Colorway

This is a rock and roll record. No doubt everyone will draw their own conclusions, that's the beauty of music. But for those who are looking for a sound bite or Twitter-length summary, 'This is a rock and roll record' frames it perfectly. Rock and roll, of course, has many variations-different colors, different hues. And so it is with the debut release of Colorway: Each song looks out from a different perspective and feel. Each tune wanders down it's own melodious path. Each lyric spins a different tale. Each song has it's own Colorway. With the release of this eponymous recording, the members of Colorway hope to bring listeners to the same magical place they inhabited while making the record, which is the reason music touches all of us in so many ways. Frontman/songwriter F. Alex Johnson started the band in the winter of 2012 after taking a five-year hiatus from recording. Formerly lead guitarist and co-founder of the Northampton, Mass. Roots-rockers Drunk Stuntmen, he left the band in 2008, but never stopped writing, practicing and performing. Since 2004, Alex has been busy touring at home and abroad as the guitarist with senior sensations The Young@Heart Chorus. But his passion for telling his own stories with their own musical hues led him to assemble Colorway. The band takes on the classic power trio format with Johnson on guitar and vocals, JJ O'Connell on drums, percussion and backing vocals, and Dave Hayes on bass and backing vocals. The songs strive to blend the personal with the universal. Love, loss, regret, and redemption are recurring themes throughout the record, but there are many more subtle emotional colors as well. And like a famous quote, a lover's note, or even a poignant piece of graffiti, Alex and his band hope the album's tunes and tales linger in the listener's memory. The band believes it has created something unique, but because we live in a age of comparisons, let's just say Colorway's debut should please fans of XTC, Nils Lofgren, Beck, Wilco, Richard Thompson, and The Black Crowes. So while this may be a rock and roll record, it's really just a way of starting a conversation. And from that point on it'll be up to the listener to decide if they want to keep in touch. Just about everyone has a favorite color. And with the release of 'Colorway' the band hopes the listener may find one or more of the 12 hues on the record's palette to happily call their own. Produced by F. Alex Johnson Recorded by Mark Alan Miller at Sonelab Studios in Easthampton, MA in April and May, 2013.