Lance Fingles--Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards

Chuck Darrow--Bass, Guitar, Percussion

Howard Husik Drums and Percussion

 

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"When every other band zigs, NYTROUS zags."

 

That's as good as any way to describe NYTROUS, the Philadelphia-area band who's self-distributed debut CD, "It's About Time," was released in spring, 2014.

 

Drawing on a lifelong love of classic pop and rock--from the  Brill Building tunesmiths and British Invasion acts of the 1960s to 1970s prog and glam acts like Jethro Tull, Renaissance, Yes, David Bowie and Roxy Music, the group has conjured a sound that not only defies description, but comparisons.

 

NYTROUS plays what it alternately describes as “progressive pop” and “21st Century Classic Rock.”  According to Lance and Chuck, while their songs (generally speaking, Chuck writes the music and Lance the words and melodies) are three-to-five minutes long and emphasize immediately catchy and memorable “hooks,” the arrangements are meticulous, adventurous and reminiscent of the great bands of the original progressive-rock era of the late-1960s and early-‘70s.

 

Lance and Chuck also take pride in what they like to call “Nytrousizing” others’ songs. By that, they mean giving previously written—and familiar—tracks a musical makeover while keeping their lyrical heft and impact. Among these numbers are the atomic-powered version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Hazy Shade of Winter,” a rocking take on Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe,” a re-imagined “Goin’ Back” by Carole King and Gerry Goffin and a razor-sharp “Shape of Things to Come,” from the outrageous1968 cult film, “Wild In the Streets.”

 

"While we pride ourselves on our musical diversity, we believe there is a signature NYTROUS sound that pervades the disc," offers Chuck. "It includes Lance's voice, which matches the intimacy and intensity of his lyrics. And then there are the arrangements, whose dynamics  and meticulousness pay tribute to the heavy influence acts like Genesis with Peter Gabriel, Crack the Sky, Yes, Roxy Music and, most of all, Jethro Tull, had on us in our musically formative years."

 

Add to that Karen's violin and other instruments, Chuck's treble-tipped Rickenbacker bass lines and Vince's  adventurous drumming that nonetheless never strays from the pocket, and you have the one-of-a-kind NYTROUS sound.

 

Lyrically, Lance tends to take introspective, philosophical routes, addressing such universal themes as aging, romance, sex and even financial hardship in the post-Recession world in which we live. Delivered via his singular, emotion-steeped vocals, songs such as “56” (which, as the lyrics have it, “is the new 55”), “You Let Go” (about the suicide of a dear friend) and “Anxiety” (whose title says it all) are guaranteed to resonate with a cross-section of the musical audience.

But its songs aren't the only thing that differentiates NYTROUS from virtually every other band out there today. Its history is likewise different.

 

Best friends since junior high school, Lance and Chuck first teamed musically in 1973 in a cover band called GUNK. A year later, they began writing together, and have continued to do so through the present. But for most of the past 40 years, their collaboration mainly consisted of writing songs together and getting together at one of their homes a few times a year.

According to Lance, making music on a regular basis simply didn't mesh with his life as a husband and father. But that all changed in 2011. With his three kids (two of whom, Rachel Mara and Jesse Kara, comprise the band's vocal back-up duo, The Whippettes) grown, he realized it was "now or never," and NYTROUS was launched in earnest.

 

The duo's first step was to start hitting the thriving open-mic scene that has exploded in the Philly region the past few years. But they knew the only way to even hope to get to the next level (and beyond) was with a band.

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In a just a very short time, NYTROUS has created a high profile on the Philly music scene, appearing on TV and radio programs as well as being a part of the annual Bob Dylan birthday tribute show, one of the most prestigious gigs on the city's musical calendar.

 

But according to the band, this is just the appetizer to the banquet yet to come. Or as Lance puts it: "The Nytrousization process has just begun!"

 

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