Mike Fair and the Adventure Seekers
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States | SELF
Music
Press
Local guitarist Mike Fair unveils his new band, Mike Fair and the Adventure Seekers, on Sunday at Arnold's Bar & Grill. The coming out party will also feature an appearance from one of Fair's other bands (Wojo), as well as the Beau Alquizola Band. The show is free and kicks off at 7 p.m.
Fair has some busy fingers, performing for the past several years with Ma Crow and the Flock, MC Blue and The Blue Ravens (as well as Wojo). That's a fairly broad stylistic range (from Rock to Blues to Americana and beyond), but the versatility isn't overtly apparent on Fair's Adventure Seekers debut, I Am Smiling, Dammit (available Sunday at the show). On the album, Fair creates his own sonic identity instead of dipping his fingers into too many genre jars. The album shows not only what a capable songwriter Fair is, but also what a strong, unique vocal personality he possesses. Fair's singing is somewhere between Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and early-period Rod Stewart and musically that comparison's not too far off either. "Bad Night In Fernwood" simmers and swaggers with a honky tonkin' twang Ron Wood would be all over, while tracks like "The Goodbye Song" and the slow-burning "You'll Feel Better Soon" have the timeless transcendence of Tweedy circa Being There. Elsewhere, Fair slips into a little slap-back delay for the Lennon-esque "Staying Together Is the New Breaking Up," dips into slinky Soul/Funk on "Itiswhatitis" and gets rootsy on a sturdy cover of "You Are My Sunshine." With such a cache of well-crafted, expressive songs in his possession, it's a wonder Fair hasn't stepped out of the shadows until now.
- Mike Breen, CityBeat
Discography
I Am Smiling, Dammit released March 19, 2006.
Songs from the release can be heard on WNKU. The disc is available at Jos. Beth Booksellers, Shake-It Records, Everybody's Records and from our web site. We are currently working on a second release. Tracks from that new upcoming disc can be previewed on our EPK and web site.
Photos
Bio
The band started life as a fiction - one guy with a multi-track recorder and a bunch of instruments. After releasing the cricitally acclaimed initial release, I Am Smiling, Dammit, the group became a real band - even nominated for a 2006 Cincinnati Entertainment Award for Best New Artist. Influenced by a bunch of British bands that were influenced by a bunch of American bands.
These are the kind words Mike Breen of CityBeat had to say in a review of Smiling;
Fair's singing is somewhere between Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and early-period Rod Stewart and musically that comparison's not too far off either. "Bad Night In Fernwood" simmers and swaggers with a honky tonkin' twang Ron Wood would be all over, while tracks like "The Goodbye Song" and the slow-burning "You'll Feel Better Soon" have the timeless transcendence of Tweedy circa Being There. Elsewhere, Fair slips into a little slap-back delay for the Lennon-esque "Staying Together Is the New Breaking Up," dips into slinky Soul/Funk on "Itiswhatitis" and gets rootsy on a sturdy cover of "You Are My Sunshine."
The band is:
Luke Alquizola - keys and vocals
Aaron Zlatkin - bass and vocals
Matt Retherford - drums
Mike Fair - guitar and vocals
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