Joseph Pagano
“Joseph Pagano’s 'Graveyard of Dreams' taps into the best of Americana.” – Skope Mag
“Joseph Pagano’s new release, 'Graveyard of Dreams', is a 7 track pop-rock project that borrows from the vintage sounds of greats like The Beatles, Springsteen, and even shows off hints of Randy Travis (vocally).” – The Miews
“Joseph Pagano’s … set of imaginative songs to get you in the mood for the summer while we make our way through these winter months.” – Cross Radar
"...GRAVEYARD OF DREAMS is a heart-on-the-sleeve rock album that mixes storytelling with fine songcraft. " - Rockwired
At last emerging with his eclectic, provocatively titled debut EP of musical “sketches” Graveyard of Dreams, New Jersey native Joe Pagano’s life has been touched by rock and roll and encounters with its legends. Years after learning to play guitar from Steve Miller’s Book of Dreams, he met the rocker and guitar legend Les Paul at the Iridium in NYC. After his high school band Junior’s Farm won a Beatles soundalike contest at Beatlefest in front of 2000 fans, he met Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor and talked about Jimi Hendrix back stage that night. Later, attending several Grammy Awards, Joe hung out with and received inspiration from rock legends such as Garth Hudson (The Band) and met Judas Priest lead singer Rob Halford – who taught him that music was about one thing – pleasing your fans!
For all of the brushes with rock greatness, it was Stanley Jordan, a living guitar legend in another realm, contemporary jazz, who inspired Joe to release a number of his original works as a solo recording artist. Throughout college and beyond, Joe’s bands Straight Shoot'r, N-Kuntrol and Profile achieved varying levels of success as live performers and on record – but he had long put his recording passion aside to join the software industry. In June 2014, Joe and his dad went to see Jordan, renowned for his revolutionary two handed tapping technique, at The Iridium jazz club in NYC. After the show, the guitarist invited them to attend a music workshop he was conducting at the nearby Novatel. Beyond just the beauty of music, Jordan presented his philosophy of life – and how the process of making music (the creating, imagining, writing, communicating and practicing) can help instill discipline. Through the workshop and their later correspondence, he helped Joe realize that the same principles that create success in making music apply to education, business and life.
Originally written at various times over the years and revisited, revamped and re-recorded for the EP, all of the songs on Graveyard of Dreams are influenced by the people, experiences, observations, feelings and events Joe has experienced as he has raised a family and traveled the world over the past decade or so. “Candles Hope & Faith” reflects on the poverty he has seen in his travels and how people survive the most ire of circumstances by keeping their hope alive. He tackles a similar theme on the Cajun music-spiced “Katrina,” which reflects upon the resilience of the good people of New Orleans surviving the aftermath of the 2005 hurricane. An unexpected gem is the beautiful instrumental “The Sounds of Life” written on a Novation MiniNova electric synth while visiting Long Beach Island, NJ.
Perhaps the most personal song on Graveyard of Dreams is the atmospheric, Brit-pop influenced “Little Girls,” a whimsical reflection of youth which the singer calls “a burst of energy about my two daughters.” In what he calls a “Dave Grohl moment” (a reference to the Foo Fighter frontman’s notable discussions of balancing fatherhood with a music career), Joe even leaves his daughter’s interruption of the original recording session on the new version. It’s an honest reflection, he says, of a musician trying to have a day job, be part of a family and be an artist all at once. Julia was a little girl then, but she’s now 18 and did the beautiful photography and album art and design for the project. “Like a visual artist,” Joe says, “Graveyard of Dreams is a series of sketches or paintings if you will that capture the imagination. I have been making these sketches for most of my life, kind of like furnishing your home with your own original artwork. I am excited about releasing these for people beyond my inner circle to hear for the first time!”
TRY: #1, 2, 3, 5
Download full album here:
https://www.piratepirate.com/downloads/
More Info Here:
http://josephpagano.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Joseph-Pagano/352979958223780
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