Press
New Review of The Operative Condition!
Dec 22nd
Looks like Slingshot Genius got a holiday present early, woo hoo!
Check out this review by Jim Pasinski at the Record-Journal Newspaper Publishing Company in Connecticut! Jim likens our sounds to that of Sonic Youth and Guided By Voices and says many glowing things such as:
“The album begins with the up-tempo attack of “Bullet,” with the blazing guitars of Canavan and Brian Ciarimboli.”
“The highlight of the album is the grunge sounds of “Leash” that really show off the band’s talent for songwriting. The band shows us some variety in their songs between the deep, slow burn of “Cancer” and the dance-pop of “Hey Manhattan.”"
CLICK HERE TO READ THE WHOLE REVIEW!
Awesome Review of The Operative Condition!
Sep 22nd
Hello ladies and gents!
FIRST of all, we had an amazingly fun release party for our new album, The Operative Condition, and we have a list of Thank You’s!
Thank you Thunderbird Cafe and Shane the Sound Engineer for having us and letting our sound shine through!
Thank you Grey Area Productions for putting this on and promoting us!
Thank you Vince Rizzo and SG Studios for making our recording stellar and for being so damn fun the whole time!
Thank you family and friends who came out and paid to see us, paid for merch, danced, and sang along!
Thank you new people who listened to us and became new fans!!
NOW, in FURTHER NEWS!!! We have our first official review of our new album, thanks to Jim Dunn and the fine folk over at The Pittsburgh Scene! They are on a mission to support the local music scene in Pittsburgh, and we are thrilled that they noticed us. Here are some of the things Jim had to say in his review:
“A band that came together from a Craigslist ad isn’t supposed to be able to bend your mind like this.”
“The theme of the record seems to be leaving it all behind or just plain running away. During what is arguably the most beautiful moment throughout the record, the stunning “Small Silver Frame,” Canavan laments to the listener of packing his suitcase on a rainy night before deciding he wants to come back to his lover. He pours his heart out after going, “miles and miles without you,” followed by a gorgeous, soaring melody supplied by Laing over the subsequent verses.”
“Other album highlights include Chris Bell pounding in the song “Leash,” where an 80s indie feel makes way to a sneaky rocking outro. The sprawling “Cancer” calls faith into question. “Stupid” almost certainly would’ve had a home on Matador Records in the early 90s.”
“As Laing trumpets in the song “Last Call” (yes, she plays brass too), Canavan exclaims, “I wrote this song in 20 minutes, but you can have it for the rest of your life.” A beautiful way to summarize what it is to be a musician and artist. Something he and Slingshot Genius clearly don’t take lightly.”
And that is just a teaser — There’s a whole lot more good stuff!! Make sure to check out the whole review by clicking here! Thanks again, Jim, for such kind words!
You can buy The Operative Condition on iTunes!
BNAC wrote a preview of us for Ribs on the River! PLUS win free tix!
Jun 15th
Hey-yo!!
Pittsburgh Music Blogger Extraordinaire, Brain Nac, has written a preview about us in the lead up to Ribs On The River! It is a super nice review, here is an excerpt:
“Slingshot Genius have a multiple personality disorder in a beautifully interesting way. I was able to catch them a few weeks back at the BBT in Bloomfield and I found them to be quite entertaining and very hard to pin down musically. Onstage, vocalist Scott Canavan comes off as a college English professor who’s been possessed by the ghost of Joe Strummer. The solid band behind (or next to) him, consists of bassist Chris Bell, Brian Ciarimboli on lead guitar, Rob Marsilli on drums, and multi-instrumentalist Erika Laing who in one evening rocked both the trombone and the saw (in addition to singing and helming the synth).
The band, who have been playing since 2009 around the area, have an unusual sound to be sure. On the rainy evening in May I saw them I heard shades of the Pixies, Social Distortion, Sonic Youth, and Guided By Voices, to name a few. But they don’t wear their influences on their sleeves, which is refreshing.”
See?! Super nice!
BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE!!!
BNac, as he is known in the bloguniverse, will be giving away tickets to Ribs On The River as well!! If you want free tix, make sure to go to his site and see what it is all about!
Click HERE to read BNac’s full review of us and for a chance to win free tix!!
Our song is in the City Paper MP3 Tuesday Blog!
Jun 14th
Hey guys! So Andy Mulkerin over at the City Paper decided to give us a try and he liked us so much that he put one of our MP3s on the City Paper’s website! He writes for the City Paper’s blog FFW, and we are thankful he included us.
Click here to download our song Blur on their site!
We are the local spotlight on Pittsburgh Music Report!
Jun 8th
Pittsburgh Music Report has decided to feature us as a local spotlight!
Slingshot Genius spotlight on Pittsburgh Music Report!
In this interview with Scott, watch some of our videos and read about how we write our songs! Thanks much to the fellow at Pittsburgh Music Report for featuring us!
Voices Carry
May 6th
People are starting to say nice things about us! Yay! Here is a small collection of nice things that have been said about us lately.
On iTunes:
Amazing Band, by Mrstubito
This is a wonderful album! Great sound. Can’t wait for more!! Buy it. You’ll enjoy every song.
on The Edge of The X’s Blog entry about us:
Martin R says
caught this band at Deisel last night. Truly fantastic performance!! I will catch another show soon! Slingshot has a new fan- all the best, Marty
Martin R says
caught this band at Deisel last night. Truly fantastic performance!! I will catch another show soon! Slingshot has a new fan- all the best, Marty
and Steve, from The Mag in the United Kingdom had this to say about our EP, Secret No.7
If you combined The Move, The Cure, Captain, Blondie and Alphabeat – you might have created your very own version of Slingshot Genius.‘Shine’ is a bright pop song with lots of vocal harmonies and all-round pop sheen. It has a moody sounding verse that contrasts with the big pop chorus. The guitars jangle and smoke and the vocals shine throughout. There is a darker sound to ’1989′, with urgent guitars and more angular vocals – and ‘Handgun’ is even more shadowy, with a slow deliberate rhythm and heavy lyricism. The grittier sound of these two songs makes up the majority of this record, ‘Chemistry’ adds some exotic flavours, but continues this thread. Things change a bit for ‘Paper and Pen’, which has a big funky bass line and loungy beat and ‘Use Me’ has a lighter flavour with a really pleasing bass line and flying guitar licks. The chorus is the brightest since ‘Shine’ and overall this is one of my favourite songs. ‘Blur’ is another of the darker offerings, but the interesting guitar lines add flickers of interest to the verse and the harmonies in the chorus are good.
…He then adds,
Slingshot Genius have got an unusual sound, which sets them apart from other bands. This album is a really good effort and there are two or three special tracks on here.
Slingshot Genius have got an unusual sound, which sets them apart from other bands. This album is a really good effort and there are two or three special tracks on here.
Thanks to everyone for helping us along!! Hopefully we’ll have more nice things to post again real soon!
We’re listed on The Pittsburgh Scene!
Apr 12th
Yee-haw! We’ve been listed on The Pittsburgh Scene, an online resource of free songs by local Pittsburgh bands! You can download two of our tracks, ‘Blur’ and ‘Use Me’. These tracks are from our latest EP, Secret No.7! Check it out by clicking here! (scroll down to find SLINGSHOT GENIUS!!!)
While you are there, don’t forget to check out tracks from other local bands!! Yay for support for local art and music! Bands like us are made possible by people like YOU!
Interview with Scott Canavan of Slingshot Genius
Apr 4th
Our photographer and promotor friend Jennifer Caple interviewed our very own Scott Canvan in September 2010. Take a look — read it here!
Status Hat, Jan 2011
Apr 4th
We’ve been featured on StatusHat.org! These art appreciators are writing about us all the way from Charlottesville, VA! How awesome is that? They talked about us, and our song Blur, in the music section of their January Artszine! Check out the cool things they had to say!
… “we have “Blur” from Slingshot Genius who hail from Pittsburgh. This song has surging guitars and intense vocals, and seems as if it’s a soundtrack for an urban adventure. They chime “in the blur where the skyline meets the sea” as a way for us to look at the ever moving arc of being alive. This band blends many aspects and styles of rock into a fresh and enlivening musical experience.Take a gander for yourselves (and listen to the track)!