RAVENWOOD :: OFFICIAL REALM

CANTON REPOSITORY TICKET

RAVENOUS
Posted: May 20th, 2021

Joe Vitale Jr. releases new album featuring industrial, alt-rock and guest Neil Zaza
By Ed Balint

Joe Vitale Jr. didn't balk when asked about living in the shadow of his famous father.

The elder Vitale is a Canton native and accomplished percussionist, touring as a drummer with supergroup the Eagles decades ago.

"It's mentally in the back of my head when I'm performing," said Vitale Jr., who at age 10 took to the Blossom Music Center stage with Crosby, Stills & Nash to play tambourine on “Teach Your Children" in front of 19,000 people.

"I'm aware of it growing up with the same name. On top of it, a lot of times there's a comparison, (but) I just try to push that out of my mind in a sense. ... While the name can open up some doors, I try to deliver from my side of it.

"... It's an honor to have my name and be compared," Vitale Jr. said of his 72-year-old father, whose vast career includes recording and touring with Joe Walsh, Dan Fogelberg, Ted Nugent and Peter Frampton, as well as jamming with Ringo Starr, John Lennon and Keith Richards. "At the same time, it can be nerve-racking how the crowd reacts to you versus how dad would do it; it's something I'm aware of, but it doesn't phase me compared to earlier in my career."

Acclaimed guitarist on album

That perspective and insight are embodied in "Ravenous," a new album released earlier this month under the Vitale Jr.-headed musical project, Ravenwood on the Vari Loud Records label.

The album is steeped in industrial alternative rock, echoing the genre's heyday in the '90s, with a modern gleam, taut production and propulsive rhythms. Solid hooks and melodies are interspersed throughout the 14 tracks amid an electronic soundscape.

"Ravenous" showcases the younger Vitale, a 1996 Jackson High School graduate. The frontman is credited with all of the songwriting, vocals and instrumentation, as well as serving as producer and engineer.

Contributing a solo to "Don't Let Go" is acclaimed instrumental guitarist Neil Zaza, an Akron native who is known for his melodic playing and adaptation of classical works.
Zaza is among the core touring members of Ravenwood, along with Dan Kinsinger and Brandon Covey.

The album is available on Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify and other streaming platforms. For more information on Ravenwood, visit: www.ravenwoodrocks.com

New record was 'marathon' project

Vitale eagerly discussed the Ravenwood album that has been about four years in the making. Most of the songs were written last year during the pandemic.

"There were points where I was asking myself, 'Am I ever going to finish this album?'," he admitted, thanking his dad, mother, Susie Vitale, and wife, Kathy Vogel, for their support. "And God kept giving me the strength I needed to keep going all the way to completion. This project was truly a marathon, to say the least."

Reception of the album has been positive online, he said, noting the video for last year's single, "We're All in This Together" has amassed more than 900,000 plays on the Warm Audio Facebook page.

Other pursuits include videography and woodworking, but the 43-year-old Akron area resident said professionally he's most committed to music.

Questions for Joe Vitale Jr.

Q: What music has specifically influenced this record?
A: "When 'The Downward Spiral' (Nine Inch Nails) came out (in 1994), that album kind of changed my perception of what music could be, and just the way things interactively worked with the grooves and just the heaviness of the guitars and (synthesizers) — all that combined was something that stayed with me for a very long time.
"I've always looked at my music as a clean version of Nine Inch Nails," he said, laughing.

How challenging is it to release a rock and roll record in 2021 in terms of commercial viability?

"You can have something someone creates in their bedroom (without a record deal) ... and using Apple Music and Spotify and literally being able to get that out across the world, and that literally was unheard of just 20 years ago when (the Internet) was in its infantile stages.

"... The only problem is it's easy to get lost in the white noise of everybody else, and I don't mean that negatively, but in order to stand out, it forces the musician either to put something out absolutely amazing in that sense ... or just hope it catches on.

"It can be very difficult because there's a lot of competition around the world now. That's wonderful; I love competition because it makes the music better ... and I think it's more challenging in some ways, but I think it's more freeing in some ways because if you're putting a record out, you don't have to think this has to be a No. 1 hit. Literally, whatever is on your mind, you can release that, and you have the freedom to put out whatever you want."

Were any songs inspired by the challenges of the pandemic?

"'We're all in this together,' I kept hearing that phrase over and over again. Triumph over adversity. I wanted to put something together that I felt would give people some help in that time because life was difficult.

"I used a lot of what we're going through (in the songs 'We're All in This Together,' 'Close to Midnight' and 'Same Problems, Different Day'). There's a lot of frustration, people are really afraid of what tomorrow would necessarily bring ... and we didn't know when the end of this was going to be, and obviously, we're still in it, and with this record, I took a lot of the emotions I was feeling at that time and just literally threw it into the mix as I was recording it."

What influence did your dad, Joe Vitale, have on this album?

"My dad still has a very large influence on me. I bounce stuff off him constantly.

"... We have different musical tastes, but he always gives me the final say on stuff ... Sometimes we bump heads, and I always respect very much what he has done because he comes from a huge catalog of songs.

"I got to the point where you can get so close to a project that you're not objective on it. I want to get the best sound (and my dad helped with mixing the tracks). He's very straightforward with me; if there's something he doesn't like, he tells me.

"On this record, what I wanted to do is I wanted to branch off. ... This is the first album I completely produced myself. I'd get suggestions from dad, and he taught me how to select and pick things and what will make part of a song stand out."

What else influences your music?

"One thing that is also interwoven in my music is my faith, and I'm a Christian, and while my records are secular-based, they always have a lot of Biblical principles in them.

"... I had a rule when my grandma was alive. If I couldn't perform it for her, then I just wouldn't put (the music) out. My thing is I try to give people that little bit of escape to get away from the stress in their lives, and there is some hope and faith in the future."

Do you have any touring plans in advance of Ravenwood's Aug. 13 show opening for a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tribute band at Lock 3 in Akron?

"I'm looking to hop on as an opening act (while exploring other opportunities). And it's been incredibly frustrating because I love performing, and I miss it so much. It's one of those things where I'm just dying to get out playing."

Joe Vitale (father of Joe Vitale Jr.)

"My son's new album, 'Ravenous,' is a masterpiece!!" he wrote in an email. "It's the result of literally hundreds of hours of hard work, patience and dedication. He accomplished this entirely by himself.

"I would step in once in a while and lend an ear when it was needed. Sometimes an aritst (including myself) needs that second set of ears to confirm or cancel an idea, sound or any issue you're unsure of.

"... I would check his mixes and then he would master it and we'd listen again. That's how it's done. You go back and forth a few times and finally it's PERFECT!!! As an artist, my son has reached a new high."

Neil Zaza, guest guitarist on the Ravenwood song, "Don't Let Go"

"I was really trying to accent and bring out the heavy rhythmic element that the song was asking for," he wrote. "What always permeates a Ravenwood tune is not just the industrial attitude, but there is a real groove and movement that underlies everything.

"Bringing that to the forefront and adding excitement was easy when you have that great of material to work with. The rhythm is so strong in the material that I actually was able to pull off some funky riffs and they worked perfectly in context."

Original Article: https://www.cantonrep.com/story/entertainment/2021/05/20/canton-native-joe-vitale-jr-releases-ravenwood-rock-album/5003353001/

A&R FACTORY

RAVENWOOD HAS SMASHED EVERY ALT ROCK ARCHETYPE IN THEIR LATEST SINGLE “WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER”
Posted: June 26th, 2020

Ravenwood released their unifying Industrial-infused Hard Rock hit “We’re All in This Together” on March 26th. It’s probably the most inspiring Rock hit I’ve heard in 2020. They obliterated the illusion that Rock lyrics need to be steeped in nihilism and anger to be ‘cool’.

Existentialism has been even more attractive than ever in recent months; it has become an act of rebellion to refuse to fall in a despondent line. We’re All in This Together is the perfect example of that. The last thing we need right now is Rock artists finding edgy ways to tell us the world sucks. I live in hope that Ravenwood will start a trend.

Any fans of Powerman 5000, Rob Zombie, Static-X, Spineshank, Drowning Pool, Hed PE and Orgy will definitely want We’re All in This Together in their ears.

You can check out the official music video to We’re All in This Together by heading over to YouTube now.

Follow Ravenwood via Facebook to keep up to date with their latest releases.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ravenwood We're All in This Together ALbum Cover

Original Article A&R FACTORY:
https://www.anrfactory.com/ravenwood-has-smashed-every-alt-rock-archetype-in-their-latest-single-were-all-in-this-together

Original Article on I LOVE ROCK & ROLL Review SIte:
https://iloverocknroll.site/alternative-rock/ravenwood-has-smashed-every-alt-rock-archetype-in-their-latest-single-were-all-in-this-together-independent-music-new-music

SHELLSHOCKED RADIO

We’re All in This Together
Posted: June 21st, 2020

"Hell yeah! Great song, cool sounds and production value!”

CRACKWISE MAGAZINE

Together
Posted: April 20th, 2020

In these unprecedented times, we’re all facing the same things: anxiety, uncertainty, finding normalcy, searching for answers.

Music has the power to unite us; to soothe us; to make us stronger.

“We’re All in This Together” is an anthem for the times from the band Ravenwood.

A band known for its message of triumph over adversity, this is a much needed message of hope.

Don’t give up. Let's rock this COVID outta here...

Original Article: https://www.crackwisemag.com/sounds/together