Sacramento, CA - What happens when you mix the pop sensibilities of the Beatles with the spirit of progressive rock? You get a daring concept album by pop-rock duo The Mangoes that tells the story of Billy and Candy as they venture into a tumultuous relationship with the music business and each other.
The Mangoes are Bret Bingham and Tim Morse. Bret Bingham's music has appeared on multiple television and cable shows including Access Hollywood, Fox's Brimstone, E True Hollywood Story and MTV's Made. The Mangoes is his first release since 1996. Tim Morse's first album of original music was entitled 'Transformation'. The album was well received by the Progressive Rock community and recognized as an original voice, in the tradition of bands such as Yes and Genesis, yet recorded and performed with a modern edge. Tim's 2012 solo album is called 'Faithscience'. Tim is also a published author and his book 'Yesstories' has sold over 20,000 copies worldwide. His latest book 'Classic Rock Stories' was published by the St. Martin's Press and was recently featured on the Howard Stern show. He continues to write for various music magazines.
Tim explains the evolution of The Mangoes, "After I finished my last album 'Faithscience' I decided that my next project would be something lighter, more spontaneous and I really wanted to work with another singer/songwriter. Bret and I had worked together in the past and when I spelled out the idea he was very enthusiastic. We really got on like a house on fire when it came to writing and recording this CD, it was so easy and such a joy. For instance I sent him the musical idea for '200 Yards' and the next day he had written lyrics, the vocal melody and created a new chorus. Or he asked me to write a musical overture based on the main theme of the song 'Surveiller'. The idea just flowed out of me and I arranged/orchestrated and recorded it that morning. When I was reviewing the track list I felt we needed a 'Bad Company' hard rock song and I casually mentioned it to Bret and gave him a riff I had lying around that I called 'Dirty Riff'. Bret took that idea and built the song 'Dirty Love' around it in a couple of days. There's no question that this was the easiest album to make for me - to have a partner on the project to shoulder all the demands was a wonderful experience."
Bret adds, "Tim and I initially met in person to work together on the songs. However, we found ourselves working remotely for much of the CD. We recorded parts in our own home studios and used a file sharing program to send files back and forth. We did some live drum tracking in a local studio but that was really the extent of recording together in the same room. Almost every track on this CD had to take a trip through cyberspace to get to where it needed to go!"
The Mangoes new album does have an underlying concept as Bret explains, "Yes, there is a narrative to this CD. After a short overture, the listener is invited into the Mangoes van and takes a journey with the main character as he embarks on the next phase of his musical career. The main character is a washed up musician who transforms himself into a mentor to a young lady. But deep down, he knows that he is really trying to save himself from failure. There are themes of abandonment and resentment as his protégé realizes her potential and no longer needs him."
Tim adds, "The Mangoes first album is really a rock opera and we've used different genres of music, instrumental interludes and guest musicians/vocalists to help tell the story. While the story takes a serious turn at the end we want the listeners to know that the whole thing is very tongue in cheek. It's just a story and no Mangoes were hurt in the making of it!"
"The Mangoes' debut album combines serious musicianship with an irreverent look at the trials and tribulations of a would-be musician couple attempting to claw its way to success. The group, comprised of singer-songwriter Bret Bingham and multi-instrumentalist Tim Morse, creates a seamless blend of mainly Beatles-esque pop tinged with prog-rock elements. Bingham and Morse have constructed an appealing and witty narrative set against a musically-diverse backdrop, full of intriguing detours. An album for those with both a sense of adventure and humor. It'll sit nicely next to your Rutles and Spinal Tap albums." - Anil Prasad, Innerviews
The Mangoes just released their first video for the song "Together" - watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw_cPhbcQMs
.
HEADED FOR A FALL
By The Mangoes
Billy and his band ("Billy and the Kidz") have been struggling on the road, playing a series of miserable gigs. At a grimy truck stop Billy gets a text message telling him that the band has been dropped from the label and the tour has been canceled. Disheartened, Billy and his roadie Pablo return home only to discover the lovely barista Candy singing as she prepares their drinks. Seeing her potential Billy is able to convince her to join him in California for a possible career in music. They score a minor dance hit with the song "Stupid Chorus" and happily become romantically involved. However, Candy quickly tires of Billy's domineering Svengali ways. She wants to pursue a new musical direction and tells him she needs to end their relationship. Candy quickly hooks up with a sleazy A&R man and Billy is devastated. He becomes obsessed with Candy and begins stalking her. Ultimately she puts a restraining order on him to end the harassment. Candy goes onto greater success with hit after hit while Billy becomes more bitter and disenchanted. In his dilapidated home he stares at Candy's face on the cover of a magazine and ponders his uncertain future…
The Mangoes on CD Baby:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/themangoes
The Mangoes is also available on iTunes (and will be on Amazon.com in the near future).
The Mangoes website:
http://mangoesband.wix.com/band
--
Progressive Rock & Progressive Metal - E-Zine
http://www.progressiverockbr.com
http://progrockmetal.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/carlosvaz.ferreira
