Electronic Press Kit
Band name: Chameleon Red
Genre: Rock
Website:
http://chameleonred.com
General Inquiries:
bandmail@chameleonred.com
Bio
Chameleon Red is a northeast Tennessee-based rock band from
an alternate reality. In their world, it’s still the sunny
seventies; musicians still play their instruments, write
their own songs, and rock is king. Rock means a little of
everything, mixed together and set to a backbeat. So
you might hear some old-time rock and roll. Or soul.
Or country. Or funk. Or even some jazz. It’s all
groovy, man. Have a nice day. In our world, they’re called
retro, but Chameleon Red just keep on truckin’, heedless of
trends and labels.
The band's latest release is their second album,
Skeleton Crew, the long-in-coming follow-up to their
double-album debut, Transposition. Transposition,
with its mix of straight-ahead rock, folk, country, blues,
and soul, displayed the versatility of these musicians, and
Skeleton Crew shows them expanding
their musical palette, dabbling in funk, jazz-rock, reggae,
and even raga-funk. The musical and lyrical diversity is
apparent when one listens to the singles: "Westwood" is a slice of roots-rock;
"Skeleton Crew" is danceable, menacing funk; "Impatience" is
driving pop; and "Paragon" is smooth, jazzy soul. Chameleon
Red draws upon a large variety of musical influences:
The Beatles, Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, Steely Dan,
Parliament/Funkadelic, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, and Talking
Heads, just to name a few. Lyrically, Skeleton
Crew is concerned with the complexities of
relationships, personalities, and the struggle to survive
troubled times. The tone of the album is varied, as
well--sometimes contemplative, sometimes playful, now humbly
grateful, now righteously indignant.
The two core members of Chameleon Red are
multi-instrumentalists Wendy Hearl and John Franjione. The
two are seasoned music veterans and have been playing
together for the bulk of the last ten years, in Chameleon
Red and other bands as well. Hearl, who has eight
self-released solo albums to her credit, wears many hats in
Chameleon Red, including singer, guitarist, songwriter,
arranger, and producer. Franjione is also a man of many
talents, handling bass and keyboard chores in addition to
singing, co-writing and co-arranging. Chameleon Red formed
during the recording of Hearl’s sprawling rock opera,
Transposition, as a studio-based band, and despite some
forays into live performance, has kept the focus on writing
and recording the best music they can.
That’s really the whole point of Chameleon Red—to make good
music. Trends and styles come and go, but great music is
timeless, and it’s that timeless quality that Chameleon Red
is always reaching for.
Members
Wendy Hearl - Vocals, Guitars, Electric Sitar,
Keyboard, Mandolin, Bowed Psaltery, Hammer Dulcimer, Percussion
John Franjione - Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, Guitar, Percussion
