Fish Tale - CD Review #2

Review by Emilie Druss

For those of you who didn't know, Project213 = Jared Hallock.

This is music for musicians. And that's a good thing. Inspired by other experimenters-at-heart such as Jack White (of the White Stripes), Philip Glass, Beck, and Björk, Fish Tale is a musical journey that fully engages the listener in its surprising, yet musically eloquent, twists and turns. Crunchy guitar riffs, elegant strings, pounding drums, electronics...Project213 puts it all on the table. Hallock's vocals feel rather rough, but fit seamlessly into the uncut tone of the album.

Of particular interest is the song "When Frida Became," which is a masterful mix of passionate, melancholy vocal work and progressive instrumental technique. Think Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.

Overall, Fish Tale offers the listener a healthy mix of upbeat, playful tracks with serious, down-and-dirty musicianship. For those who are serious about loving music, this album is seriously worth a listen.

Project213

Project213 = Jared Hallock

Project213 is an exploratory musical and performance experience. The group was started with collaboration in mind, and has embarked on many projects with other talented performing artists, including dance groups, sculptors, musicians, and the like.

Project213 recently released it's debut album, Fish Tale, an electronic art rock experience that is truly unique. The album is available for download here on ReverbNation, as well as on CDbaby.com at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/Project213.

As the group continues to gain attention in the Pacific Northwest and beyond, creator Jared Hallock looks forward to a future filled with sound and collaboration.

Hallock recently released Project213's debut album, Fish Tale, which features his compositions performed in collaboration with a variety of local musicians and artists.

Hallock's other projects include scores for movies, dance pieces, and theatrical collaborations, among a myriad of other productions for theater, stage and professional recordings. He was recently commissioned by the City of Boise to create a public artistic collaboration, Unity in Diversity, centered on his original compositions. As a result of such eclectic explorations, Hallock has become a highly sought after musician, performer, composer, director and clinician throughout the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.

Jared Hallock = Project213, an exploratory musical experience

Fish Tale - CD review #1a

Review by Michael Morgan (part 1 of 2)
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Collaborations normally bring out the best of the artists who share the stage with one another. On Project 213's album, Fish Tale, Jared Hallock's group of local artists and musicians thrive in his unique blend of percussive reflections blended in a soup of musical genres: funk, blues, rap, ambient, soul, bluegrass and psychedelia. The ten-song collection is more like fully fleshed out sketches than tightly packed song nuggets. Yet it's this very attribute that makes them so aurally tantalizing and will thoughtfully challenge listener's musical appetites.

Fish Tale - CD Review #1b

Review by Michael Morgan (part 2 of 2)
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

A sort of funky-thrash evolves throughout some of the tracks on Fish Tale.
The in-your-face and raw "Lipstick Kisses" starts off with shaking bells like a lost spastic Santa Claus and his reindeer, and then morphs into a colorful disarray of funky thrash with a rap tinge. Its quick shots of unabashed metallic rushes channel 1980's rock metal outfit Primus. What is both relieving and refreshing about this song is that it doesn't wear out its welcome with artistic self-indulgence, going into twenty different directions for ten-minutes; the 2:33 cliffhanger knows when to end. "Guns Under The Bed" is another concoction of funk fury sans thrash but more soul and rap-like. Its Prince-like soulful guitar lick is equally infectious and fiery. "Guns..." echoes funk-rock heavyweight's Red Hot Chili Peppers funk-alicious sound and freewheeling attitude. Lovers of RHCP: leave your guns under the bed-- you will want to crack up the volume and put this one on repeat for sure.
"Your Sin" devolves the beats and funk into a spastic distillation of angry rocked out drums and demented vocals looping into a tirade screaming, "I'm going f-----g crazy." Soulful spasms are arm-wrestled into schizophrenic wonderment on "Kitty Kitty." Its electro-psychedeli-funk exploration has a long, slow and cool blues tirade in the song's epicenter, with spatters of people arguing during the song. With rubber room-ready lines like "My inner kitty is a lion!" there is a thoughtful groove that glues together the insanity.
The softer, contemporary but equally psychedelic side of Fish Tale fins out on "When Frida Became." The slow, gloomy piano arpeggios and female gospel wails are a nod to Dark Side of the Moon's "The Great Gig In The Sky." The dynamics range from a sleepy soul to a raging hurricane-like flood of pianos and gospel screams. Its intense and intriguing music are fit for an epiphanic movie scene where secrets are purged upon viewers, unbeknownst to them. Beware Pink Floyd fans: a surprise treat awaits on "When Frida Became."
Given Jared Hallock's background in percussion studies at school, it's no surprise that each collaboration has a prominent core of percussion. "Christa's Cry" awakens the soul with its cacophonous percussive center of hollow-sounding xylophones and wallowing bass-rhythms, which transform into a hypnotic cascade of repeating rhythms. The playful experiments of rollicking percussions and scaling bass-lines will please listeners and music supervisors looking for background music for their television and cinema projects. "Play By the Rules" has country bluegrass influences with a throbbing rock beat, accompanied by a fiddle and a bluesy harmonica. It's aggressive and edgy listening that warrant future listens.
By far, the riskiest, creepiest and most challenging track for listeners on Fish Tale is "Robots in the Ring." The art-rock sketch includes two conversations going on asynchronously along with patters of intermingled percussion. Its meditative experimentalism will no doubt challenge listeners. Definitely not for all listeners, given its atonal conversations and monotonous rhythm, "Robots in the Ring" is meant for those who appreciate the art rock experimentalism of bands like The Velvet Underground. For those who recall VU's "The Black Angel Death's Song"'s deadpan delivery, tune into "Robots...."
There is no doubt that Fish Tale is not for everyone (batteries are definitely not included). But for those willing to take on the musical challenge of hazy funk, rock metal and art rock laboratory experiments, and for fans of Pink Floyd and The Velvet Underground, this album is a must-listen for sure.

Jared Hallock

Project213 = Jared Hallock

Jared Hallock's years as a performer and composer have led him down many roads. He has a degree in percussion performance from the University of Idaho, and has shared the stage with countless performing artists, from local dance troupes to internationally renowned musicians. From jazz combos to funk bands, orchestral work to the avante garde, he thrives on exploring all avenues of performance art.

Hallock recently released Project213's debut album, Fish Tale, which features his compositions performed in collaboration with a variety of local musicians and artists.

Hallock's other projects include scores for movies, dance pieces, and theatrical collaborations, among a myriad of other productions for theater, stage and professional recordings. He was recently commissioned by the City of Boise to create a public artistic collaboration, Unity in Diversity, centered on his original compositions. As a result of such eclectic explorations, Hallock has become a highly sought after musician, performer, composer, director and clinician throughout the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.

Jared Hallock = Project213, an exploratory musical experience