Dawnbreaker

Dawnbreaker is the debut solo album from former Chesterfield's frontman, vocalist and guitarist, Scott Sharrard. Imagine the soulful, funky rock of Prince and Lenny Kravitz combined with the confessional ballads of Coldplay or Zero 7 and fused with the virtuostic guitar styles of Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton... now you might start to understand the sonic landscape that is the music of Scott Sharrard. Diverse influences abound in Scott's musical palate and the resulting fusion becomes the kind of sophisticated pop music that we have not heard in generations. He is already a renowned songwriter, vocalist, guitarist and producer and Dawnbreaker also features his talents as a drummer, bassist, keyboardist and arranger. Scott Sharrards music was originally introduced to the world through his work as lead guitarist and vocalist of the New York City band, The Chesterfields. The band independently produced and released two albums (2001's Henry Street Soul and 2003's The Chesterfields-EP) to wide critical acclaim. The band received strong college radio airplay and performed and toured at a wide array of East Coast and Midwest clubs, theaters, and festivals. They also opened shows for such artists as Dr. John and Midnight Oil and received critical praise from Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20), Billboard Magazine, and Ahmet Ertegun. During this time, Scott built a solid reputation as a freelance guitarist, vocalist, producer, and composer; working with a variety of artists such as: P. Diddy, Marshall Crenshaw, Cornelius Bumpus, LewSoloff, Michael Powers, Matt Wilson, Jerry Vivino, Grant Green Jr., P.J. Lougrhan, KatyPfaffl, Brian Charette, and many others, performing all styles from HipHop to Modern Jazz. In 2003, Scott amicably parted ways with The Chesterfields and began recording demos for what is now his debut solo album, Dawnbreaker;, with Producer/Engineer Charles Martinez (Rob Thomas, Keith Richards, MickJagger) and drummer Charlie Drayton (Keith Richards, B-52's). Scott's music can tell stories of fast living and urban isolation (A Thousand Days and In Her Arms&), explore the trials and complexities of love (Down), or express a need for truth and spiritual redemption (Approval and Show Us The Way). All of these lyrical themes, combined with an endless palate of relentless grooves, soulful vocals, soaring guitar work, and dense harmonies culminate to create a universal soul music that is the music of Scott Sharrard. Dawnbreaker Written, Arranged and Performed by Scott Sharrard Produced by Scott Sharrard and Charles A. Martinez Mixed by CAM Music and Lyrics by Scott Sharrard, Copyright 2003/2004 (except track 1, additional music by Charles A. Martinez) Mastered by Michael Fossenkemper at Turtle Tone Recorded and Mixed at Halo Sound, Cold Spring, New York, 2004 Featuring: Scott Sharrard: all Vocals, Guitars, Bass, B-3 Organ, Key's, Drums and Percussion with: Charles A. Martinez: Bass (tracks 1,4, 6 and 9), Synth Bass (3 and 6), additional Guitar (1), Murf (9) Charlie Drayton: Drums (tracks 3 and 9) Brian Charette: B-3 Organ (track 3) James Dooley: Piano, Guitar harmonics and Strings (track 9)

There once was a time when you would hear a song and immediately be taken in by the poetical pictures the songwriter created. The great poets and lyricists like Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, Justin Hayward, James Taylor and many others, seem to be a dying breed. Listening to music nowadays, you'd be hard-pressed to hear any artists that believe lyricism is an art form. Yes, the words usually rhyme and have a semblance of meaning, but for the most part, words are thrown together just for the SAKE of rhyming. With the explosion of internet radio and music sites and armed with an inexpensive digital recorder, anyone can upload their music, regardless of the musical ability they may or may not possess. And with all the millions of songs flooding the net, originality has taken a back seat to being seen and heard. It's as if independent music sites are nothing more than blog sites. They are certainly becoming one and the same. Anyone can have an opinion and it seems that anyone can upload their music today. Right or wrong. Good or bad.

But there is some hope! I happened upon yet another site that promotes independent/unsigned artists and much to my surprise, I found a few of artists who were not only great songwriters, but they were artists that I would call bona fide poets. The songs that really made me feel and think the most were those of Jerald Wolf. His first solo CD entitled "Winter's Emptiness" is an emotional journey of heart-felt songs that are deeply thoughtful and a well textured mix of acoustica nd electric. The first song I listened to was "You're Gone". I was immediately taken in by the descriptive words and hypnotic tune. The opening lines are:

"Last night when I called you, you were gone;
Gone back to a place you once called home.
You went trying to find the pieces of yesterday's life;
Trying to find somewhere to call your own."

From that point, I clung to every word. Jerald Wolf has a diverse and rich voice, full of emotional colors. The twelve song CD "Winter's Emptiness" is the emerging of a new songwriter/poet. The songs are as poetical as they are raw and sometimes cold. A great CD in all respects.
Other new songwriters/poets to watch for are Anne Davis with her "Temple Of Contradictions", V.K. Lynnes' "Black Halo" and Deron Wade with his CD, "Somewhere Out There". These three artists also show signs of being the next generation of the poet/songwriter. We will always have Bob Dylan and Arlo Guthrie, but it's refreshing to hear artists like Jerald Wolf, Anne Davis, V.K. Lynne and Deron Wade and to know that true talent exists outside of the major labels.

Today, anyone can give an opinion or have their music on the internet, but there are only some that desreve to be heard.

Bob Ollman is an freelance, online music critic in NYC.

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