ONCE-LER

Its’ an unremarkable Monday evening inside J-Alan’s where classic rock music plays quietly on the jukebox and the Reds are in extra innings on several televisions fastened to the walls of the bar. The members of Once-ler – Jeffrey Reif (vocals), Craig Burns (guitar, slide, mandolin), Aaron Deininger (bass) and new addition Mike Ward (drums) – are sitting inside the Ludlow Street watering hole discussing their new album, “Last Day of Summer.”
“The sound is a little heavier than the last stuff,” Reif said. It has a fuller sound and the songs go in more different directions.”
“Last Day of Summer,” the follow-up to “Entropy” was recorded by Fred Vahldiek and is the quartet’s hardest and most intricate offering yet. Once-ler has a volatile attack with heavy guitar and sledge driving rhythms that change directions unexpectedly. Album opener “Fear Monger” sets the tone with distorted guitar and a head-bobbing groove before moving to a slow sludge–rock bridge. “Overnight opens with snaky, Middle Eastern-flavored guitar before slamming into a proto-grunge stomp.
Unlike many hard rock acts today, Reif doesn’t hide behind screaming or distorted vocals, delivering his topical songs with melody, clarity and conviction missing from many modern lead singers. Burns takes an equally old school approach for his tasty guitar solos which pepper songs such as “Ego Trip” and “Things Fall Apart.”
“Recording with Fred is great,” Burns said. “He’s the man, It’s a better recording and he is really easy to work with. He makes it so it’s like the easiest situation possible.”
“I think the drums really worked out a lot better on this one,” Deininger said. “They didn’t sound bad on the last one but the way we managed to mike them and isolate them definitely helped.”
Once-ler celebrates the new CD with a release show tonight at 9pm at Canal Street Tavern. With special guests Sexicon and Accidently on Purpose.
“We’re going to sell the CD at every online place we can.” Burns said. “We’re going to try to get more out of town shows. God knows we’ve played everyplace there is to play here a million times. We want to get out more now and meet some new people.”
“We’ll use the big scale ways we can to get the CD out,”
Reif said. “But the smaller scale way is the most important, which is to play a show and prove to the person in the audience. So they’ll want to buy a copy of your music.”
For more info: www.once-ler.net.
Rock Insider, by contributing writer Don Thrasher, appears weekly and gives a behind- the- scenes view of the Dayton music scene. Contact Thrasher by e-mail at donaldthrasher8@aol.com.
- Dayton Daily News

Sunday, July 29, 2007
Once-ler’s new album reviewed
By Kris Neises | Sunday, July 29, 2007, 08:38 PM
The new record from Dayton rock vets Once-ler is eleven tracks and 51 minutes of downtrodden groove-driven metal with Maynard-like melodies and moments of acoustic carried blues and beautiful slide guitars and mandolins.
Oh, and a whole lot of maturity.
Once-ler, who has dedicated the past ten years to making music, demonstrates their growth and love for their craft on their newest release entitled Last Day Of Summer.
The proof lies in the music and it’s polarities from start to finish.
They begin the record with a heavy-handed riffed out song called Fear Monger that immediately and cynically warns that “the end is near and the stench of fear is all over everything.”
They end with the album’s instrumental title track that builds with a slide mandolin and an acoustic guitar that together actually sounds like the last song that the world would ever hear as it vanished beneath a giant flaming meteor (or at least that is how the cover art depicts the Last Day of Summer).
Lyrically the album is written with the urgency of a doomsday premonition, and on many tracks, such as the hard-hitting Wing Attack and Whatever Happened to the World, the lyrics flirt with a bit of political satire.
My favorite track lands at number 8 and is titled Charlie Hustle. It intros with a snare-popping drum and rich clean electric guitar. Then slows to the haunting voice of singer Reif singing “I wave my goodbye’s as I light myself on fire.”
Last Day of Summer, the new record by Once-ler, will be for sale for the first time at the band’s cd release show this Friday, August 3rd, at Canal Street Tavern.
Show begins at 9 pm and “Battle for X-Fest” finalists Accidently on Purpose will open the show.
- Dayton Daily News

Once-Ler has been a fixture on the Dayton band scene for almost 10 years. You would be hard pressed to find a local band that has not shared the stage with them and even harder pressed to find a musician that does not have a great respect for their music and laid back personalities. In a 10 year time frame where most bands have broken up, reformed, started new bands and broken up again, the guys in Once-Ler have managed to keep it together and do what it takes to get their newest release completed and ready for the masses. August 3rd marks the release of their latest offering "Last Day of Summer". Check out our latest ten questions interview with the band....
1. How long has the band been together and what is your current lineup?
We have been playing together since the fall of ‘99 The current lineup is Burns/Guitar, Deininger/Bass, Reif/Vocals, and (new guy) Ward/Drums.
2. How would you describe your group’s style? What are the bands collective influences?
Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Kyuss, Allman Brothers, Tool, Outkast, Soundgarden, Melvins, and many many more including anything else you can see, hear, touch, feel, or taste.
As far as our style goes, it’s always weird coming up with these labels, but how about Dynamic, groove orientated, Original rock.

3. What is the bands songwriting process? Is there a main writer or is it a group effort? Explain?
It’s basically a group effort. Sometimes one of us will pretty much have the music completely mapped out and then everybody else writes their parts, and other times it’s more collaborative where none of us know where we are going until we all arrive there together. We all contribute lyrically in much the same way. Sometimes someone will come to the table with all the words for a tune written and then we trim it up a bit, and other times everybody adds their own little part. That’s why as far as song credits go we always list them as all words and music by Once-ler.
4. What are your current goals as a band? (Working on CD, Booking, Tour, etc.)
Now that we are finally finished working on the album it’s time to write some new stuff. We are really looking forward to that. We are also working on getting out of town A LOT more including a little touring. Ultimately we would like to get some help as far as distribution goes to get our music in as many ears as possible.
5. What goals have you set for yourself in the past that you have or have not achieved and why?
Recently we found our new drummer Ward. He is doing an awesome job and plans to be around a while. That was a big stroke of luck as well as accomplishing a goal.
Getting our new album Last Day of Summer in our hands felt pretty good after spending all that time, effort, and money over the last year. As far as things we would like to do but it hasn’t worked out yet is getting a tour together and playing out of town more than in town. We are working on that though.

6. What Dayton clubs would we be able to see you perform?
Really about any of them. I think we’ve played them all over the years. We can often be found at J-Alan’s (they have been great to us). Also, be sure to catch us at Canal Street Tavern on Fri. August 3rd at our cd release with Accidently on Purpose and Sexicon. That one is going to be a great night.
7. Do you have many out of town shows? Where?
Well not as many as we would like booked just yet, but we have been known to play Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis, Detroit, etc.
8. Give us some details on one of your most memorable moments as a band? Good or Bad.
Well there have been a lot of them over the years, but it’s the funny stuff that sticks out. Playing a gig at Bernie’s up in Columbus that was double booked 8 bands showed up and not one sound guy. There was a junkie screaming in the hallway as we came in, there was literally a big amp eating whole in the stage, and the whole place smelled of sewage. Everybody sat there waiting for the sound man to show then about 10 o’clock some random guy threw down his pool cue and decided he was going to run sound. We opted to play first just to get the hell out of there. That was pure rock and roll. Weekend gigs and hotel shanagans in beautiful Lima, wrong turns in Detroit, the guy who played guitar in Nazareth buying us beers and hitting on our girlfriends in Columbus………GOOD TIMES !
9. What advice would you give someone that is just starting to play the Dayton scene?
Actually go out and support the other bands in town at there shows.
Music isn’t a competition it is an art form, so don’t walk around with your arms crossed and your nose in there air as if you are some sort of local rock hero. When bands are good to each other it helps promote a sense of musical community way more than when people get tied up in wanna be scenester ego battles.
Being in an Original band takes a shit load of work, from booking, to promoting, moving equipment around, writing, recording, playing shows keeping track of all the different stuff on - Dayton Bands.com

And we got a great - GREAT - acoustic set from the band Once-ler. Well let me tell you they really blasted during their set. The players are Burns on guitar, Minarcek, Reif, and Deininger. It is an act of sheer courage for an electric band to come do an acoustic set, and Once-ler stepped up and delivered a scorching show. NICE WORK BOYS. - Rev Dave

The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences
has placed Once-Ler on the
Official Ballot for the 2009 Grammy Awards
in the following categories:

Best Rock Performance By A Duo or Group with Vocals
Once-Ler - Overnight
Award goes to Artist: Once-Ler

Best Rock Instrumental Performance
Once-Ler - Last Day Of Summer
Award goes to Artist: Once-Ler

Best Rock Song
Once-Ler - Sooner Or Later
Award goes to Songwriters: Burns, Deininger, Gonzalez, Reif

Best Rock Album
Once-Ler - Title
Award goes to Artist: Once-Ler


- NRA