Host Echo

Perhaps if Syd Barrett hadn’t flipped out Pink Floyd would have sounded like the new release from Host Echo titled Be Water. The band (Andy Bieniek-guitar, Mike Johnson-bass/synthesizer, Sam Peller-drums, Joe Stocker-drums, samples and turntables and Nick Spacone-vocals, keyboards and trumpet) achieves a progressive acid jazz vibe by blending hip hop, alternative, soul and rock and then surrounding the songs with atmospheric effects. The ten songs are more snippets and riffs layered textured and assembled than written and then just played in the studio. This does not mean that the songs are cold and distant but rather artfully composed by the musicians. “Hypnogogic” starts the disc with a cool guitar intro while “Free” is more adventurous for the listener. Also of note are the tracks “Mind Is A Forest” and “Gold Mines”. Not just studio wizards Host Echo puts on a great live show as well with great improvisations and musicianship. For more on Host Echo and their new release Be Water check out www.hostechomusic.com - Best Of WNY.com by Bob Silvestri

This Niagara Falls band sent me a bio that peaked my interest in their music.
"If Radiohead opened up a bar, hired Beck as the senior bartender and had a two-for-one Hip Hop Night where Portishead hooked up with Incubus, their love child would be named Host Echo."
Okilee dokilee doo
So with that vivid picture in my head, I gave a couple spins to "Unmastered," a three-track CD. While the band is not as heavy and rollicking as Radiohead and Beck, they do walk the walk between several genres. A little rock, with a dash of hip hop and a smidge of soul.
What stands out the most on the CD is the soft, warm vocals of Nick Spacone. Also serving as the main song writer, Spacone breezes through the CD's opening track "Mellow Drama" with a dreamy, gentle sound that blends perfectly with the music of Andy Bieniek (guitar), Mike Johnston (bass) and Joey Lebanon (Drums, percussion and turntables).
Lebanon's "whicka whicka wack" turntable cuts are not overpowering or distracting from the rest of the band. It's the right amount of sampling, without outright stealing riffs.
All in all, a nice effort from the band, which has been getting many thumbs up for their live efforts throughout the Niagara region.
- Niagara Gazette Night & Day by Sean P. O'Neil

These are important times for Buffalo, N.Y.-based band Host Echo.
Not only is the act about to record not one, but two studio albums for release in 2010, but the quartet – Nicholas Spacone (vocals, keys, guitar, trumpet), Andrew Bieniek (guitar) Matthew Catanese (bass) and Greg Kelly (drums) – has booked two-week tours in each of the next three months ranging from the East Coast to the Midwest and beyond.
Upon the urging of local act The Youngstown Tramps, Host Echo begins its excursions with its Youngstown debut show Friday at University Pizzeria and Italian Eatery.
“We’re just excited to finally get out there for a while and meet some people, meet some bands and play some new places,” Spacone said.
“We hooked up with the band The Youngstown Tramps through Myspace actually, and they seem really cool and helpful and really eager to bring us down. That’s all it took: someone to throw that enthusiasm back at us who wants to play. They really went out of their way to set this up.”
As far as style is concerned with Host Echo, which formed half a dozen years ago and recently underwent a line-up change, the band cites familiar names with one caveat: the tunes heard on its 2005 debut, “Be Water,” and 2008’s “Song Cycle EP” are anything but clich d.
“It’s mostly rock, but our guitarist is a classically trained guitarist, and I’m influenced by a lot of jazz singers,” Spacone said. “We have a very mellow, kind of eclectic style going on. We grew up listening to Pearl Jam and Radiohead and Portishead and Incubus. I guess we’ve kind of evolved into maybe a little closer to like Fleet Foxes. And Kings of Leon we like a lot.
“It’s really tough because we like to think that there are really not many bands we sound like these days. We have a lot of things in our music, like there’s something for everyone in there. Like you’re going to hear something that reminds you of this or that, but it’s a lot of different stuff.”
Among the unreleased songs the band plans on playing at its upcoming Northeast Ohio show are the Broken Social Scene-esque “Drifting” and the trip-hop sounding “R&R.”
Spacone feels the band’s unique approach makes it quite popular among music fans seeking out new music.
“Our set is for anyone who is interested in a completely original sound, something new yet still familiar,” Spacone said. “We have kind of a groovy sound for people who like laid-back grooves. We like to think that our lyrics are about self- improvement and self-betterment, and we like to think we strike a chord with the intellectual crowd.”
Hmm, so what makes the members of Host Echo qualified to be the Dr. Phil of the indie rock world?
“Oh, wow, nice, Dr. Phil, yeah, I don’t know man,” Spacone said. “We just like to try I guess. We don’t like to just [play] passively. ... We’re still trying to make a difference in the world and just be positive and promote, I guess, the hippie-band thing. It’s like peace and love and understanding. I think that’s what it comes back to. It’s a pretty simple message, I guess.
“I wouldn’t say we try to aggressively get into people’s lives and fix people, like Dr. Phil would. We just kind of try to lead by an example more so, and, hopefully, set a good example and hopefully say things that people like to hear and will inspire a little bit more understanding in the world.” - Youngstown Vindicator by John Benson

Host Echo's sci-fi samples and stop-start dynamics keep this from being just another funky jam band. A little more urgent than your average groove band, and a little more mellow than your average white-kids-on-funk outfit, this Niagara Falls quintet cuts a nice groove to dance to and to get lost in. The earthy acoustic detours are nice as well. - Rochester City Paper by Frank de Blaise