Vinny Vegas

Vinny Vegas, a very talented and musically charismatic band from Baltimore. Having recently released their first full length album ‘The Big White Whale’, the band describes their music as having ‘dramatic melodies, inventive arrangements and unpredictable song structures’, and that they certainly do!

The first track immediately brings us back to the sounds of Panic at the Disco. The sound of the main vocalist, Scott Siskind (also on the guitar) brings melodies like those heard in ‘Nine at the Afternoon’. Although this first ensemble has a more relaxed sound, it provides a good stepping stone towards the rest of the album.

‘Patterns Weave’ is a brilliantly put together song. Instrumentally and lyrically, winding the tempo up to create a foot-tapping beat. The lyrics themselves are interesting and complement the track really well, teasing the eardrums with the slight sound of ‘Supersoaker’ from Kings of Leon. The only problem with this track is, it’s way too short!

Moving onto ‘From the Top of the Stairs’, a more demanding and weighted sound coming from the group. This one really hitting the genre of Indie Rock, with a dark and heady feel. Completely different sound from the previous two tracks, it’s as though they are trying to show how musically creative they within a short space of time.

It’s not to go without saying, this group is very lyrically talented. ‘Rubber Sternum’ proves this. One the instrumental beginning is underway, the vocals and lyrics work together without effort. Although repetitive, this is a beautiful wind down track after a hectic working day. This is to go without saying, ‘Claws’, produces a delicate melody that swirls into your ear drums with ease. The instrumental genius highlights how multi-talented Vinny Vegas are.

‘Sleeping Cliffs’, it describes itself. The down beat sound represents a lonely world, that can only be woken up by the rest of the album, and ‘All the way to crumble’ does just this. Although the instrumental talent is slightly misted on this track, it doesn’t hide the fact that the band create just as much charisma in their music instrumentally than their lyrics.

‘Afro Beat’ possesses a ‘jazz’ feel, not only does the piano and upbeat tempo from the drums confirm and well crafted song, but also showcases and confidence within the band. Personally our favourite track here at NR, we could have it on repeat for a while-says it all really!

Finishing with ‘Taste of your own Tongue’, the tempo once again slows to a dreamy pace. A great ending to a great album.

Vinny Vegas – a very all-round talented band, a definite one to listen to and watch out for in 2014!

Words: Grace Jalowiecka - New-Reviews

Vinny Vegas is a five piece band from Baltimore, Maryland who formed in 2007. Vinny Vegas play a dark piano driven style of indie rock that's difficult to pinpoint or describe. The music is soulful and passionate but does not deserve to be pegged with the emo tag because that would be doing the band a disservice. There's a lot more going on with the band's sound. Vinny Vegas mixes part singer/song writer and part dark piano driven indie rock. I'm having a hard time picking out influences for the band, possibly Minus The Bear, Nick Cave, Koji, or Call It Arson may be good starting points of reference in describing Vinny Vegas' sound. This usually isn't my usual style of music to listen to, but Vinny Vegas pull of their sound remarkably well. The Big White Whale is the band's latest nine song LP, which was self-released by the band on November 5th, 2013. The Big White Whale seems to be a concept album sung from the perspective of the lead singer. Overall, The Big White Whale is a unique album and makes for an engaging listen. Great stuff. - Manic Compression

Haling from Baltimore, the 2007 formed Vinny Vegas finally release their first full length album after six years "The Big White Whale". It's a risky, but wise move when a band take as long as that to release their first album, it shows moderation and pace despite the pressure from many to release. And it pays off well in Vinny Vegas' case, with a fantastic album which I can only describe as experimental soul rock.

This album starts with the blues scale-led modern alternative rock of "Highs & Lows", it acts as a story of being a touring artist: "for years it came in waves/ leaving for months and returning for days". As the song progresses into their dynamic and textured instrumentation the lyrics darken: "I think that maybe if I can leave I won't have time for them/ but there has gotta be a place where I can go". From beautiful to tranquil, track two "Patterns Weave" is a soft but up-tempo affair which constantly threatens to drop into punk laden riffs. However, this only proves to be clever and challenging to the listener as it merely keeps you on your toes.

"Rubber Sternum" is a fantastic lounge jazz introduced song which breaks into soul music with a tempo which sounds like "Golden Lady" by Stevie Wonder. And that Stevie Wonder influence is certainly prevalent through-out the dual vocal lead of "Sleeping Cliffs", also the piano ballad of "All the Ways to Crumble" are no different. There is also a strong feeling of La Dispute's work making an influence on the instrumentation, with the bluesy guitar chords, that lack of artificial reverb and a use of musique concrète screaming of a love for La Dispute's "Wildlife".

Soul, blues and jazz texture the dynamic alternative rock of "The Big White Whale". All the experimentalism and progressive nature of La Dispute, all the soulful and soaring modern punk of Emarosa, and vocals which give Stevie Wonder and Patrick Stump a new contender. Vinny Vegas may be young, but they certainly have an understanding of dynamism far better than some bands twice their age. Perhaps an issue could be seen as the record stays at the same level through-out and lacks any stand out potential singles bar "Highs & Lows". And lyrically they need to work on their clarity as it drops into non-comprehensive riddles. Regardless, "The Big White Whale" guarantees a promising year for Vinny Vegas post-launch.


Download: Highs & Lows; Rubber Sternum; All the Ways to Crumble; Afro Feet
For The Fans Of: Stevie Wonder; La Dispute; Emarosa
Listen: Vinny Vegas's facebook
- RockFreaks

Vinny Vegas is a Baltimore based rock band and while they have been around for several years, they are releasing their first full-length album since the bands formation. They have had a few singles and an E.P. out, but this is their first step into a bigger world, and what a step it is. This is definitely one of my favorite albums of the year, and no, not just for local bands either.

The album features lead singer and guitarist Scott Siskind, Emmanuel Lee on guitar and backing vocals, bassist Ian Patrick McDonald, Drummer Jason Cohen and Earl Carter as the bands keyboardist. Individually this lineup is clearly very talented musicians, but as a band they really know how to pull it all together in a way that makes the songs on this album stand out. Scott is a solid singer with a good range, and more importantly, there is a way he colors the notes he sings in such a way that conveys great feeling, be it hope or despair. The guitar work between Scott and Emmanuel are subtle, yet technical. The keyboardist adds a bit of a Jazz flair to each song, and the bassist and drummer play great with the bands shifting tempos while maintaining firmly in the pocket. There is some real musicianship behind these songs, but none of the songs were drowned out with technique, rather they are accented in unique ways. The pacing of each song is really well thought out, and the lyrics combined with the music take each song on its own journey, and will probably resonate with different people in a lot different ways.

It would be difficult to slap a genre on the album, but there are elements of Rock, Jazz, Soul, Blues and even a bit of pop in there for good measure. The album is a great listen from beginning to end, some very solid song writing is put into each track. The song Highs and Lows displays a constant building up and tearing down type of tempo that fits well with the name, it grabs your attention as things begin to build in speed and then really pulls you in as everything slows down to emphasize the words being sung. Sleeping Cliffs is a somber song with a haunting melody behind it that stands out from some of the other songs on the album. If I had to pick a favorite track from the album, right now it would be Patterns Weave. Starting with a frantic tempo the vocals increase in the key with each line for the first verse building up to a crescendo at "I will never be the same" and the falling right back down into the second verse. I've had this song on repeat more times than I care to admit and it draws me in each time I hear it.

The album comes out digitally November 5th, and Vinny Vegas is playing an album release show at the Metro Gallery in Baltimore on November 16th which I will definitely be at. More tour dates can be found on their website, vinnyvegasmusic.com. This album is definitely one for any fan of music to hear, so pick yourself up a copy. - Shockwave Magazine

So here I am, sitting at my computer listening to this new album The Big White Whale by Vinny Vegas and all I can say is, wow... where have these dudes been hiding? These guys sound like Fleeing from Finales meets a slower version of Say Anything. It’s as if Fall Out Boy lost the training wheels and went for their big boy shoes, and tap danced all over your sweet little earholes.

Comprised of lead singer and guitarist Scott Siskind, Emmanuel Lee on guitar and backing vocals, Earl Carter on keys and backing vocals, bassist Ian Patrick McDonald, and drummer Jason Cohen, Vinny Vegas stomps on the middle ground of what rock can be by infusing experimental sounds and melodies with tasteful guitar licks and butter melting vocals. Vinny Vegas burst onto the Baltimore, MD scene in 2007 with the debut album Self-Titled. Over the next few years, the band fine-tuned and developed their already amazing sound into a collaboration of soulful undertones with a pinch of artistic expression and a sprinkle of pop for good measure. This recipe of perfection translates into The Big White Whale; a soul-searching jambalaya that so god damn tasty that you just won’t want to put down until your arteries close up.

This is the part where I usually go through the album and pick one or two songs that I really liked and talk about what makes them awesome. Well this time I can’t bring myself to do that. The entire album is just so good that it’s impossible just to pick a few songs. But, if I had to split hairs and make a choice I would have to say “Highs & Lows” and “Afro Feet” had the highest replay count on my iPod by the end of the day.

“Highs & Lows” starts out gently with a few bluesy riffs lulling you into a mood of a melancholy disposition. Then the vocals chime in, picking you up and dusting the dirt of your shoulders. It’s like Scott is reassuring you that everything’s gonna be alright, and that’s just something I don’t get from a song every day. It’s something about his voice; it’s not dynamic but it’s reassuring, like a handshake. It’s not a bad thing that he doesn’t stomp up and down octaves, because the music doesn’t call for it. It calls for a solid range that’s soothing but powerful when it needs to be. I think that’s why I really liked this song, it sticks to its guns and really puts you in the mood to sit down and drink your problems away.

On the opposite end of the spectrum we have “Afro Feet.” It jumps in with some funky ass bass guitar quickly followed by a jazz piano that feel like its straight out of a 70’s porno, (Ron Jeremy, eat your heart out). It’s quirky and that’s what’s so fucking awesome about it. It’s serious in the way a B rated film is a major blockbuster. It’s a modern disco-jazzy tune that just has fun with itself, playing with elements that normally wouldn’t be put into a pop rock song. That’s what makes this band unique is their blatant disregard to music norms. They don’t tie themselves down with certain restraints that other bands hinder themselves with and I think that’s what all musicians should try to do.
In short Vinny Vega’s The Big White Whale is a musical mold breaker that defies every musical construct of rock, and totally spins it on its ass. - Goodnight Magazine

Vinny Vegas is talented, unique and deserve a lot more credit than they're given. So watch out for these Baltimore natives in the future and Check them out when they come back through Indy ! - Booze and Tattoos Magazine

Vinny Vegas's five song EP Land of Giants, the band's second self released EP, goes down smooth all the way through. In the first track Channels, the singer rings out in the first verse "Watch me close/and listen loud", a good thing to do for this Baltimore based group. Channels is robust with piano, trumpet, and crashing drums while the next three songs: We'll Call it Atlantis, The Four Rabbits, and Watch Out for Mastodons take on more straight forward guitar riffs that jump from the speakers to your anticipating ear drums and before you know it you'll be tapping your toes to the rhythm. Last and certainly not least, is Mallets. Starting off with bongo drums and a strong beat from the drum set, it then melts with soft piano in combination to the silky vocals that could be compared to Panic! At the Disco in Nine in the Afternoon. Overall, each song is teamed up with tranquil piano, great guitar riffs, a little trumpet, and a soft cooing to top it all off. I give it 4/5! - Band Rescue

Vinny Vegas's five song EP Land of Giants, the band's second self released EP, goes down smooth all the way through. In the first track Channels, the singer rings out in the first verse "Watch me close/and listen loud", a good thing to do for this Baltimore based group. Channels is robust with piano, trumpet, and crashing drums while the next three songs: We'll Call it Atlantis, The Four Rabbits, and Watch Out for Mastodons take on more straight forward guitar riffs that jump from the speakers to your anticipating ear drums and before you know it you'll be tapping your toes to the rhythm. Last and certainly not least, is Mallets. Starting off with bongo drums and a strong beat from the drum set, it then melts with soft piano in combination to the silky vocals that could be compared to Panic! At the Disco in Nine in the Afternoon. Overall, each song is teamed up with tranquil piano, great guitar riffs, a little trumpet, and a soft cooing to top it all off. I give it 4/5! - Band Rescue

There is not a single track on Vinny Vegas' new album Land of Giants that is bad, or even borders on mediocre. Every one song has its place.

The opening track, "Channels," has a piano intro to die for. It brings you back to the 40s and 50s and just makes you smile. Vinny Vegas’ lead vocalist has a voice that seems like a mix of Patrick Stump and Brendan Urie. The second track, “We’ll Call It Atlantis” has a more sooulful sound; recommend if you’re looking for something to close your eyes and groove to.

My personal favorite is the final track on the album, “Mallets”. The vocals are absolutely incredible, hitting highs you never would expect. The type of music you hear live, close your eyes and pound your chest to.

The only negative part about this EP it's length. The 5 song EP keeps you wishing for more. The piano-driven rock that this band creates seems unlike any other, and is definitely an album I’ll be listening to for a while.

5 out of 5 [TG]

Thanks to Scene Trash Promotions - Scene Trash Magazine - Baltimore

"Vinny Vegas strut their progressive stuff with well-deserved confidence – their playing ability is top-notch, and their creativity knows no bounds." - Soundproof Magazine

The new 7 inch vinyl single from Vinny Vegas is an exercise in balance. The release consists of two eerily progressive songs that punctuate chaotic sonic landscapes with the sort of melodies you would expect in a successful pop record, as well as an acoustic version of a track from their last album.

The record begins with “Ogre Hands”, a song brimming with urgency that also highlights Vinny Vegas’ aversion to traditional song structure. Ogre Hands is a great example of how beautifully a song can flow when an artist abandons the norm in favor of something that might trick your ear a little bit. Guitars, keys and bass all snake in and out of different parts of the song, none of which are easily distinguished as verse or chorus. This gives the transitions more the feel of moving to the next chapter of a book than the verse/chorus changeovers of a traditional rock song. The four part outro is tops among the album’s highlights, particularly when the instrumentation abruptly drops and the song is carried out by beautiful a’cappella harmonies.

The core of the second song “Ontario” is Emanuel Lee’s soulful piano riff. The keys are circled by Justin Fogelman and Scott Siskind’s turbulent rock-inspired guitars and anchored by the pressing militancy of the band’s rhythm section, consisting of Jason Cohen (drums) and Ian McDonald (bass). As the other instruments kick in and give the song it’s edge, the sensitivity of Lee’s piano may have been lost if the vocals on the track didn’t step up to match the soulfulness provided by Lee.

The album closes with an acoustic version of “Mallets” from their debut album “Land of Giants”. The song is originally a piano driven rocker complete with quirky percussion, but when stripped down to an acoustic guitar and vocals, it sounds as though it would be at home on the Coldplay album “Parachutes”. This is a great alternative version to an already stellar song, and the chants over an acoustic guitar that take the track out are a great way to end the album.

It’s no easy task to create heavily layered music with experimental song structures and have it still appeal to the common music fan rocking out at their desk, but Vinny Vegas manages to do so with this release. Order the 7 inch (which comes with a CD of the songs as well) from the band’s merchstore and see for yourself. - NY Examiner

“Channels” proffers big-band swing, full-on jangling pianos, surging horns, and “ba-ba-ba”s in service of a vibe that falls just short of 1950s/’60s showtunes. “Mallets” is pure prog magic: tribal drums, agitated guitar bursts, and subaquatic instrumentation. “The Four Rabbits” opens with an introduction that cuts back and forth between math-rock plectrum-chip and metal riff thunder, but before long Siskind’s vocals are surfing stratospheric peaks and scaling plunging ravines, uninhibited and full-throated when the tempo is windswept epic and pleadingly intimate against circular-scale figures, muted basslines, and slow-burning cymbals. The track is like the Patrick Swayze and Wendy Fraser duet “She’s Like the Wind” crossed with a low-level Radiohead jam session. “Rabbits” is among the band’s most successful songs in the sense that the band’s on-a-dime shifts in intensity feel entirely natural. - Baltimore City Paper

You get a feeling of seriousness and dedication to the task in hand when you listen to these songs. - Bluesbunny

Through five songs, the Baltimore quintet boxes the piano like they had a profound love for dramatic showtunes, and whoever of them sings (their myspace doesn't say) croons passionately and proficiently along in a voice that sounds a lot like a Brendon Urie/Patrick Stump hybrid. It's not like there aren't guitars, there are, they're just not the main attraction. That would be the piano, and while it sometimes bounces up and down happily like The Rocket Summer, it is mostly coated in a bluesy feel alá Death Cab For Cutie, giving the songs on "Land Of Giants" an emotive and engaging ring to them.

However, it may sound like the more classically inspired moments on PATD's "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out", but you can forget about catchy choruses or electronic misadventures. The only thing electric here are the guitars that boost the expression in its louder moments, otherwise it's clean keys all the way, and this is by no means a bad thing. Nor does it need to be, that the songs are progressively advancing rides, rather than circular verse/chorus based ones, however, it does make it harder for the mind to get well acquainted with them. On one hand, Vinny Vegas solve that relatively well, first and foremost by opening each song with strong recognizeable melodies, see for instance "The Four Rabbits" for an example on how this is done with keys, or "Watch Out For Mastodons" for the opening words "Point me to the coast" which easily embed themselves in your memory. Besides that, there are of course also small memorable gems hidden in breaks and climaxes around the songs, but I'll leave that for yourself to discover, in order to, well.. watch out for another mastodon of a review.

All in all, I am very much endeared by both the soundscape and the ambition of Vinny Vegas. - RockFreaks.net