Eric Fontana and the Ultra Fine Reducers

http://www.myspace.com/ericfontana
http://www.cdbaby.com/all/ericfontana
http://www.courthousearts.org/

Studies in R+B
Eric Fontana and the Ultra Fine Reducers "Booked" at the Courthouse!

Eric Fontana - Vocals/Guitars*
Thomas Brinkley - Bass
Vinnie Pagano - Drums/Percussion
Keith Munslow (Piano) and (Organ, Track#8-Wonderland Blues)
Gordon Beadle (Baritone/Tenor Sax)

*All songs written and Arranged by Eric Fontana (BMI)
6/12/09 CD release party @ the Courthouse Center for the Arts


Round 1-cuffed, printed, jailed

South County, RI~The Courthouse for the Arts proved to be a great room for Eric Fontana.

So many great jazz players are dead, that the ones that are still alive are dying to be like the ones that are dead." ~ Yogi Berra

Although the first thing I noticed about Eric Fontana was his shoes,it's not the most impressive credential he bears.

Eric writes R&B songs with an electric blues feel in an old-timey style that is difficult to do. Most of what he writes details the complex side of the human experience, and he rides the emotional wave until it crests with a wailing lead guitar.
The first set completed the entire CD chronologically, beginning with 'You gotta lotta Nerve" and ended with "Wonderland". The CD just doesn't do his stage prescence justice; he mixes theatre with music, and is a show stealer.Eric Fontana and Gordon Beale utilized extended instrumentals and heavy improvisation, and everyone was confident in their role to allow the others to seek new creative heights. There was a mutable, chameleon like quality to Fontana's energy, and it was hard to look away from his devilish grin.

During 'B Flat on Your Back', Fontana bended notes to a bluesy climax that are grounded by pronounced bass lines that not only walk~they strutted.

Fontana kept to the genre with simple lyrics that didn't require a lot of interpretation, but carried a heavy psychological weight nevertheless. "Stop All Your Talking" begins like Wilson Pickett's "Midnight Hour" and delves deep into the intricacies of inter-personal relationships affected by the occasional drama (occupational hazard) of a musician's lifestyle.
"Strange Fascination" emitted like a confession, and the lyrics are explicit.Musicians, just like the rest of us, know the rules, but bend them to suit their needs from time to time. Wonderland" was dreamlike and surreal ~ watching Fontana and the Ultra Fine Reducers perform under magenta, purple, and teal neon lights was like being in a David Lynch movie. Thankfully that ended the first segment; I needed a break to maintain my equilibrium.
Round 2-tried, sentenced, punished at the Courthouse
After the short recess, the second set consisted mainly of covers. Never lacking in originality, it was no one's guess what they would play next.

It was ironic to hear Cash's 'Folsom Prison Blues' in a courthouse, and Brinkley's bass emulated the train coming to take me to Folsom prison.

Eric rocked a Fender Telecaster that inspired everyone in the crowd to dance, and there were more crazy shakes than a Grateful Dead concert. Unlike the first segment, where Gordon Beadle seduced and brought the sax screaming to a climax, he violently spanked it through the second segment. Crowd favorites were "Born on the Bayou" and "Good Golly, Miss Molly"; where Eric actually pulled his pant leg up to show off his striped socks. The audience demanded an encore; the choice was the Beatles "I saw her standing there."