Strings (and Horns) Attached
IF FRONTING AN 11-person band wasnt enough of a logistical nightmare, Emanuel Ayvas has his hands full preparing for a Mar. 10 show at The Gramercy Theater. That night, the orchestral rocker wont only be fronting Emanuel and the Fear, hell also be conducting a 27-person orchestra in an overture that he composed.
He could have postponed the concert; it didnt need to be the day after the release of his Dumbo-based groups new album, Listen, but Ayvas seems to thrive under pressure. A lot of people were like, Emanuel, dont do that to yourself, he recalls just weeks before the show. Do not get a 27-person orchestra. And I was like, I have to! It needs to be a spectacle. Thats a big deal.
You can hear the extravagance on the Fears new record. Consisting of 19 tracks, Listen could be considered a concept album with its eclectic mix of rock, pop and classical music. Led by Ayvas singing, the Fears music is driven by the interplay between the bands rhythm, horn and string sections. I think its just the best way for me to get whats in my head out, Ayvas explains. I like big, epic and climactic sounds.
One of the albums songs, the rocking Guatemala, shows Ayvas affinity for a grand sound. [I] was definitely very moved by how different things can be [on] a national scalethe poverty, he says about his trip to parts of Central America, which inspired the song. The fact that I wasnt aware of that it was upsetting to me. I wanted to express that. But at the same time its not anyones fault that people arent aware of it or even that they dont care.
There are some reflective moments on Listen such as the ballad Balcony. It was certainly [about] a serious relationship happening at the time that had dissolved on a balcony, he says. I was pretty upset. That was my chance to be like, What am I doing? Grow up!
Originally from Wood-Ridge, N.J., and born to parents who were musicians, Ayvas played piano at an early age, but didnt start really listening to music until he was about 11 or 12. My mom made me take the Nirvana album back, he says. She thought it was bad.Weve reconciled.
He later majored in music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he learned classical piano performance and classical composition. After graduating in 2005, Ayvas moved to New York, formed a musical group that later disbanded, and went to Los Angeles to study film scoring.Then Jamin Gilbert of Ishlab, the New York recording studio where Ayvas had previously interned, spoke to him about working on a record.
Ayvas assembled the members for his band and Emanuel and the Fear performed its first gig in January 2008. His responsibility of overseeing 10 musical personalities may seem like a daunting task to the average person. When you deal with very talented professionals, Ayvas says, you cant waste their time. All the [arrangements] are mapped out.We can put on a great show with one rehearsal because they can read so well and because its been orchestrated properly.
Inevitably Emanuel and the Fear has already drawn comparisons in the press to bands of similar musical scope such as Arcade Fire and Polyphonic Spree. But Ayvas doesnt seem rankled by that. If you stay honest with yourself, he explains, and listen and adjust yourself to those critiques you will remain yourself and evolve in your own unique way.
In April, Emanuel and the Fear will be touring Europe. As for his future plans, Ayvas would like to concentrate more on writing. I have some pretty awesome ideas in my head that Im going to do no matter what, he says. Im an aggressive optimist.
> Emanuel and The Fear
Mar. 10, The Gramercy Theater, 127 E. 23rd St. (betw. Park & Lexington Aves.), 212-614-6932; 8, $18.