Viking Jesus

Mark Clarkin - Motif Magazine - Dec 13, 2012

Viking Jesus is singer songwriter Kris Hansen's latest project in combination with George Dussault and it's a bit of a departure from his previous work.  Viking Jesus adds an element of electronica to give Hansen's tune a bit of a trip hop feel.  The album kicks of "Ebola," which has a hypnotic groove and a killer Beatles-like turn in the outro. Hansen's vocals sound defiant on many of the tunes including "1 & 7" in which the urgency conveyed gives the tune an almost stripped down version of Slim Cessna's Auto Club feel.  "Traffic Song" has a Brit pop feel in a Blur-goes-trip-hop kind of way. 

Viking Jesus revisits my favorite tune from Hansen's previous release (Kris Hansen's Left Hand Band Presents The Kollective), "My Disclaimer," providing the McCartney-esque melody a facelife while retaining hope through the darkness.  "Big Brother Blues" has a jam band funk flavor.  The record closes with an untitled track, which features some ferocious '60s fuzz guitar shredding over the electronic beat.  All and all, I dig the new direction than Hansen and Dussault have embarked on with Viking Jesus.

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Groovy Rhythm

BY RICK FOSTER SUN CHRONICLE STAFF - Dec 14, 2011

Founded by North Attleboro drummer, percussionist and educator Rick Morin, The Rhythm Room is known for eye-popping stage shows and original music that covers the musical waterfront from pop to rock, blues to jazz and African rhythms to country.

Now the versatile troupe has taken on an even bigger challenge: topping their well-received first two albums. Judging by their newly-released CD "Groove Infusion," it appears they have succeeded.

Those who know The Rhythm Room from their crowd-pleasing stage shows at Showcase Live or their well-conceived original songs will be well-pleased with the group's latest offering from its high octane title tune to its sensitive love songs that make up a genre-bending trip around the musical universe.

Anyone who isn't familiar with the North Attleboro based group will be astounded by the musical capabilities of the band, blending Broadway-style glitz with the spontaneity of a rock concert.

Members of the Rhythm Room cast will be performing original music along with holiday tunes and classic covers Friday evening at the Lighthouse Bar at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I.

Groove Infusion was produced by Cumberland audio wizard and prolific guitarist George Dussault, who polishes the slick production to a high sheen. The record also features equally sharp songwriting that swings from the driving rock of "Groove Infusion" to a Louisiana drawl on the bayou-friendly "Cajun Lullabye" and a Nashville-esque "Hiccups and Heartaches" whose lyrics give a musical kiss-off to a fickle boyfriend.

There are also brassy blues instrumentals ("Jibberjam"), Blood Sweat and Tears-reminiscent rock hybrids ("She Devil") and ample demonstrations of the group's virtuosic percussion roots ("The Core," "Birchbark and Glowsticks").

The surprise is that all this genre-hopping in one package works. It does because for several reasons: tight, purposeful songwriting, adherence to carefully-crafted themes, high production values and the multi-instrumental and vocal capabilities of a talented cast.

Julie Marinucci and Tom Frederick highlight a cadre of talented vocalists while Morin, Dussault, Alan and Kait Clavette, Micah Weaver, Seth Antonitis and Tyler Matte as a group more than hold their own on everything from keyboards to African drumming and brass instruments to the digeridoo.

If you're in the market for a last-minute stocking-stuffer, "Groove Infusion" will have your favorite music fans rocking in front of the Christmas tree. Copies can be ordered on the group's web site, www.rhythmroomlive.com.

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The Sun Chronicle, Attleboro - No. Attleboro, Mass. s Thursday, October 2, 2008

Rhythm Room aims high and succeeds with "Circle of Souls"

BY RICK FOSTER

SUN CHRONICLE STAFF

Few musicians or composers would try to compress the story of rhythm and its influence on life and music into a single, live show or a CD.

But that's precisely what The Rhythm Room, percussion-based ensemble conceived by drummer and music educator Rick Morin, does in its new live show and indie CD titled "Circle of Souls." The result, which the band rolled out on stage Friday and Saturday at Rhode Island College, turns out to he far more than a collection of songs.

Circle of Souls, which tracks the beat of human experience through the blues, urban rhythms, African, native American and World Music, is a complete thematic experience that invokes soul, street beats, jazz, rock and even hip hop through 16 original - and memorable - tunes. Produced by multi-instrumentalist and all-around sound wizard George Dussault, the disc must qualify as one of the most significant works of art ever released by a local ensemble or soloist.

Morin, who hosts a North Attleboro cable TV music show also called The Rhythm Room, is the visionary who built the band over the course of several years from a cadre of former students and highly virtuosic friends. Morin himself either wrote or collaborated on more than half the songs.

Unlike other contemporary percussion groups, The Rhythm Room does more than drum on trash cans, plumbing and floorboards. They integrate guitars, synthesizers, horns and lush vocal harmonies to create a full- flavored melodic experience.

Vocalist Julie Marinucci, who co-wrote several of the songs, lights up the disc with her at-times soulful, at-times soaring voice. On "In The Beginning," which she wrote, Marinucci sets the scene with a sensitive preamble that leads into "One Voice," a powerful, optimistic anthem written by Dussault and Morin. Songs like "Beat Street," a collaboration with rapper D-Rhyme, capture the percussive energy of the streets. "Maka Sica," which Marinucci sings partly in Spanish, brings listeners ringside to what one imagines to be a Barcelona cabaret.

The influences and the genres roll on and on. But variety somehow reinforces rather than dilutes "Circle of Souls," a unified whole made from disparate but complementary pieces.

While The Rhythm Room is essentially a collaboration between nine musicians including Morin, guitarist-producer Dussault's influence is felt more than most on the tour de force disc. Dussault's piano and synth parts underpin a good part of the album, and his versatile guitar playing is prominently on display as well.

Dussault, a top-class studio producer who has worked with both local and national talents, also gives the new CD a 'live' feel by minimizing spacing between individual cuts and underlaying the recordings with a subtle background that simulates an expectant concert crowd.

Both the disc and the live show rely on a cast of highly- versatile musicians who must fill multiple roles. Morin, Harry Hagan, Micah Weaver and Dave Davignon provide the core of the Rhythm Room's percussion. Seth Antonis doubles on percussion and digeridoo. Alan Clavette plays trombone as well as performs keyboard and vocal parts, while Kait Clavette plays trumpet and euphonium as well as singing backing vocals and performing on keyboards, guitar and trumpet.

Tom Frederick sings as well as narrates and plays world percussion.

The Rhythm Room videotaped its performances last weekend for a future DVD that they can show to potential bookers. Morin is candid about his desire to promote a national tour for The Rhythm Room, and his confidence is not misplaced.

In a world of Celtic Woman, Celtic Thunder and River-dance, the world is ready for a live ensemble founded on something other than step-dancing, stage prop castles and hackneyed pub ballads.

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