Josh Dion Band
Josh Dion (Vocal, drums)
Brian Killeen (Bass)
Dan Hindman (Guitar, vocal)
Pat Firth (Keyboards, vocal)
Sarah Versprille (Vocal)
There was a time when many a band who relied on the reputation of its live show had looked to doing a live album to fill in the blanks with the public. In the classic rock era, it even made some careers break wide open. The Allman Brothers Band and Humble Pie come to mind.
As the UK's Drummer magazine predicted in 2006, "Dion is a young player that is going to create a very big impression indeed. Not only can this fella lay down a super funky beat, but he sings with a soulful voice that totally melts your mind...You are going to be hearing more from this extremely talented young musician...If there is any justice in this world, Dion will be huge."
The critical reaction to the Josh Dion Band's "Live!" seems to indicate that there is a large audience out there, dissatisfied with what they hear from the mainstream music business, who have found kindred spirits in this band from NYC who play like their lives depend on it. Northeast in-Tune put it this way, "They spill their souls for you every time they play."
"Live!" is still unable to supply the onstage explosion of visual energy that is evident at every JDB performance. No, as you listen to this CD, you simply have to remind yourself that the soulful lead vocals are coming from Josh Dion while all the time he is also pounding out the sometimes complex, occasionally sensitive, always musical thunder drums. No matter what you've seen, you've never seen anything quite like this as Josh Dion sings, laughs, calls out improvised changes and jumps up and down while, all the time, laying down the groove for the world.
As Relix magazine saw it, "It only takes one song to realize that vocalist/drummer Josh Dion was born for the stage. Flanked by five friends and fellow jazz students from New Jersey's William Paterson University, and owning a genuinely slackjawing command of '70s funk-especially for a white boy-Dion sweatily bashes his tom toms and cymbals with boundless soul at center stage, channeling the spirit of Earth, Wind and Fire and The Gap Band. To be certain, it's a sight to behold."
In contrast to some of today's "stars" In the auto-tuned world we live in, Josh Dion is the real thing as a singer too. "The band is all about emotion. We just trying to tap into whatever the song's about and it's really just a big smile. It's about all of the great things in life and we're just trying to go for that and capture that," Josh explains. Drum magazine described the JDB as "... A drummer-led soaked jam band that isn't afraid to work up a sweat. Or sling it around. Bring a towel."
Born the son of a drummer, Josh got his first drums, a Champagne Sparkle Slingerland kit, at age three and he grew up practicing to his family's records. Josh got his first paying gig at age eight in his father's band and before long, four years to be exact, was playing with the University of Connecticut jazz program in his hometown of Storrs. A twelve year old shedding with college players? Yeah, he was that good even then. Although still citing Gene Krupa as still his number one influence, Josh's ears turned from jazz to soul and funk as he grew into his adult tastes. You can still hear him straddle those worlds as his music comes rolling out, full of surprises and left turns.
Modern Drummer described "Live!" thusly. "Drummer Josh Dion leads his tight, old school funk band as lead vocalist and MC, while directing some arresting grooves with cross-sticking and syncopated hi-hat patterns. It's R&B like it used to be played - heavy on parts and production, with solid arranging and nods to hip-hop and jazz."
Josh introduces us to his bandmates. "Dan Hindman and I connected on a very high level right off the bat. He's my song writing partner; we wrote "Take The Time" and "Birdwalker" together, two of the highest highs of our shows. He's got a unique approach to playing guitar. He can play like Clapton or Robbie Robertson or Trey and more, but in the last year, he's shot up into the stratosphere of sounding like himself. " Another member of the band whose song writing collaboration has yielded a JDB crowd favorite, "Movin' On," Pat Firth "fills up the bottom end of the band and fills in the midrange with the keyboards. He's a fantastic person to work with and he's a very supportive person," Josh confirms. Filling out the rhythm section is Josh's partner in time, Brian Killeen on bass. "I toured with Brian way back in the day with ulu and we've been friends for a long time. He plays the bass the way the bass is supposed to be played. I've played with Brian every week for the past four years and we're not bored yet," Josh laughs. Last but not least is Sarah Versprille, who is "kind of coming out of this jazz/Billie Holiday meets Erykah Badu and she's got twang in there too and I really like that sound. We do a lot of improvisation where I'll just mouth words to her onstage and she'll get it. She'll sing a harmony just on the spot, a lot of off the cuff kind of stuff."
So what's next?
"We are writing and writing and writing. We have a whole batch of new songs and we are looking to go back into the studio with them to start the next studio record. We're taking that whole new sound that you hear on 'Take The Time' and want to make that studio album with a vibe that'll take us into a new realm in the music world."
Among the people looking forward to more of that new sound is Erin from associatedcontent.com, who distills it down this way. "Josh Dion is a breath of fresh air in a polluted mainstream music industry. In the land of the Indies he's a God.....Josh Dion has the ability to be a fresh face and voice in a world that right now has been set back years with the current music scene. With shows like American Idol stomping on the validity of musicians and their music it's with great pleasure that the music industry should welcome such a unique and talented visionary like Josh Dion and the band. It's not very often an artist sees something that the world doesn't, a shift or a change in the tides of music it's almost that time and it's possible Josh Dion may be leading the charge."
