eleKtroMess

Photo courtesy of Sarah Stevens

You all know me as being electro-obsessed but truth be told, I was a rock fan for many years before I discovered dance music. Indie rock, alternative, classic rock – you name it, I was into it. I got a huge thrill off discovering bands none of my friends had ever heard of and was frankly a little bummed when said artists made it big because they were no longer my little secret.

In college, I eventually branched out to electro-rock fusion groups like Zero 7, Thievery Corporation and The Notwist. As fun as remixes and dance singles are, there’s nothing like getting your hands on an entire album – a body of artistically cohesive work resulting from months of dedicated studio (or ProTools) time. That’s why I adore bands like MGMT, The Presets, and Empire of the Sun. Today, I can add one more band to my list of dance-rock heroes: The Carnival Royale.

I trekked to NYC’s iconic venue Arlene’s Grocery on Monday evening to check out The Carnival Royale’s live show and wound up having one of the most fun nights in recent memory.  The band’s name speaks volumes about its style – eclectic with kooky but fun visual aesthetics, and ultimately offering a lush (“royal,” if you will) and immensely pleasing rock sound infused with electronica courtesy of DJ Travisty. 

Front-man Michael Russinik (a dead ringer for Scott Weiland if I ever saw one) wrote and produced all songs (available for purchase on iTunes), which suggest the influence of artists like The Killers, Jane’s Addiction and Nine Inch Nails but are in no way derivative or formulaic. Russinik is a guy who knows what he’s doing. In person he is kind-hearted, sweet and somewhat reserved but onstage he transforms into an incredible showman, shredding on the guitar and belting out powerful vocals. One of my favorite moments came during “Girl in the Corner” when Russinik (outfitted in white Christmas lights) jumped atop the bar to grace the dancing crowd with a guitar solo. Compliments are also due to the excellent band members – Dan Krysa keeping cool on bass, a smoldering Megan Gerlach (who reminded me very much of Mark Ronson & the Business Int’l’s MNDR) on keyboards, and Grammy-nominated Keith McCray killing it on drums.  

I highly encourage electro-kids seeking something a little different to check out The Carnival Royale. Song previews are available on Russinik’s MySpace and performance footage is on YouTube.