The Vitrolum Republic Offers Highbrow Sideshows and Rowboat Serenades

It's not often that I get to do something like this. While most of us here at GeekDad spend all our waking hours focusing on the awesomeness of this little blog, some of have side projects we like to work on from time to time. Like being a New York Times Bestselling author, or writing amazing romance novels or working with robotics, or perhaps making music. It's that last one that brings me to GeekDad Chuck Lawton and Milwaukee-based The Vitrolum Republic.

Playing bass, guitar and lending vocals along with Nick Waraksa (piano, accordion, vocals) and Jordan Waraksa (violin, guitar, vocals), Chuck and the group have released their first full length album, For Highbrow Sideshows and Rowboat Serenades. A band that describes themselves "as a collection of sounds including 'Gypsy Noir,'" The Vitrolum Republic is a collective of three men who certainly love doing what they do, and this is strongly reflected in the personality of the music.

Some of the album is definitely southern with a twang of bluegrass, a fist full of cajun & the harmonic resonance of good ol' fashioned pickin' and singing. Whereas other parts focus on the harmony, with light orchestration from the violin and piano, such as the track "Pretty," an enchanting tune that is reminiscent of the direction Ben Folds started to go in with his Songs for Silverman album. Basically, a contemplative and heartfelt song.

"Stop That Man" sounds like a macabre soundtrack to a gypsy mystery movie, and that's a good thing. This has to be my favorite track on the album, it tells a mystical fairy tale conjuring imagery of a group of people sitting around a caravan, telling stories and playing music. To me, it's important for music like this to transcend imagination and let your mind wander freely through a history you were never part of.

Then there are a couple tracks that are more on the foot tapping side of things, like "Make Believe Girlfriend," a lyrically quicker paced jazzy tune followed by "Steel Trap Mind," which is a very proficient and detailed violin & accordion instrumental track. A couple of tracks, such as "All Grown Up" certainly channel vocals reminiscent of southern groups such as King of Leon, incorporating an almost mumbled drawl. Thankfully, it goes well with the music — which is impressive for a group from Milwaukee, which last I checked was not in the South.

Honestly, this music isn't for everyone. Though that statement is really hard to apply to The Vitrolum Republic. While yes, a good portion of the album is slower, emotional songs heavy on the long violin notes and deep piano — it does cross several genres of music. While hard rock & rap aren't any of them, I think some of the album could certainly have some mainstream appeal. Especially if groups like the aforementioned Kings of Leon and Mumford & Sons are getting play on Alt rock stations. I listen to a lot of bluegrass and southern alt-rock. This album is on par if not better than a lot of it. It has the depth that I've always felt bands like Old Crow Medicine Show are missing.

Music like this comes from history, it's not the kind of emotional and audibly intense music that just pops up overnight. Like all true artists, the band does have history with music. Rather than me summarize their history with music and what makes The Vitrolum Republic tick, I figured it made more sense to have them tell you themselves.

Nick Waraksa: The Vitrolum Republic album, for me, marks a large milestone in a long journey of musical growth. As a child, I would have never thought that I could have harnessed and developed such a unique ownership over this form of artistic expression through one focused album.

Growing up, my musical background had many layers. One large facet would be having my brother, Jordan, to always perform, write, and grow with. Not only has he been an inspiration to me in his diligence, attention to detail, and artistry, but also in comradeship and trust in one another's ideas and risks in that it always will and always has fallen into something deeply meaningful and beautiful both at a distance and in finer details. Writing and performing with him is an honor and I'm truly blessed.

I started playing piano and violin early on and slowly gravitated towards the orchestral feel of the Piano as my main instrument. I like feeling and seeing the possibilities right in front of me at all times. I also enjoy being able to move back and forth from supportive structure, to melody, to counterpart all within one piece of music. As time went on and as the music we were writing was progressing, I started to turn to the accordion because of it's portability, unique sound, and it's ability to have a more humanistic "breath" to it. In having a brother that plays violin (and having played violin myself) I sometimes find myself wanting more of the ability to slide between notes and accentuate sounds that can not be written down or executed just by the press of a key. It was at this point that I realized I might have been unconsciously influence by the fact that our grandfather played piano and accordion most of is life (and his brother played violin.. . go figure!). I thank him for that often.

The most recent milestone for me (prior to the release of this album) has been meeting, performing, and developing this band with Chuck Lawton. He brought so much to the table both short-term and long-term for the growth of the band and us as individuals. Chuck's ear and foresight for all of us has launched us into professional levels we've never known before. And in detail, he has added texture to every piece of music in harmonies, bass, and the way every song articulates into the full breath of an album through the masterful production and recording he put into For Highbrow Sideshows and Rowboat Serenades.

Chuck Lawton: Performing, recording and producing this album has been the culmination of almost 20 years of playing music. I grew up in a household that cherished music. My dad played guitar much of his life and gave up performing in local bands when I was born. But that did not stop his desire to continue playing. Many of my earliest memories are of my dad playing guitar to me at night (a tradition I've carried on with my own kids), or of myself firing up the PA system and banging on his drum set to cassette tapes while my mom listened on (or tried to block it out...)

My dad taught me to play bass at an early age not only to give me the gift of music but to also have someone to play music with. We taught my brother to play drums and together the three of us performed early rock music from the 50's and 60's for our church's summer festival. We grew into playing blues and jump swing during its revival in the '90s. Inspired by stories of his own bands, I began to form my own with high-school and college friends. My uncle who had an amateur recording studio in his basement lent me a 4-track cassette recorder and I was soon on my way playing guitar, bass and drums with myself and learning the trade on progressively better and better equipment.

With The Vitrolum Republic, I got a chance to work with some incredibly talented and classically trained musicians. Not only are they excellent songwriters, they were open to collaboration allowing me to slide into a producing role and help with arrangements on many of the songs. Performing with this group is full of improvisation. I can honestly say though we may play off the same set list, we never play the same show twice. It is a completely rewarding experience and bringing this album to our fans will be one of the highlights of my music career.

WIRED You know that feeling you get from a classic collection of eclectic music that seems to calm all those weird anxieties and tics you may or may not have? This whole album is that feeling in each and every song.

TIRED The only downside that one could contrive from this album is that it is a mix of styles and influences. One could be taken slightly aback transitioning from song to song.

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You can download The Vitrolum Republic via their Bandcamp site. If you must, it's also available via iTunes.