metal, with its entrenched tempo and jazz with its predictable unpredictability, this stuff is truly out there.
Clint Bahr, Steve Romano and Keith Gurland are to be congratulated for creating a maelstrom of music this distinctive and demanding. Play TriPod after any music you can think of and it sounds like the illogical conclusion of mad muse and musical might.
-Rob Hudson
ModMove.com
A Full Theater that Was Testimony of the Importance of the Festival! Kudos to Alfonso Vidals who surely will have better statistics than ever since the theater was packed to bursting, I was bathed in the great music of the American band TriPod, who made good vibrations with the assistance of a superdynamic saxophonist who along with vocalist-bass player, stimulated the spirits of the audience.
Tarkus
November 2005
"TALENT & SINCERITY"
El Regional
(newspaper)
(Mexico)
These New Yorkers are led by Keith Gurland, replacing the 5-chord rock of a Fender guitar, and are a trio emanating insinuating sounds of the Oregon style. The blonde and thin bass player has a look in the style of Peter Frampton and also executed sound effects with pedals, that rather seemed archaic analogs to the speed of the rhythm section of Clint Bahr and Steve Romano, in a demonstration of talent and sincerity, accompanying the lead player who played melody on saxophone (alto and tenor) wireless, in addition to clarinet. This band declared openly that one of their creations was an improvisation.
-Juan David Arenas Arellano
El Regional
November 2005
"KITCHEN OF A CHINESE RESTAURANT"
Ray Bennett / FLASH
(UK)
Some friends of mine from New York City - TriPod - came across very well at Baja. Clint Bahr on twelve string bass/vocals. Steve Romano on drums (his set-up looks like the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant) and Keith Gurland on saxes, flute and effects pedals. Keith's a great jazz improviser and on top of that he ran around the stage through much of the show blowing like a madman, jumping over monitors from one end of the sizeable stage to the other and somehow managing to avoid disappearing into the audience. I would vote him a bronze medal at least, for the sprint, and maybe a silver for the hurdle. With somersaults and back-flips he would have got the gold.
-Ray Bennett
FLASH
The New York trio TriPod are a modern descendant of progressive rock bands from the seventies, such as King Crimson and Van Der Graff Generator. That is not to say that TriPod is making old-fashioned music, it's their musical attitude. Just like the previously mentioned examples, or more recent bands such as Dr. Nerve and the Dutch Blast, TriPod's reedsman Keith Gurland, bass player/singer Clint Bahr, and drummer/percussionist Steve Romano combine the energy of rock with the complexity of jazz and modern classical music.
Bahr and Romano lay the rhythmic foundation, about which the melodies of Gurland now and again meander, and then all three combine in their complexity. The trio plays songs and sometimes abstract instrumental pieces, among which are a pair of studio improvisations. Everything is played with intelligence, humour and gusto, which would certainly radiate even more in their live performances. I would gladly go to see them at the Paradiso or wherever they are in the galaxy.
-Herman te Loo
JazzFlits Magazine
February 2005
"INSTRUMENTAL VERTIGO"
Eventyr Records
(Italy)
Does a bass/drums/sax trio come to mind? Obviously, your first thought should be Morphine, the only known current band of this kind that I am aware of. Well, now there is also TriPod, a trio with Steve Romano (drums), Keith Gurland (mostly sax, occasionally flute and clarinet) and Clint Bahr (bass and vocals). To be honest, compared to TriPod, Morphine is a meaningless band, and TriPod shows an extraordinary example of how possible it is to create a fully progressive rock band renouncing guitars, which many illustrious bands did, and renouncing keyboards, too. An instrumental vertigo based on a very powerful and creative rhythm section, full of dynamism with innumerable time signatures and mood changes, while the sax swings from purely jazz convulsions to lyric passages, from melodic and grandiose to dissonant parts, accompanied by very impetuous and masculine lead vocals. The band's sound is close to the Rock-In-Opposition (RIO) sound (this CD easily can be featured on well-known Cuneiform Records) but dispensing with derivative self-imposed improvisations, and preserving the melodic, song-oriented flavor: an example is the second part of "Trip The Light", a sort of the high-fashioned "avant garde pop-jazz". A powerful release, a pearl in the small but very significant MoonJune catalog, the CD ends with seven grandiose minutes of "As The Sun", an amazing prog tune masterfully arranged with unique instrumentation.
-Michele Chiusi
Eventyr Records
Can you imagine a band with no guitars and no keyboards which delivers a true bloody hard rock with a lot of energy? TriPod is the most unusual musical ensemble that I ever had the chance to listen to:The band consists of 12-string bass (Clint Bahr): clarinet, flute and sax (Keith Gurland) and drums (Steve Romano). Bass emphasizes the harmonic parts, while sax's duty is to take care of riffs. Drums and percussion contribute to the full rich sound. With all that you don't miss the other usual instruments. TriPod bases its sound on psychedelic rock mixed with melodic 80's rock with free jazz influence and cabaret flavor. Really, really nteresting.
-Zoran Rogosic
Rock Express
November 2004
"PERFECT PERFORMANCE"
Prog-PT
(Portugal)
Well, what do we have here...? A trio, right? Right! Clint Bahr on vocals and bass, Steve Romano on drums and percussion and Keith Gurland on sax, flute and clarinet. But...what the hell? No keyboards? No guitar? Right! This New York-based band may catch anyone's attention just because of its lineup, but the point is that they really don't need to use this fact for promotion since their music is what really matters. And in what it takes to music, well, we're at the frontier between progressive rock and jazz-rock. The instrumentation leads the music into this style which gains the progressive flavour through the refined composition and emotive vocals, and the jazz-rock flavour through some feeling of improvisation and the perfect performance by these guys. Jerome's Spotlight warns us on what's to come. Despite being some kind of intro, here you can check the spirit that reigns in their mind. Explosive moments supported by intricated rhythms, some fun and the blowing instruments leading the way. Trip The Light reveals the leaning into Crimsonesque areas, mainly circa "Red". But there's not that dark atmosphere that King Crimson usually set. Dance of the Kabukiis one the highlights of this work. Mind-blowing, should I say! There are some traces of Echolyn here, but these guys are from an even more weird planet! No Diamond Cries really defies the fact of this band being a trio since it's incredible how they populate all the sonic spectrum; a very symphonic track, indeed!There are also tracks which are live studio improvisations like Smoke & Mirrors and Fuzz but, to be honest, they seem like well thought-out atmospheric tracks, mainly the first one. I could spend the rest of the review pointing this and that track, but I really feel short of words as each track advances. There are no two similar tracks. Each one is a great surprise! So, if you are into Jazz-Rock and you like King Crimson, Echolyn and love superbly performed music, do yourself a favour and spend your money with this band!
Spulit
Prog-PT
November 2004
"GENIUS"
OBSCURO MUSIC
(USA)
TriPod is comprised of the genius of Clint Bahr (bass - 4, 8, 10, and 12-string), Keith Gurland (saxophones) and Steve Romano(drums/percussion). This New York City band has created an impressive debut CD, called simply TriPod. This ten-track CD covers a wide range of styles ranging from avant-garde to nearly electronic dance music. You'll hear echoes of Gong, Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music, and Frank Zappa among others, but TriPod has a unique style all their own.
Obscuro Music
July 2004
"WE JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH
Tripod"
Progressive Edge
(USA)
We just can't get enough TriPod, and apparently neiher can anyone else who's heard them. They have been playing numerous gigs in the New York Area, and have released their first official CD, called, surprisingly enough "TriPod". The trio of Clint Bahr (bass, vocals), Keith Gurland (saxophones) and Steve Romano (percussion) continues to chart an unusual course through the world of modern music.
The band prides itself on not using keyboards or guitars, and you might think someting was missing. Well, it's not. These guys produce a great, solid sound with a lot of theatrical flair. In their first EP, they sounded a lot like Gong, and while you can still hear that influence they have clearly charted a course of their own. The album has a fresh sound, surprising at times, with manic saxophone, lots of tempo changes and complex rhythms, and a hint of the dramatique of French/German cabaret, riminiscent of Roxy Music. They bring excellent musicianship to this well produced album, although one occasionally wishes for a little more of their quiet material for a respite from the craziness.
TriPod is perhaps a bit of acquired taste, but if you like bands such as Gong, Hawkwind, Gentle Giant, Van der Graaf Generator, and even some of Bowie's more avant garde material with an emphasis on dynamix rhythms and surprising twists in the music, you'll find something here to interest you. We know we really enjoy this band and find their musical explorations fascinating and uniue.
Robert
Progressive Edge
We got 3 copies of this disc, from 3 different sources.
TriPod are three completely wild -and-crazy guys: Steve Romano, percussion; Clint Bahr, lead vocals, 12-string bass, and bass pedals; Keith Gurland, alto and tenor sax, flute, clarinet and back-up vocals. Unconventional, yes, combining rhythm section, vocals and wind instruments, but if you think about it, the group "Me and my friend the truck " [Ya i Druk Moy Gruzovik] made do without the wind instruments. Incidentally, TriPod's energy and the way they handle their material is perfectly comparable to that of YaIDMG: both of them are way reckless, both their styles are devil-may-care youthful abandon. In addition, TriPod hasn't escaped a certain influence of alternative music, though the roots of their style are completely other: hard-fusion, the hardest kind of be-bop and the improvised saxophone madness of King Crimson's "Pictures of a City".
A couple of their compositions are true improv, born in the heat of a recording session. Everything sounds the way it ought to, considering TriPod's make-up and philosophy: lean, ascetic, heavy, masculine, at times in-your-face but not angry or aggressive, rather, dark and ironic. The moan of the clarinet, the laughter of the sax against the background of the skillfully twisted jazz-like riffs, the rumble of the monster bass, and sporadic electronic effects…
Spending some time with TriPod is the best way to prove to yourself that you are still alive, especially if you play 3 discs at the same time at full blast.
Helen
In Rock Magazine
Translation courtesy Misha Norton
Sometimes it happens (at least to me) like this: I listen to a new album for the first time - and I'm absolutely disappointed. Even if I give the album more tries, nothing changes - the album remains a flop. The CD disappears onto my CD-shelf and gets dusty and forgotten until, after a year, I pull it out again, put it into the player – and it works. It may be because my gusto has developed during the last months (at least, I hope so); it may be that I wasn't in the mood for the dirty, urban rock-jazz-prog, nevertheless – on this present day I say:
rocks,
The noisy, rattling rhythm section; the obscene (I can't think of a better word for) saxophone that sounds so wonderfully indecent that you could picture yourself in the darkest, dirtiest part of a city, in a really bad gin palace; the very extroverted vocals (which are very seventies-alike to me... perhaps something between Steve Harley, Alex Harvey and Glamrock à la early Roxy Music): everything convinces me now.
(Finland)
