"Maybe you've seen green thoughts on the road.."
Press
"Afterglow a Honey of an Acoustic Band"
The Asbury Park Pressby Kelly-Jane Kotter
Afterglow, a local acoustic band, is a lot like baklava, the syrupy pastry. When you see baklava in a restaurant's dessert case, don't you think to yourself, " Oh, I won't have room for that - too heavy and rich". And when you break down and order it anyway, aren't you surprised how lacey and delicate the layers are? But, it's also really tough to cut with a knife, and it gets messy with the syrup and the chopped nuts. OK, now that you are hungry, go get a snack and we'll talk more about Afterglow. Afterglow is a rare band. They're soft when you expect them to be heavy; tough when expect them to be mellow. With six musicians and it seems an endless parade of percussive instruments on stage, you'd think there'd be pretentious artsiness galore, or, at least a lot of noise. But, no. Afterglow makes music that is layered, but not heavy. Kind of like baklava...
The Star Ledger • Ben Horowitz
“Dreamy, new age, and Bohemian - like The Everly Sisters under the influence of Enya...”
"Afterglow - Somewhere Else Entirely" • NJ Newsbeat with Al Muzer - The Aquarian Arts Weekly
"Music should be about going where your heart takes you", proclaims Afterglow vocalist/electric guitarist Danielle Kimak before a recent show at the Jersey Shore. As percussionist, Alvaro Dionisis, 12 string guitarist Mikk Ciecierski, five string fretless bassist Rich Haddad, acoustic guitarist, Jason Mattia and vocalist/percussion Stephanie Spagnolia settle into various couches and chairs in the cramped dressing room, Kimak laughs and adds, "that's what we're all about, satisfying our own selfish music urges." Formed in 1994 by Kimak and Mattia, who met through a musicians wanted as in The Aquarian Weekly, Afterglow are one of those bands who literally defy description. The eclectic six piece (occasionally boosted to a seven piece with the addition of a tabla and manadala player, Tom Tedesco), manage to incorporate a smooth syncopated almost East Indian vibe and bright traces of Jewel, jazz, pop, and funk, into their acousti-Bjork pastiche of Rusted Root meets Throwing Muses alterna-folk. The collision of electric Stratocaster, acoustic guitar, loping bass, toy piano, and a wild array of percussion instruments, such as conggs, maracas, antique shakers, bells, and bongos creates a perfect musical bed for the soaaring vocals and spine tingling harmonies, of Spagnolia and Kimak, who perfectly compliment the hypnotic groove, and not-of-this-universe feel of the band..."
East Coast Rocker • Eve's Plum/Grimace/E.B. White/Afterglow/The Saint • 6/30/95
"...The faces of those who arrive early seemed as if they did not know what was in store for the evening. Those faces were going to be happily surprised. Afterglow started things off. They are a sic piece acoustic groups with a sound similar to Bjork if she were fronting the Sundays. Their set was a wonderful passage through twisted feelings and beautiful observations..."
Velvity#3, Rockaway, New Jersey • "Afterglow Caress The Jugular"
The first time I saw New Jersey based band, Afterglow, I though I'd be bored. I went because I knew Danielle, one of the vocalists. All I knew about them musically was that they were almost totally acoustic without a sit down kit drummer. Needless to say, they knocked me out. I was expecting something timid and sparse, what I got was an evening of songs that alternated from sweet and soothing (Red Wing), to the wicked and seething (Shark). Afterglow uses an array of various percussion instruments, and have a nice layered sound, something you can groove to, along the line of Mazzy Star or The Cowboy Junkies, it's just much more interesting. But, those comparisons don't truly fit Afterglow. I;ve searched high and low for a reference point, but can't find any other artist who sound quite like them. I've listened to there music constantly, and have not been bored once...
"Afterglow a Honey of an Acoustic Band"
The Asbury Park Pressby Kelly-Jane Kotter
Afterglow, a local acoustic band, is a lot like baklava, the syrupy pastry. When you see baklava in a restaurant's dessert case, don't you think to yourself, " Oh, I won't have room for that - too heavy and rich". And when you break down and order it anyway, aren't you surprised how lacey and delicate the layers are? But, it's also really tough to cut with a knife, and it gets messy with the syrup and the chopped nuts. OK, now that you are hungry, go get a snack and we'll talk more about Afterglow. Afterglow is a rare band. They're soft when you expect them to be heavy; tough when expect them to be mellow. With six musicians and it seems an endless parade of percussive instruments on stage, you'd think there'd be pretentious artsiness galore, or, at least a lot of noise. But, no. Afterglow makes music that is layered, but not heavy. Kind of like baklava...
The Star Ledger • Ben Horowitz
“Dreamy, new age, and Bohemian - like The Everly Sisters under the influence of Enya...”
"Afterglow - Somewhere Else Entirely" • NJ Newsbeat with Al Muzer - The Aquarian Arts Weekly
"Music should be about going where your heart takes you", proclaims Afterglow vocalist/electric guitarist Danielle Kimak before a recent show at the Jersey Shore. As percussionist, Alvaro Dionisis, 12 string guitarist Mikk Ciecierski, five string fretless bassist Rich Haddad, acoustic guitarist, Jason Mattia and vocalist/percussion Stephanie Spagnolia settle into various couches and chairs in the cramped dressing room, Kimak laughs and adds, "that's what we're all about, satisfying our own selfish music urges." Formed in 1994 by Kimak and Mattia, who met through a musicians wanted as in The Aquarian Weekly, Afterglow are one of those bands who literally defy description. The eclectic six piece (occasionally boosted to a seven piece with the addition of a tabla and manadala player, Tom Tedesco), manage to incorporate a smooth syncopated almost East Indian vibe and bright traces of Jewel, jazz, pop, and funk, into their acousti-Bjork pastiche of Rusted Root meets Throwing Muses alterna-folk. The collision of electric Stratocaster, acoustic guitar, loping bass, toy piano, and a wild array of percussion instruments, such as conggs, maracas, antique shakers, bells, and bongos creates a perfect musical bed for the soaaring vocals and spine tingling harmonies, of Spagnolia and Kimak, who perfectly compliment the hypnotic groove, and not-of-this-universe feel of the band..."
East Coast Rocker • Eve's Plum/Grimace/E.B. White/Afterglow/The Saint • 6/30/95
"...The faces of those who arrive early seemed as if they did not know what was in store for the evening. Those faces were going to be happily surprised. Afterglow started things off. They are a sic piece acoustic groups with a sound similar to Bjork if she were fronting the Sundays. Their set was a wonderful passage through twisted feelings and beautiful observations..."
Velvity#3, Rockaway, New Jersey • "Afterglow Caress The Jugular"
The first time I saw New Jersey based band, Afterglow, I though I'd be bored. I went because I knew Danielle, one of the vocalists. All I knew about them musically was that they were almost totally acoustic without a sit down kit drummer. Needless to say, they knocked me out. I was expecting something timid and sparse, what I got was an evening of songs that alternated from sweet and soothing (Red Wing), to the wicked and seething (Shark). Afterglow uses an array of various percussion instruments, and have a nice layered sound, something you can groove to, along the line of Mazzy Star or The Cowboy Junkies, it's just much more interesting. But, those comparisons don't truly fit Afterglow. I;ve searched high and low for a reference point, but can't find any other artist who sound quite like them. I've listened to there music constantly, and have not been bored once...