Article 66

For the past ten years Article 66 has been a driving force on an otherwise lean Miami rock scene. The progressive hard rock band from Miami, Florida is calling it quits after a decade of playing anywhere and everywhere, building a strong following of rock die hards. The band, which has endured numerous lineup changes over the last ten years, will be playing its last show on Thursday, May 31st at the Goose Lounge in Coconut Grove.

Throughout the years, Article 66 has gone through many of the standard rock and roll cliches from members hitting the lows of rehab, prison and boredom to the euphoria of releasing their first album, the self-titled “Article 66” in 2008. Article 66 achieved moderate success away from the confines of Miami opening up for bands like Mudvayne, Nonpoint, Hed PE and In this Moment, while touring the United States and playing shows in Nashville, Atlanta, Panama City Beach, Harrisburg, and NYC.

The current lineup for Article 66 consists of founding member Tony Tomas on vocals and guitar, Leo Codias on drums and Mike Luca on bass. Although this will be the last time you see these three individuals performing as Article 66, they plan on going out with a bang.

We caught up with founding member Tony Tomas this week.

When did Article 66 begin?

TT: I started the band in 2001 while I was in law school. When the band started, there were 4 members and three of them were law students at UM. Shortly after the band started, the drummer (whose name we won’t mention due to legal reasons), had to go to rehab to treat his rampant drug problem. He eventually got out of rehab and played a number of shows with the band. The band built a very strong following in a short span of time and made a name for themselves in the Miami music scene. Once they graduated from law school, myself and a couple of band mates/law students passed the bar. Unfortunately, the drummer’s demons caught up with him and he got arrested and subsequently disbarred. We think he lives in Texas now, but who knows. (Laughs) It’s just a rock and roll moment, every band has those right? So this was the first of multiple line-up changes for the band. Eventually the band found a new drummer and brought in a rapper (DJ JAM) to add a hip-hop element to the group’s sound. At that point, there were five band members. Eventually, the drummer and the rapper left the band and Article 66 (now a trio) took a new direction into the realm of dark, progressive rock. This was in 2008, after the album was released. Since then the band’s direction took a turn towards darker more melodic music and here was where we really found ourselves musically. The band has seen a great deal of success having toured throughout the country and having shared the stage with acts such as Mudvayne and In this Moment. It has been a great ride.

What were the factors behind the band’s direction?

TT: The band started out as a metal/hard rock/punk group, then morphed into a punk/nu-metal group. Today, the band can best be described as prog rock/alternative. The lyrics are dark and, at times, abstract. The music is heavy and aggressive, yet melodic and sophisticated.

Your 2008 album “Article 66”, tell us about the Miami angle behind the songs on that.

TT: There are 16 songs on the album. Leo and I grew up in Miami and write all of the band’s music. The album doesn’t necessarily have a Miami angle other than being created by a couple of guys who have been playing music in Miami for the past 20 years. (Laughs) Well I guess that is the Miami angle.

What can your fans expect at the farewell show?

TT: The fans will experience the band at its best performing its best music. The fans can expect DJ JAM to make a special appearance and perform a couple of the songs from the first album.

Musical plans once Article 66 ends?

TT: The band has 20 songs that have been recorded, but not released. These 20 songs will make up the band’s masterpiece, its magnu - insidecelebrities.com

Here's a Festival For Hard Rock Fans Up North: The Buzz's Locofest
By Arielle Castillo in Show AnnouncementsThursday, Feb. 5 2009 @ 11:42AM
South Florida's Nonpoint plays the Buzz's Locofest
If you loooove the kinds of bands that are played during "active rock" radio formats, you will loooove Locofest, a weekend shebang sponsored by the Buzz 103.1 on March 14. Held at the Palm Beach International Raceway, the bill sponsors a number of hard-rock acts with creatively spelled names. Headliners this year include Mudvayne, In This Moment, EOTO, (hed) p.e., and South Florida's own Nonpoint.

A number of supporting and local bands are being added to the lineup as the day draws closer, but right now they include the female-fronted BitchFire, from Ft. Lauderdale, Neveroff, from Pembroke Pines, Article 66, from Miami, and Bury the Broken, from West Palm Beach.


With the location in mind, it's no surprise that besides the bands, a big part of the day's entertainment will also be "ultra-fast international motorcycle racing." Plus, if camping is your thing, you can do so Friday, the night before, as well as Saturday night. Sponsors promise a weekend of "bikinis, bikes, and rock and roll," and are very wisely, and generously to fans, charging just $25 a ticket. Visit www.locobazooka.com for more info.

Check out the original article online at:
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/crossfade/2009/02/heres_a_festival_for_hard_rock.php - New Times Broward

Article 66
www.sonicbids.com/Article66

Skope: How does it feel to be chosen as an A2W artist on Skopemag.com?
Article 66: It feels great! We work our tails off to promote our music, so it’s always nice when someone recognizes us and gives us a hand in spreading the word.

Skope: What have you been working on and promoting recently?
Article 66: We’ve been writing a whole bunch of new material and we plan on releasing our next album in either late 2010 or early 2011. Our next album will be a concept album and we already have most of the material ready to go. We set the bar pretty high with our debut album, so we are shooting for the sky with this next one. It’s going to be a masterpiece and we’re really excited about it!

Skope: What about your music do you feel sets it apart?
Article 66: Our music is always evolving, but at the same time, we never forget our musical roots. It’s our connection to our musical roots that keeps our music consistent, even though it may be different. For Tony T. it’s blues, for Luca it’s funk rock and for Leo it’s prog rock. The sound we have incorporates all those genres and gives us a very unique and distinctive sound. This is true more so now then ever before because everyone in the band participates in the songwriting process.

Skope: How did you start creating music and what are your long term plans with your band?
Article 66: We’ve all been playing our respective instruments for over 20 years. Tony T. and Leo have been working together musically for fifteen years and were in another band together for almost a decade before they formed Article 66. This band has no intention of ever stopping because as far as we are concerned, life without making music is not a life worth living.

Skope: When you are creating music what do you use as inspiration for lyrics & instrumentals?
Article 66: Tony T. is the principal songwriter and he writes almost all of the lyrics for our music. When me made our first album, there was a distinctive punk element to it that you will not find in our newer material. Some of those songs were written over ten years ago and reflect the author’s place in life and state of mind at the particular moment. Although our newer songs still reflect this, they are much more abstract lyrically, and more musically sophisticated. Our first album was about making an artistic statement and publishing old songs of ours which we felt needed to be published. We felt this had to be done before our music could evolve to what it is now. Our music takes a serious, sometimes dark look at life in general and it pulls no punches. It’s sophisticated, but it’s raw and powerful at the same time.

Skope: What is the most exciting aspect of being a musician in the digital age?
Article 66: The most exciting thing about it is how easy it is to get your music out to the masses. Anyone in the world can buy your track and download it immediately. It really is amazing how much the music business has changed in the last fifteen years. It is also much easier to put together a demo nowadays than it used to be. Allot more people are able to record and put together a high quality demo on their laptop now, whereas ten or fifteen years ago you had to rent a studio and pay a sound engineer to record and mix it for you.

Skope: What can we look forward to that our readers should know about?
Article 66: You can look forward to a new album from us in the very near future. You can also look forward to Article 66 gigging and touring regularly. We are a staple in South Florida, but we are looking to expand across the region. This year we played gigs all over South Florida as well as Atlanta, Nashville, Jupiter and Panama City Beach and we hope to spread out even further in 2010. We can’t get very far without fan support though, so please visit our website at article66.com, send us an email, buy our CD, follow us and support us!
Link to review:
http://skopemag.com/2009/11/30/december-2009-sonicbids-%E2%80%9Cartists-2-watch%E2%80%9D#more-17121 - Skopemag.com

Article 66 – Music Review
January 5, 2010 by Duss Rodgers
Filed under: Music Reviews, Rock

Article 66Upbeat raw and extremely intense…

Article 66 is without limits in musicality and their energy is blatantly obvious on first listen. The opening track “Machines” is reminiscent of The Who with roaring guitar riffs and bang your head on the wall intensity… uplifting to say the least.

With a fun twist of lyrical wizardry Article 66 moves seamlessly from old school hard rock to a Bare Naked Ladies like comical lyrical delivery on “6? and keep the good times rolling from song to song. It’s breathtaking to hear how effortlyessly they can alter their musical styles from rock to punk to alternative and maintain such a high level of flowing energy and no loss of musicality.

Obviously talented and passionate these cats bring the fun to music from track to track and don’t show any signs of slowing down any time soon. Which is a good thing for those of us who love fun and passion in our music. Article 66 are definitely making their mark in an industry that seems to care more about how you look in video than how you sound to the people that really matter… the fans.

I absolutely love the guitar riffs and Tony T brings it in boatloads while wearing his mentors styling with pride. Cool music, cool sounds…

Check out this hot act and cop their sounds… you won’t be let down and the up beat tempos and energy are sure to get you ass off the floor and quick!

Label: Independent
Genre: Rock/Alternative
Standout Tracks: 6, The American Nightmare, My Hell

Catsask Profile: http://www.catsask.com/Article_66/
Website: http://www.myspace.com/article66
EPK: http://www.sonicbids.com/Article66
To see the original review, go to:
http://www.dussrodgers.com/article-66/#more-149 - Catsask.com

Monday, February 2, 2009
Review: Article 66 - Article 66


Article 66 – Article 66
2008, A66 Music/Pinnibus Headdibus Records

Miami’s Article 66 are unique on many levels. Formed by a group of law students, the band creates raw, emotionally charged songs that can’t be ignored. Add in the fact that Article 66 comingles rock and rap in a way that almost no one else does well, and you have something worth checking out. Article 66 released their debut album, Article 66, on June 6, 2008 (6/6). The band has been through a number of personnel changes but continues to thrive. Tony “T-Bone” Tomas plays guitar and provides the rock vocals on the album, while DJ Jam is Emcee, providing sublime rhymes against the backdrop of heavy guitar, drum and bass. Listen up!

Article 66 mixes elements of Rap, 80’s hard rock and modern rock into a wonderfully geeky combination that’s part hip-hop and part head-banger love fest. Juxtaposing rap rhymes and rhythms with heavy guitar (sometimes bordering on thrash), Article 66 creates a rap/rock hybrid few bands have explored. Lyrically they can run from serious to funny to bizarre (sometimes in the same song). The end result is a generally entertaining mish-mash of sounds and styles. I would advise checking out the song Misread, which is incredibly commercial and listenable. Astronomy Teacher is Hot For Teacher for the Big Bang Theory generation. It sounds sort of like Weezer on anti-depressants. The American Nightmare is a catchy rap/rock mix that’s right in Article 66’s musical wheelhouse. Hershey Squirt recalls the sort of lyrical content you might expect from early Ween, although with less subtlety (if possible).

Article 66 is an interesting listen. There’s no doubt about it, you’ll either love them or hate them depending on your personal musical proclivities. If you enjoy bands like Weezer, Ween or Devo then Article 66 will definitely appeal to you. For rap fans this is entertaining light fare, but Article 66 gets major points for melding two styles in a way that hasn’t been done well often, and getting it right (most of the time). It’s a decent listen for the adventurous of ear.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Article 66 at http://www.article66.com/. You can purchase a copy of Article 66 at www.cdbaby.com/cd/article66.
Posted by Wildy at 5:00 AM
Labels: Article 66, Big Bang Theory, D.J. Jam, Devo, Eddie Van Halen, Rap/Rock hybrid, Ween, Weezer

You can see this review at:
http://wildysworld.blogspot.com/2009/02/review-article-66-article-66.html - Wildy's World CD Review

Upbeat raw and extremely intense…

Article 66 is without limits in musicality and their energy is blatantly obvious on first listen. The opening track “Machines” is reminiscent of The Who with roaring guitar riffs and bang your head on the wall intensity… uplifting to say the least.
With a fun twist of lyrical wizardry Article 66 moves seamlessly from old school hard rock to a Bare Naked Ladies like comical lyrical delivery on “6? and keep the good times rolling from song to song. It’s breathtaking to hear how effortlyessly they can alter their musical styles from rock to punk to alternative and maintain such a high level of flowing energy and no loss of musicality.

Obviously talented and passionate these cats bring the fun to music from track to track and don’t show any signs of slowing down any time soon. Which is a good thing for those of us who love fun and passion in our music. Article 66 are definitely making their mark in an industry that seems to care more about how you look in video than how you sound to the people that really matter… the fans.

I absolutely love the guitar riffs and Tony T brings it in boatloads while wearing his mentors styling with pride. Cool music, cool sounds…

Check out this hot act and cop their sounds… you won’t be let down and the up beat tempos and energy are sure to get you ass off the floor and quick!

Label: Independent
Genre: Rock/Alternative
Standout Tracks: 6, The American Nightmare, My Hell

Catsask Profile: http://www.catsask.com/Article_66/
Website: http://www.myspace.com/article66
EPK: http://www.sonicbids.com/Article66

To view the original article, go to:
http://www.dussrodgers.com/article-66/#more-149 - Duss Rogers, affilated with Catsask.com

In a city where salsa and pop music reign supreme, the guys of Article 66 has carved a pretty sweet niche for themselves. This local band, signed to indie label Pinnibus Headibbus Records, proves that Miami knows how to rock. The four-piece outfit morphed over six years and multiple band mate changes to reach its current roster, but no one can do it better than these four. With Tony "T-Bone" Thomas on guitar and vocals, Michael Luca on bass, Leo Codias on drums and DJ JAM on the turntables, Article 66 is finally complete.

The band's influences are eclectic: Eric Clapton, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jay Z, Megadeth and Jimi Hendrix. Says Tomas, "My core influences are blues and classic rock, Leo's is hard rock/metal, DJ JAM's is hip-hop and Luca's is funk. DJ JAM brought the hip-hop/rap element to the band and he really opened up a world of possibilities for us." Making music for this group means breaking all the rules; their main goal is to create fresh sounds with an edgy twist. He continued, "When you combine all of that, it makes for a unique sound that sets us apart from the rest of the pack."

Songs like the remorseful "Goodbye" and the energy-charged "Machines" showcase this group's penchant for striking a chord with their audience on many different levels. "Every one of our songs is about an emotion/state of mind that everyone can identify with. Frustration, love, hate, rebellion, existentialism, lust, happiness, sadness, feelings of loss, sophomoric stupidity, it's all there," explains Tomas.

With their first album set for debut June 7th, the band is excited to share the culmination of many years of blood, sweat, tears and hard work with their fans. "I believe that it will really be just the beginning for us," says Tomas. "We've got a lot of music that has yet to be recorded and even more that has yet to be written, so you will definitely be hearing from Article 66 in the years to come."

For more info, visit article66.com.

Published: 6/08

- Rayme Samuels from miami.com

Un abogado, un agente de bienes raíces, un ingeniero de sonido y un estudiante de medicina. No, no son los miembros de un club de jóvenes profesionales, sino los integrantes de Article 66, una banda local de hard rock que lanza su primer disco, mientras participa del crecimiento del género en la ciudad.

Tony ''T-Bone'' Tomas, su líder, vocalista y guitarrista, asegura que si de él dependiera se dedicaría a tiempo completo a la música, actividad en la que inició hace 14 años con su primera banda.

''Con Leo [baterista de Article 66] iniciamos nuestro primer grupo de rock en el 94, mientras asistíamos a la escuela de leyes. Estar en college no sólo me permitió graduarme de abogado sino también aumentar mi sed por la música'', señala el cubano-americano.

Conformado por Tony en el micrófono y la guitarra, Mike Lucas en el bajo, Jorge Martínez (DJ Jam, quien rapea en varias canciones) y Leo en la batería, el cuarteto repasa la onda alternativa del hard rock, con un sonido similar al de bandas como Green Day, Linkin Park o 311.

Desde el año pasado han buscado consolidarse en el género dentro de la escena local, tocando en bares como Tobacco Road, Jazzid y San Bar, entre otros, y ahora con el lanzamiento de su primer trabajo de estudio, denominado también Article 66, buscan expandirse con su música y demostrarle al público local que en Miami sí se puede hacer rock.

''Hacer rock aquí es challenging, es desafiante y no ha sido fácil; pero afortunadamente ésta es una variedad musical que lleva viva muchos años y siempre va a tener público. Nuestros amigos y seguidores son gente de todas las edades, tanto los más jóvenes, que están entrando en el mundo de la música, como los mayores, que se sienten identificados con nuestro sonido'', agrega Tomas.

Las canciones del CD fueron compuestas por Tony y Leo, ambos de ascendencia hispana. Sus letras --en inglés-- hablan de amor y desamor, de frustración y de nostalgia, con un lenguaje seguro y sin rodeos y, en algunos casos, polémico:

''... Maybe its the devil's hand/ or perhaps its the evil of man/ that kills and rapes and does so all religeously/ i wonder if it will be all right/ if i sneak out of my house tonight/ and do something I'm not su-pposed to do'', reza Machines, denunciando la doble moral de ciertas personas.

Una prueba de que en la banda se tiene la mente abierta para experimentar sin miedo es que en el disco hay de todo. Goodbye, por ejemplo, escrita por Tomas, es una canción de despedida para su padre, recientemente fallecido.

El gran día para Article 66 será el sábado 7 de junio, cuando presente su CD recién salido del horno, en Circa 28, a partir de las 10 p.m. ''En este release party vamos a poder mostrar quiénes somos. Esperamos llegarle a mucha gente, a los amantes del rock y a los que siempre nos han apoyado'', señala Tomas.


spalacios@herald.com

Article 66, 7 de junio, 10 p.m., en Circa 28, 2826 N. Miami Avenue, Wynwood Art District, (305) 722-1858. Para información sobre la banda visite www.myspace.com/ article66 o www.article66.com - Sandra Palacios from El Nuevo Herald

T-Bone started the band back in 2002. He was in his second year of law school at the University of Miami and I was becoming increasingly frustrated with the band he was in at the time, which lacked direction and focus due, in large part, to the egotism of the lead singer. He met a couple of fellow law students who shared his passion for music and decided to start a new band.

He asked his friend Leo Codias, whom he met through a mutual acquaintance in 1994, to join the new band as well. Leo played drums in T-Bone's former band and was also frustrated with the band's lack of direction. They took all the original material they had written over the years and brought it to the table. This was the original incarnation of Article 66 with T-Bone on guitar and vocals, Leo on bass and vocals, Justin "El Civ" Prociv on guitar and David Vaughan on drums. They played several gigs, recorded a demo and generated a good following and great responses during that first year. The band picked up momentum and kept it going until the summer of 2003. The group went on hiatus as T-Bone, Justin and David had to study for the bar exam. After the bar exam, David left the band and moved to Fort Walton Beach. They were left without a drummer.

Despite the loss of David, they were determined to keep the band going. Leo invited his friend Jorge "D.J. JAM" Martinez to a couple of jam sessions to experiment with the band. Leo and DJ JAM were friends since high school and T-Bone knew DJ JAM from before as well. It soon became apparent that we were on to something good, so DJ JAM became a permanent member of the band. In early 2004 A66 found its new drummer in Ben Belin, who was a local music veteran, and they picked up where they had left off. Ben quickly learned all the material and Article 66 began gigging regularly again. In 2005 they began recording their album. The recording process was completed fairly quickly, but the mixing and editing process proved to be a monumental task. In the summer of 2006, Ben left the band to join another group. Shortly thereafter, El Civ moved to Buffalo and the future of the band was completely up in the air.

Although on indefinite hiatus, Leo and T-Bone continued working on the album. During this time, they auditioned a number of drummers, all to no avail. Leo eventually decided to revert to his roots and take the role of drummer for the band. In the summer of 2007, after auditioning a number of people, they met bassist Michael Luca. The chemistry was undeniable, and Luca joined the band shortly thereafter. This makes up the current line-up of Article 66:

Tony "T-Bone" Tomas - Guitar, Vocals

Michael Luca - Bass

DJ JAM - Emcee

Leo Codias - Drums

T-Bone is a huge fan of Eric Clapton and every musical group he has been a part of, particularly Cream. Clapton is the reason T-Bone picked up a guitar at the age of 12. He is his single biggest influence, although T greatly respects and admires the following musicians, in no particular order: Led Zeppelin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Roy Buchanan, Tool, 311, ZZ Top, Jimi Hendrix, Megadeth, Van Halen, Slayer and the Police.

Leo is a big fan of Dream Theater, Rush, Megadeth, 311, Avenged Sevenfold and Duran Duran.

DJ JAM likes Linkin Park, 311, Rage against the Machine, Jay Z, DJ Quick and the Ghetto Boyz

Luca is obsessed with the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Every one of A66's songs is about an emotion/state of mind that EVERYONE can identify with. Whether it be frustration, love, hate, rebellion, existentialism, lust, happiness, sadness, feelings of loss or sophomoric stupidity, it is all there. I believe that anyone, regardless of race, culture, religion, sex or social status can identify with and take something away from our music. We offer music that is raw, deep and honest rather than the shallow, over-produced CRAP that you hear on most major radio stations.

The new album will be officially released on June 6th (6/6, get it???) and Article 66 will be celebrating the long-awaited release of the album on Saturday night, June 7th at Circa 28. They will be performing the album in its entirety, along with a few others songs. This CD is the culmination of many years of blood, sweat, tears and hard, hard work. A66 is truly thrilled to share its music with the public and cannot wait until June 7th. It will be a night to remember!



- David Bowling of miamilifemagazine.com

Tony "T-Bone" Tomas embraces the dark side of life. Forget sappy. Seamy's more his thing, with characters living to a hard-rocking beat in a hard-knock world.

"I'm not the type of person who likes the happy-go-lucky stuff," said Tomas, guitarist for Article 66. "I try to write and create music that if I were on the outside looking in, I would want to listen to."

Tomas co-wrote the tracks on the Miami band's soon-to-drop self-titled CD with drummer Leo Codias. The two are refugees from the local punk scene, where they played with another band for eight years before forming Article 66 in 2002.

Their 16-track debut meshes blues, punk, metal and hip-hop backed by the quartet's two other members, rap artist DJ Jam and bass player Michael Luca.

The album's been a long time coming. The boys have been putting it together for three years, doing everything themselves, from recording to mixing while tending to their day jobs. Tomas is a criminal defense and tax litigation attorney. Luca attends medical school. DJ Jam is a real-estate appraiser and Codias manages a restaurant.

The CD's cover, with the band's name engulfed in flames against a black background, sets the tone for the disc's aggressive themes. Tomas and Luca paint lyrical pictures of people gone bad, gone mad and going broke.

"A good portion of these songs, I wrote before I became an attorney," he said. "But doing what I do, it reaffirms my observations."

The album's set to be officially released June 6, a date picked by the guys. "Article 66," Tomas said. "6-6. Get it?"

A party follows on June 7, when Article 66 shakes the walls starting at 10 p.m. with a set at Circa 28, 2826 N. Miami Ave. in Miami's Wynwood Art District. Call 305-722-1858 or visit circa28.com.

Also visit article66.com or myspace.com/article66. - Beth Feinstein-Bartl of Metromix.com