Joe Cassady & The West End Sound
Called "an alt-country innovator . . . in the tradition without being derivative," up-and-coming New York City-based Americana/Roots Rock artist Joe Cassady and his band The West End Sound are currently working on the follow-up to their full-length debut release, What's Your Sign?, which received critical acclaim and nationwide airplay on Americana/AAA radio in the U.S. as well as being featured by legendary UK DJ Bob Harris on his BBC2 radio show and named as both a USA Today and Soundstage! editor's choice for one of the best CD's of 2007.
Ken Barnes of USA Today writes: "Wasn't necessarily expecting good alt-country from a Manhattan band, but got it anyway. The songs' obvious intelligence doesn't get in the way of the solid, often enthralling music."
David J. Cantor of Soundstage! calls it, "an engaging collection of paradoxes. Driven by bass, guitar, drums, and keyboard and rich in instrumental breaks and introductions, it showcases some interesting lyrics. Sounding casual and spontaneous, it is also well rehearsed and polished. Wearing influences on its sleeve, it is still very original. It is reminiscent of late-'60s garage-band arrangements, yet advanced and expert recording and mixing replace that old-time muddiness with pleasing clarity."
Combine the influences of songwriters like Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt and Kris Kristofferson, with the poetics of Pound, Dickinson, and Eliot and the classic roots rock sound of The Rolling Stones, The Band, and even a little Velvet Underground, and you have the formula that has led Joe Cassady & The West End Sound to consistently defy the expectations of fans and critics alike with their innovative interpretations of the Americana musical spectrum.
Founded in 2005 out of Manhattan's Lower East Side by lead singer and songwriter, Joe Cassady and including Aaron Gardner on bass, Shu Nakamura on lead guitar, and Robert Bonhomme on drums, Joe Cassady & The West End Sound have become one of the main protagonists in a growing Americana music scene arising in the Big Apple. They have toured throughout the eastern United States and along the way they have shared the stage with notables such as Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Bernie Worrell of Parliament Funkadelic and Talking Heads and Garth Hudson of The Band, as well as acts like Olabelle, Matt Mays & El Torpedo, the Zen Tricksters, and the Jim Weider Band.
In the words of Midwest Record's Chris Spector: this is "an up and comer that's going to go the distance no matter what marketing handle they hang on the genre. Top shelf stuff in any bar."
Instrumentation
Joe Cassady (Songwriter, Vocals, Rhythm Guitar), Shu Nakamura (Lead Guitar), Aaron Gardner (Bass), Robert Bonhomme(Drums)
Discography
What's Your Sign? (20 + Weeks on the AMA Americana Radio Airplay Charts and featured by Bob Harris on BBC2 Radio in the UK), Joe Cassady & the West End Sound EP