Westchester’s Own Artie
Tobia Releases 4th Album
By Jacque Roche
Photo Submitted
Westchester County resident
and Roots Rock Americana artist Artie Tobia‘s most recent album, Aberdeen
flawlessly presents a whisky-infused, granular vocal that will draw you into
his musical reality. The album is being well received by fans, collecting
favorable reviews as his best yet.
Listening to the title
cut, Aberdeen is like taking a stroll through Artie’s magnetic soul. With his initial guitar strum Tobia draws us into a lonely,
thoughtful evening as he ruminates on a romantic relationship. During his contemplation Tobia finds himself
walking beside a white wolf with a red tail hawk circling above. The symbolic
white wolf and red tailed hawk become players in the theater of his mind,
expressing his thoughts and interpreting his final conclusions, despite a
detour through the dark forest, these two never lose sight of the very love
that brought them together.
“I write about people I
know and places I go. I write to create songs that become a part of the
soundtrack of your life. If I connect with you and make you laugh, cry or sing
along I have done my job.” Tobia said.
“There is a piece of me and you in every one of my songs.”
Aberdeen, co produced by
Tobia and Al Hemberger at The Loft Studios in Bronxville NY, is his fourth
record. It marks his first with members of his band including long-time friend Mark Barden on
guitar, Mark Bridgman on bass and Stuart Stahr on drums, who also served as an
Associate Producer. Special guest appearances by Nicole Alifante adding some
great harmony and Kevin Meyers, skillfully adding keyboard to several of the
songs support the complex characters and stories.
Maintaining a busy
schedule for the past number of years playing 200 plus nights a year in clubs,
festivals and house concerts he has created a reputation of being easy to work
with on and off the stage. That reputation has provided the recent
opportunities to support Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Chip Taylor and American Idol
winner, David Cook.
In the end Artie’s songs can
transport the audience to a place, a time or perhaps a person as they connect
their own stories to his. His songs are comfortable and have a familiarity to
first time listeners. In one of the musician’s many humorous tales (and perhaps
a song still waiting to be written) he recalled a recent encounter at the end
of a show; a new fan came up to shake his hand and thanked him exclaiming “ I
haven’t’ heard some of those songs in years.” “Trouble was” the singer recalls
with a chuckle, “he had never heard any of them before.”
Jacque Roche is a “More
Sugar” contributor, author of a weekly “Positive Insights” newsletter, a talent
buyer/booker, FB Jedi Master & Host of Jacque’s Giant Hudson Valley Music
Show on 103.7 WPWL, streaming Thursday nights, 8-9 pm EST on www.pawlingpublicradio.org.
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