Restoring the structure

Young singer/songwriters often grow weary of playing at the same coffee shops for the same group of supportive friends every night.

A group of artists, mostly from Buffalo, have decided to take matters into their own hands and come out with a compilation to snatch some exposure. The record's release party was Saturday at the Mohawk Place, and gave each contributing artist a chance to show off some of the effort that was put into the disc.

"Restoring the Structure, Volume One" is an album with a title that refers to younger musicians getting back to a grassroots songwriting structure.

"We wanted to promote singer/songwriters in our area. There are a bunch of people our age in need of exposure, and it made sense to unite the music scene around here because it's become so fragmented," said Jax DeLuca, one of the artists in charge of producing the compilation.

The disc contains nine acts from the labels Shambu Music and Corporate Screws, as well as independent artists. It consists mostly of mellow and distressed folk-rock.

"I wanted to tie in the themes of building structure and song structure. The title puts a parallel between who we are and what we're doing," DeLuca said.

DeLuca's humble presence and simple storytelling demeanor caught the crowd's full attention and inspired several listeners to sit on the floor in front of the stage. Her innocent, softly spoken vocals were soothing when blended with an acoustic guitar on her contributions to the compilation, "You Might Go Blind" and "In Letters."

Woe Be Gone, a two-man act, also stuck to an acoustic format. Jeff Vincent and Ben Orsborn created an eerie patchwork of harmony and dissinance with their whirlwind repetitions of vocals and moaning. Their emotive cries were fully exposed without the clutter of percussion or a bass line on the songs "Hopeless" and "Bones," which they added to "Restoring the Structure."

The laid-back atmosphere inspired some artists to stray from the norm.

"I usually stick to singing songs that are my songs, but I got a request to sing a song that's not my song. So instead of singing just my songs, I'm going to sing a song that's not my song," said Brian Wheat, a solo acoustic act, before playing a cover of "Sad Songs and Waltzes" by Cake.

Wheat's shaggy and tattered approach to acoustic folk is fittingly reflected in one of his album contributions, "Tired Old Man."

"Tired old eyes, crystal clear/ a strong will and thinning hair/ haven't you seen an idle moment/ sometimes I think you're scared/ somehow I should've known/ you weren't the one to teach me anything about growing old," Wheat sang on "Tired Old Man."

One of the last artists to play was Dan Reitz, a musician who did anything but the expected.

Reitz started out with an acoustic cover of "I Wanna Be Sedated" by the Ramones, adding intermittent bouts of whistling. He then played several tunes that combined a sometimes-awkward vocal style similar to that of Ben Kweller with a keyboard sound fit for a '80s public service announcement. The mix resulted in a quirky set aptly represented on the songs he added to the compilation, "December Song" and "McSorley."

Another standout artist in the lineup was Colin Hogan, a musician from northern Virginia. She skillfully blended a soulful acoustic guitar with sassy vocals and a funk-step bass line to create a danceable sound that induced head bobbing throughout the venue. Her contributions to "Restoring the Structure" include "Canvas" and "Hold Me."

"Restoring the Structure, Volume One" also features tracks by A_Relative_Term, Afterdinnerdrinkstaskforce and Peter Burakowski. The album is now available at local record stores such as Record Theater and New World Record for $5.