From newyorkrock.blogspot.com

Posted July 2005

It's 8:30 p.m. in a tiny, cramped back room of Arlene's Grocery, a hip rock 'n' roll club in New York's hipper East Village. New Heathens guitarist Domenick Tiziano, dressed in a navy t-shirt, blue sunglasses and a belt shaped like a Fender tube amp is holding forth about his love for Wilco's Jeff Tweedy.

"He is one of my biggest inspirations," Tiziano said.

Tiziano comes by his Wilco love honestly. A native of Mundelein, Ill, Tiziano grew up catching rootsy rock shows in nearby Chicago, Wilco's adopted hometown.

The New Heathens are one of New York's newest bands to throw its hat into the roots rock ring. The band's sound is defined by the guitar interplay between Tiziano and Butch Phelps, the group's second six-string slinger. What sets the New Heathens apart is an emphasis on detail and storytelling in songs, which touch on themes ranging from UFO sightings to criminal justice system failures in rural America.

At 9 p.m. the New Heathens take the stage opening with "Getaway Baby," the first track off their forthcoming record "Heathens Like Me." The song owes much in the way of music and subject matter to the song "Runaway" by the BoDeans, another upper Midwestern roots rock group which singer/songwriter Nate Schweber cites as a big influence. The second song, "Red, White & Blue," is a rip-snorting barn burner featuring wailing harp from Schweber and scorched earth guitar solos from Tiziano and Phelps.

The New Heathens came together like so many new rock 'n' roll bands in New York via the internet site Craigslist, an online bulletin board. Phelps said that in fall 2004 he answered an ad Schweber posted looking for roots-rock musicians. The two began jamming in early 2005 along with Tiziano, who also joined the fold via Craigslist. Soon the group added drummer Fabrice Gamon, who hails from Paris, France, and bassist Dan Ambrico, who played in several New York City bands including "Dodgeball Bullies" and "Blame Hound."

Tiziano came to the group with the name "New Heathens," a moniker dreamed up by one of his friends during a night of drinking. If that sounds conspicuously close to the New Barbarians, a 1979 pickup group featuring Keith Richards and Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones, well, that doesn't matter too much to this band which wears its musical influences on its sleeves.

"That's how we came together," Schweber explained. "Butch and I bonded over our mutual love of Steve Earle, then Domenick and I bonded over how much we dig Ryan Adams and we just decided to have a go at being in a band together."

The band plays "July 1, Near Helena, MT," a tune that has a big, singalong chorus about teenage boys playing with gasoline, before ending with "For Cryin' Out Loud," a hard rocker originally recorded by roots-rock all-star team the Yayhoos.

After the show Phelps, nursing a golden pint of something, speculated on the band's chance of success.

"The songs are good and we have fun playing them," he said. "If other people like them, that's great, but for us it's all about the love of making this kind of music." -- Avi Jones