The Parlor Mob

Wiki Bio Official Biography

You’d be forgiven for mistaking The Parlor Mob for a much older, more gristled outfit. But along with their technical prowess and world-wearied outlook, the Central Jersey quintet has a significant tell – the careful optimism and sheer energy of the young. The Parlor Mob’s debut album And You Were A Crow bears all the noise and lessons of the past several years for the band. It’s a record constructed out of the most raw materials; the grit and transience of rented apartments and borrowed garages, major label hardship, and the fierce brotherhood that has kept the band together through it all.

Finally, however, the hardships the band has suffered appear to be paying off. In addition to the brilliant debut the band has to show for their years together, they’ve embarked on their first headlining tour, after consistently selling out rooms in their native New Jersey and New York. “Headlining is such a different animal,” explains bassist Nick Villapiano. “We're so used to having thirty or forty minutes to try and grab new fans. Now we have a nice time slot to get thoroughly into our songs.” But new fans haven’t been difficult for the rock outfit to come by lately -- iTunes just named them Best New Artist of 2008 in the rock genre, and since last year’s Lollapalooza performance, the band has steadily been growing their already significant fanbase. “It was amazing,” says guitarist Paul Ritchie of their performance at last year’s festival. “It was the highlight of all of our careers, I’d have to say.”

Until now that is. Just before embarking on their TK-date tour, the band wrapped the video for first single “Hard Times,” a chugging, guitar-driven song that rips the album open with lead singer Mark Melicia’s signature moan. More swagger than self-pity, the band decided to showcase what they do best in the video. “[It]’s performance-based,” says guitarist Paul Ritchie. “We wanted to showcase our strength, which is performing. We wouldn’t want a cheesy storyline to go along with it.” But the band’s distaste for cheesiness doesn’t mean they’re short on sentiment. The song, a prescient political take on the state affairs, is more swagger than self-pity, and its universality is undeniable. Rarely has a generation’s problems been put so succinctly, and so head-noddingly, into song.

All the setbacks the band sustained to make And You Were A Crow proved necessary to making the album. After an initial major label deal fell through, the band threw themselves into their work. “We have a basic gameplan,” Villapiano continues. “We perpetually write. More than anything, it’s a way of therapy, a way to keep us on track.” Where a lesser band may have retreated to day jobs and eventual nostalgia, The Parlor Mob – named for a group of 19th century mercenaries used in New York City riots – channeled their misfortune into their art.

Showcasing the depth of their influences, the band offers up twelve varied tracks with And You Were A Crow, each plumbing one of the many emotions brought on by the events of the band’s five-year history. The epic, emotive “Tide of Tears” makes use of Melicia’s heart-rending scream amidst dredging guitars and a buoying piano, while elsewhere his smooth croon laces acoustic shuffler “Angry Young Girl.” The soulful sway of “When I Was An Orphan,” says guitarist Dave Rosen, is an expansion of the band’s sound. “To me, it’s darker and bigger and heavier. [These songs] don’t sound like a band that’s trying to find itself.”

Recorded in Echo Mountain Recording Studios in Asheville, North Carolina, the band worked with producer Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Modest Mouse), who sought out the band’s new record company to work with them. “What sold us on him was his desire to do the majority of the record based on our live performance in the studio. And that’s basically what it is,” says Ritchie.  King, infused the album with the camaraderie the band has in abundance. On “Can’t Keep No Good Boy Down,” King suggested the band give some indication of the time they were having. “We wanted to get a little ambient stuff going on – it’s a redemptive song, so have some chatter and indication that we were having a good time. So we mic’ed the live room where we were recording, brought up some cases of beers and tequila, and recorded the room and talk,” says Villapiano.

The moods evoked through the symbiosis of music and lyrics make And You Were A Crow a visceral journey, at times deep and dark, and at times thrashing good fun. It’s a time capsule of the lives of five individuals, of place and time. Above all, it’s a testament to the redemptive power of rock and roll for this generation. “Our story and our outlook are pretty self-explanatory,” says Villapiano. “Just a bunch of friends who really love music, really love each other, and are trying our best to share what we’ve got with as many people as we can.”