More about Chameleon Red
Listening to Chameleon Red can be a bit like putting your iPod on shuffle; they’re a study in contrasts. A heartfelt and earnest original tune might be followed by an unabashedly gleeful rendition of a cheesy TV theme song. Rough-edged rockers rub shoulders with tender ballads with three-part harmony. Chameleon Red paint from a broad musical palette incorporating elements of rock, folk, soul, metal, and psychedelia into original songs full of infectious melodies, insistent rhythms, and heartfelt, intelligent lyrics. With equal gusto, they play a wide variety of sometimes-unusual cover tunes. The band hails from the mountainous northeastern corner of Tennessee, an area whose musical tradition runs as deep as the mountain hollows and is as rich and colorful as the leaves in October.
The band’s ambitious debut album is entitled Transposition, a two-CD rock opera telling the story of Jack, a troubled young musician who wrestles with rejection, spiritual crisis, and ambition in order to discover his true and authentic identity. Honest, engaging, sometimes heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting, the opera includes songs that range from tender acoustic ballads to loud, aggressive rock. Transposition clearly bears evidence of Chameleon Red’s diverse influences, which include the Beatles, the Carter Family, Led Zeppelin, Marvin Gaye, and Neil Young.
Transposition is also the impetus for the formation of the band Chameleon Red. The opera started out as a solo project, but quickly morphed into a group effort as longtime friends and musical collaborators came together to bring the work into being.
Collectively, Chamelon Red is about the pure desire
to create music and forge community in an increasingly fragmented and
alienated culture. Transposition exemplifies
this approach, a work created simply because it had to be.
Transposition
A Two-CD Rock Opera
by Chameleon Red.
