Piller Records Release Party Rocked the House – May 1st, 2003

Piller Records Release Party Rocked the House.

I attended a record release party on Friday, May 23, for ultra-cool Piller Records promoting three of its most promising new talents. The red carpet bash included such celeb guests as "That 70’s Show’s" Danny Masterson and "She’s All That’s" Rachel Leigh Cook, and it was perfectly set in a funky downtown L.A. art gallery. Leading off the evening was "Beverly Hills 90210" cutie Lindsay Price, who has come a long way from her days as the almost nerdy (she said it, not me) Janet. This pleasant sounding song bird, looking to transition from acting to music a la Jennifer Lopez, reminded me of a cross between Jewel and Nelly Furtado with a much sexier sound. Indeed, her music would be excellent for anything from intimate encounters to a first dinner date at "his" place to that quiet time every girl needs alone in her bath tub. In speaking to the very personable Lindsay, I discovered that this was actually only her second show, and that she was actually "a little nervous." You could have fooled me! Next up was an interesting new fusion of acoustic and electric guitars, electric bass, keyboards, and drums known as "The Woods." Their talented lead singer Brad Cohen crooned us with a haunting voice in the true tradition of the godsons of grunge heavy weights like Creed’s Scott Stapp. But unlike the, at times, depressing sound heard with legendary groups Pearl Jam or Stone Temple Pilots, this act spiked it up and created a more positive vibe with their uplifting keyboards, reminiscent of The Wall Flowers.

Through the middle of their set, they then made a smooth transition to a full-out grunge sound revival, via switching from their acoustic to electric guitars. The act then ended perfectly with a solo number by their lead singer showing a darker side with his earlier mentioned haunting voice. Well done guys, well done. Capping off the evening was perhaps the best act of the three, an extremely energetic band called "Fredalba." They entered the stage to the "Rocky Theme" and went into their first song with a cleverly done sample of "Eye of the Tiger." This group could have raised the roof off of the Sears Tower with the head banging power of Limp Biscuit. But as their magnificent set played on, I then heard lead singer Eric Balfour (T.V. star of "Six Feet Under") and appreciated his soulful voice much like the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Anthony Kedis. Indeed, Fredalba very much reminded me of a cross between Limp Biscuit, the Red Hots, Sublime, and Incubus, with their eclectic mix of hip-hop, rock, funk, and reggae/ska, with their blend of vocals, electric guitar and bass, drums, turn-table, and even a cool flute (and all this time I thought the only place for a flute was in a geeky school band, boy was I wrong!). I expect big things from these guys.

All in all, it was a great evening showcasing three promising new musical acts, two of which feature television stars showing off their other talents. Perhaps both Lindsay and Eric put it best, when I asked each of them to compare acting with music, as each Coincidentally told me that while acting is great, it limits your own creativity. Music, on the other hand, gives you your own unlimited creativity, which is what any true artist lives for!