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2007 Articles and Interviews/Previous Articles

The Northern Star - Show Review

By PATRICK BATTLE
October 1, 2007

The House Café was a haven for smooth moves and spinning glow sticks Saturday night.

The progressive groove band U-Melt blessed the venue with their hybrid formation of original funk tunes.

The New York City-based quartet gave the audience the ability to do exactly what music is supposed to make you do – dance. Lead guitarist Rob Salzer was sensational, rocking out sounds that were essentially in the realm of blues, but hints of some trance and soul also showed through.

by Benji Feldheim - Staff Writer

U-Melt needed a challenge.

The New York City-based quartet has made it a regular practice to undertake difficult feats - especially those that involve balancing musical proficiency without self-indulgently alienating an audience seeking a fun concert.

For instance: The band decided Sept. 15 during a late-night set in Greenfield, Mass., to play the entire Frank Zappa album “Apostrophe” - a recording packed with dense, meticulous orchestration alongside bathroom humor.

Zappa's classic served as a fitting incubator for the expansion the band has undergone since its inception in 2003. U-Melt continues to strengthen the varied sides of their sound, combining odd-metered rock composition, fist-pumping dance beats and earnest lyrics. Rob Salzer's swift guitar trickery, combined with keyboardist Zac Lasher's warbling synth washes, Adam Bendy's thumping bass lines and George Miller's precise drumming create a sound that is difficult to label.

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Relix.com - Interview with Zac

by Mike Greenhaus
Tuesday, 08 May 2007

Keyboardist Zac Lasher on U-Melt’s voice, jamming with moe., and takingbaby steps up the jamband ladder.

One unified voice
In the last year and a half [guitarist Rob Salzer] and I have adopted certain elements of each other’s songwriting styles. I think that’s a good thing because it allows us to create a more cohesive sound. At this point, we are both very composition-heavy and very groove-heavy and we both use lots of jazz harmonics. I think we try to do things which are trange and bizarre and which you wouldn’t normally find in rock music. Our lyrics, especially, have been gelling, and we are starting to write about many of the same subjects independently. I guess it is just a sign that we know each other a lot better than in 2004, but we really inspire each other a lot, which isthe important thing.

by Jared Hecht
Wednesday, 25 April 2007

It’s a beautiful and exciting thing to watch an up-and-coming band. It’s twice as exciting to see two rising acts sharing the same bill. Tea Leaf Green held a headlining spot at the newly dubbed Fillmore East at Irving Plaza with New York City natives U-Melt. It’s usually a rare occurrence when an opening act almost fills a venue. U-Melt provided for one of these rare opportunities, bringing the crowd in early to get the night started.

David Schultz
2007-06-25

Professional wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper always used to remind his opponents that just when they thought they had the answers, he changed the questions. Coming nowhere close to the Hot Rod’s meanspiritness, the same aura of unpredictability surrounds U-Melt. During any one of their storied late-night, after-hours shows, the foursome comprised of keyboardist Zac Lasher, guitarist Rob Salzer, bassist Adam Bendy and drummer George Miller, will spiral through blues, jazz, psychedelia, electronica and any other style within their grasp. Each of their songs, which in concert can stretch well into the twenty minute mark without losing steam, contain complexly textured arrangements and usually a few tempo changes to keep things interesting. Going beyond the music, U-Melt themselves aren’t ones to remain in stasis. At the release party for The I’s Mind, their second studio album, they used the occasion to debut three new songs rather than focus on their newly minted disc. U-Melt’s innovative vibe also spreads to the community gradually developing around the band. If the wild glow stick war that erupted at The I’s Mind party during “The Fantastical Flight Of Captain Delicious” hasn’t become a common occurrence at U-Melt’s gigs, an audience going completely tribal in the middle of one of their jams has.

Adopting a tried and true philosophy of bringing their music to the people, U-Melt has become one of the more relentless touring bands. Their travels recently brought them back to their home base of New York City for a headlining slot at TriBeCa’s Knitting Factory. Extremely at ease while awaiting their midnight set, U-Melt gathered backstage to reflect a bit on their origins, their communal and individual development as a band and gaze a bit into the future. Spend any time with U-Melt and you realize that they are a witty and articulate group of guys. Students of the game, they are well-schooled in the music they play and very plugged in to the scene that surrounds them. In sitting down with them, Salzer, Lasher and Miller enthusiastically play off of each other, freely adding to each other’s comments or gently poking fun at an answer they perceive as too serious. In much the same way George Harrison served as the silent Beatle, Bendy is easily U-Melt’s quietest member, preferring to let his bass and his chattier band mates speak for him.

By: David Schultz
Thursday, August 09, 2007

In the never ending quest to offer fans a new and different concert experience, promoters have begun to reach beyond the physical limitations of staging a show on dry land. The past few years have seen the rapid growth and proliferation of “rock cruises,” in which a boat full of fans take a luxury liner to sunny locales with bands like Styx, Big Head Todd & The Monsters or the Dave Matthews Band acting as the in-house entertainment. The cost of the venture typically depends on the desired level of comfort, but you can expect to spend a minimum of $1200 for your accommodations.

Like any grand successful idea, it will be adapted on a smaller scale. With an abundance of New York City river space at their disposal, Rocks Off Concert Cruise Series and NYC Rockin' The River Cruises (formerly the NYC Blues Cruise) provide the locals with a near nightly excuse to act like a tourist and take a scenic trip that typically mirrors that of the famed Circle Line. If you can get past the waves that constantly rock the ship, the frugally priced excursions provide a close-knit venue to see a performance. If you've ever had a desire to meet anyone in the band, the boat trips provide your best opportunity: without a lifeboat or water wings, they aren't going anywhere. Seaworthy as they might be, the boats being used for these trips aren't decorated to the nines. More utilitarian than anything else, the boats’ stripped down, bare bones interiors with small bars stocked with beer and inexpensive liquor turn the vessels into floating fraternity basements.

The summer boat show schedule usually has a healthy smattering of jambands. Although the East and Hudson Rivers don’t provide the liberal lawlessness of International waters, the rules on board are a bit less strict than your typical indoor venue. Unless you are from out of town, the band is going to be the main attraction of these shows as the route taken doesn't vary. Travelling up each river and seeing the Statue of Liberty from New York Harbor one week dilutes the thrill of doing it again the next.

Not being aquatic, (I love the beach but dislike going in the ocean), it takes something special to get me to leave the shore. Last week such an event occurred as U-Melt took over the Half Moon for their annual summer boat show as part of Rocks Off’s slate of summer shows. Aware that late-arriving fans would be out of luck, U-Melt held the boat on the dock as long as they could. Since a couple were coming in from Alabama (maybe Arkansas), they waited as long as possible so they wouldn't be left behind. It was the micromanagement version of caring about their fans.

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Earvolution.com - Tealeaf Green and U-Melt

By: David Schultz
Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Déjà vu Of The Sweetest Kind: Tea Leaf Green And U-Melt Destroy Irving Plaza

A little over a year ago, San Francisco based Tea Leaf Green sold out a two night run at New York City's Knitting Factory featuring hometown foursome U-Melt providing an eye-popping opening set. With U-Melt's irresistibly catchy grooves and Tea Leaf's polished mélange of all that's right about music, the scene seemed too large for The Knit to contain. This past Saturday, history wonderfully repeated itself when both bands showed how much can be done in a year before a sold-out crowd at the 1,000 person capacity Irving Plaza.

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Glide Magazine - Hidden Track: U-Melt 03/02/07 SBD (FLAC, MP3, STREAM)

by: Scott Bernstein
May 16, 2007
Grousing The Aisles: Jammin’ on the One

U-Melt’s music is all over the place. Within five minutes the band can hit heavy metal riffs, Steely Dan-esque lyrics and poppy melodies. The show featured here is a crispy soundboard from the band’s recent peformance at the Wheel House in Narragansett, RI. One of the segments that you’d only see at a U-Melt show is the scorching Bubblehouse > Boy In A Bubble > Bubblehouse that the band drops early in the show. U-Melt has never run away from their influences, covering the likes of Phish, the Smashing Pumpkins and MMW. Bubblehouse sounds extremely tasty with the addition of some rippin’ guitar.

U-Melt’s epic compositions are the true stars of this March 2007 recording. A Robbins Tale is a well-written tune that’s got a Steely Dan meets ELP vibe. The second set is palindromic in nature, and it’s chock full of some of the best this band has to offer. Kind Insight features Talking Heads-esque vocals with a beat that kinda sounds like Caravan on acid. I think I’ve thrown out enough random band comparisons for one day, so just go check out this show before I run out of ‘em.