A Conversation with River City Extension, Part I

Photo: Chase Heaverlo of Shady Buffalo

Let's Talk Deliverance

Note: This is the first in a series of posts in which I'll share with you portions of my conversation with River City Extension's Joe Michelini and Patrick O'Brien. We sat in my backyard, drank a few beers, and had a long chat. You'll hear crickets, dogs, planes, trains, bottles and glasses knocking around. You'll also hear some very interesting insights on music and beer.

Toms River's River City Extension have been through some significant changes since the release of 2012’s excellent Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Your Anger. The then 8-piece band toured as far away as Australia for the album, eventually making their way back home for a triumphant Simple Gifts show at The Stone Pony. They played a jubilant and cathartic set to a crowd still recovering from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy. Since then, River City Extension have dealt with the departures of several significant members of that incarnation of the band. They played another installment of Simple Gifts -- a two-hour-plus show that drew from their entire catalog. They’ve also welcomed new members. Guitarist John Muccino joined the band for the Anger tour and stayed on to form the core trio – with singer / songwriter / guitarist Joe Michelini and keyboardist Patrick O’Brien – that recorded the band’s forthcoming LP, Deliverance, over the course of an 18-day Pocono retreat. With the additions of full-time bassist Josh Gilman and full-time drummer Steve Tambone, River City Extension are now a stream-lined five-piece.

That long process of change and growth is starting to bear fruit. River City Extension just yesterday released a video trailer for Deliverance and announced a release date of March 10th, 2015 for the new record.



They'll also be kicking off a tour with Augustana next week in Chicago that will make its way through 10 cities -- hitting New York's Webster Hall on November 20th -- before the band come back home for the fifth installment of their annual Thanksgiving Eve show at The Stone Pony on November 26th. That show also features a solid slate of local favorites in gods, EdTang and The Chops, and Prehistoric Forest. Head over to www.rivercityextension.com for all the details on that.

The members of River City Extension also love craft beer. Joe Michelini has become a student of brewing in the years that the band have spent on tour. He can name drop species of yeast with the best of them and loves trying new and interesting brews. I thought it would be fun, then, to spend an evening with him discussing the "new" band, their new record, this year’s Simple Gifts show at The Stone Pony, and beer.

A few weeks ago, Joe Michelini, Patrick O'Brien, and I took to my backyard where we enjoyed some great beer and great conversation. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting bits of our chat as we get closer to this year’s Thanksgiving Eve show.

We started the evening off by listening to Deliverance -- one time, straight through, very few comments -- as we enjoyed the Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale (A Belgian strong ale. 9% abv. All the beers we tried were pretty strong. You'll see.).

Afterwards, I turned on the recorder; and we sat down and discussed what we'd just heard. I gave a very quick, lightning first impression. Joe and Patrick talked a bit about the process of sequestering themselves in the Poconos for the recording as well as the band's approach, goals, and inspirations for the new album.

Just in case this isn't obvious, I start things off. The next voice you hear belongs to Joe Michelini, and Patrick O'Brien comes in at various points.



We'll be touching on more of these topics, discussing how the new composition of River City Extension will affect the band's approach to playing their old songs live, and nerding out over a few beers in the coming weeks. It was a wide-ranging conversation that got more and more fun as we tried more and more brews.

So stay tuned.