The Senate

Every person whose core has been shaken by simply a song has at some point understood the meaning of true greatness with regard to music. There is that unexplainable sensation one gets when the right concoction of melody, lyrics and rhythm is found, and it strikes that one nerve within, resulting in an experience like none other. There is an age-old question with regard to musicians: is the understanding of theory important to the creation of good music? The answer is a tricky one. Those who answer “no” will point to an example such as Paul McCartney, who cannot even read sheet music but has nonetheless written some of the greatest and most popular songs of all time. Those who answer “yes” are usually the ones who have the training and education, and view music as a more intricate, language-like form of communication. Regardless of which philosophy you subscribe to, I believe most would agree that the number one trait which is an absolute requirement is creativity. The Senate not only satisfies each arbitrary criteria, they exceed all ‘requirements’ and do so in spades. Each member brings a unique creative quality and advanced understanding of how music works and what makes music better. They push limits, they know the rules and they are not afraid to break them.
The Senate. The name itself is creative and thought-provoking. Five years ago a group of students at Five Towns College, located in Long Island, New York, decided that they wanted to form a band. Contacts were made via word-of-mouth and against all probabilities every one of them showed up to the first rehearsal. Each of these members came from different neighborhoods, cultures, ethnicities, and socio-economic backgrounds but they had one thing in common: talent; they all had excelled in not only their primary instrument, but multiple instruments.
So, a Latino, a Barbadian, an Italian, a German and a Russian all came together to form The Senate. Benny “Blanco” Rivera hails from the Bronx and is one of the most talented percussionists around. If that wasn’t enough, he is also a professionally trained pianist and is well versed on the guitar. David “Dbass” Holder is a student of music theory and has more than ten years of studio and live performance experience. “Dbass” shreds a six-stringed bass guitar and also lends his talents to the backup vocals. Steve Loos’ guitar skills are described as “outside of the box… [Utilizing] heartfelt chord patterns” (Senate, 2011); he is also trained in audio engineering and recording. There is my dear friend Andrew Kravchenko who has been melting faces since middle school with his classic rock background and inherent creative instincts. The front man is Michael “My-kel” Coppola whose lyrical ability in his raps and voice, when singing, is unique and threatens to raise the bar and set a new standard for front men everywhere. Michael was originally exclusive to the songs featuring his hip-hop/rap persona, however when the time came for him to step up and control the stage with his heartfelt singing ability, he was there, he was ready, and he dominated.
These men consider themselves a form of an actual senate, where different peoples and ideas come together to create something new and appropriate. Somewhere all voices are heard and expressed. They are an outlet of musical creativity and ability which spans more than four genres of music.
They have already mastered pop music, hip-hop, house, rock, metal, and that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
The Senate’s repertoire is all that needs to be shown when attempting to describe their ability to transcend labels and how they lay waste to pre-conceived notions regarding band stereotypes. One moment you’ll be in a world of a distortion-ridden, electric guitar wailing over crashing cymbals and fluid, running bass lines. Before you know it there is the guy who is ordinarily the drummer serenading you with the voice of his intricate yet delicate piano.
There are two types of people in this world: those who use marble notebooks, and those who do not. The Senate is a “marble notebook” kind of band. This type of band is what was once the norm, accepted completely as the standard, just as the concept of musicianship, not just music, was what pushed artists to their true potential. These artists worked for an audience and worked even harder to keep it. They’ve been overlooked for the past decade or so and have disappeared from the ‘mainstream’ all because of the newer, flashier, more advertised spiral notebook. These new ‘spiral-notebook artists’ are force-fed to children and adolescents and have been drilled into the minds of everyone who listens to the radio or sees advertisements on their television or computer. Unfortunately, the narrative has changed. Ke$ha is on the lips of every pubescent in America and Hannah Montana is a household name. The young parents of these kids are the once-marble-notebook-using people who gave in to the media and gobbled up, in pathetic laziness, this new, artificial, thoughtless, [insert your own negative adjective here] “music” which we now are subjected to. Have these parents tried at all to get their son to want to pick up a guitar and start a rock band rather than allowing him to sit in the basement ‘studio’ with his pro-tools, ‘mixing hot beats’ while he still has his algebra homework due tomorrow? Not everyone is a musician. This is a concept which has not been reinforced with the younger generations.
The Senate is here to change the landscape of music as we know it today. They, as so many others, are saddened by the current state of ‘mainstream’ music. Up until recently, I was nearly convinced that the glory days of music were dead and buried. I saw no band on the horizon which had the motivation and ability to change things. It appears that the old colloquialism rings true, that things must get worse before they can get better. Sometimes it takes years of neglect and oppression for a rebellion to take shape. The Senate is that rebellion. They are trying to get the attention of every person who gets a bad taste in their mouth when they turn on “Long Island’s #1 Radio Station”. They are trying to get the attention of those who remember what real talent is, and how powerful it can be when it is unleashed and promoted. There are those, like myself, who sit around and complain about the current state but don’t do anything about it, and for those people I say this: stop. Stop sitting around and go to The Senate’s next show. Stop sitting around and check out their Facebook page. Stop sitting around and tell all you know of their talent and mission. They have inspired me, and they will inspire you.
Fortunately for you (The Senate’s new #1 fan), they have been, and will continue to perform more frequently and at more high-profile venues due in part to their new manager Walter Kravchenko. He has managed to land some sweet gigs for The Senate in the New York City area including Iguana, a casual yet classy Mexican restaurant located on W.54th street in Manhattan, as well as The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn.
Prior to the show at Iguana on Saturday, December 3rd, I had only experienced The Senate via my car stereo and the built-in speakers of my laptop. This performance was the first time I experienced the music of The Senate in live form, witnessing the magic unfold right before my eyes. As I entered the restaurant, a bespectacled maître-d warmly greeted me, and with the sight of my ticket escorted my entourage and me upstairs. As I took my last step and crossed the threshold into yet another bar scene, I saw it. I saw the stage, which was set up in the corner and was full of amps and guitars, drums, and microphones. Perpendicular to this stage were long, narrow tables which housed eager listeners squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder. Fans who could not find seats stood amidst the tables while some others made their way to the dance floor with the given expectation of ground-shaking, soul-stirring excellence. At the tables all I could find were food, drink, laughs, and palpable excite-ment. The bar stools suddenly all faced the same direction as the band entered from the front of the crowd. By the way, The Senate has a very attractive fan base, so even if you don’t like the music, which you will, attend for the ladies. Michael grabbed the microphone: “Ladies and gentleman welcome to Iguana and thank you all for coming out tonight. We are The Senate, and you are about to have an experience.” With that, the beat dropped, the speakers crackled, the got the crowd prepared, and what would be an hour of auditory bliss and the personification of professionalism was underway.
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The Senate. 2011. Facebook.com. 1 Dec. 2011 <http://www.facebook.com/thesenate>. - Bobby Reilly