Chris Strofollino - Griffith Park

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 11 / 6 / 2014

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There’s so much about this debut from Chris Stroffolino to take in even before you actually get to the music. Stroffolino has already published eight books of poetry; he was a member of indie rock band Silver Jews and is a Ph.D. holding Shakespearean scholar. How and why Stroffolino ended up in Los Angeles in 2012 is documented in the fascinating liner notes supplied with this album by John Petkovic (Cobra Verde/Death Of Samantha/Sweet Apple,) but it was when film director Jeff Feuerzeig ('The Devil and Daniel Johnston') rode his bike past the van in which Stroffolino had bolted a piano to the chassis and was performing for small change that the seeds for what was to become ‘Griffith Park’ were planted. Initially it was the choice and delivery of the cover songs Stroffolino was performing from the back of his old Ford Econoline that caught the attention of Feuerzeig; this led to the pair eventually taking the ‘Piano Van’ up to the parking lot behind the old carousel in Griffith Park, Los Angeles where the film director recorded, over five evenings, the twelve Stroffolino originals and a cover of Richard Hell’s ‘Time’ that now make up Stroffolino’s debut. ‘Griffith Park’ is an extraordinary album, not only for the circumstances surrounding its birth but because Stroffolino is an extraordinary talent. For all that the album was recorded in the back of a van in a parking lot and which is in the main just a singer and his piano, for all its starkness and the pain and suffering that flows so naturally out of Stroffolino‘s voice there’s still this aura surrounding the songs that nothing has been rushed to capture a live, spur of the moment feel; the whole album sounds so complete and far from a lo-fi affair, Feuerzeig captures all the intimacy perfectly. Apart from one song it’s one man, his voice and piano and it’s all that is needed. Stroffolino isn’t the first to try to capture the hardships of life for those who don’t quite fit in with society, but he has a different take on it to most. Those liner notes are a must read and if I may I’d like to take a small quote which says more about Stroffolino than any review ever will. “ When you’re living this life and you hear Tom Waits romanticizing these down and out characters, it just seems a joke. I’ve been traumatised by this life. More than anything, I just want to live some sort of normal life”. Stroffolino is no fake, his life is in these songs and it shows in every word, he is the real deal. While producer Feuerzeig has done an excellent job with these songs you come away from listening to ‘Griffith Park’ with the feeling that here is a collection of songs that would work just as well if they were given a lavish production job in an expensive studio too. That’s because for all the rawness displayed on ‘Griffith Park’, for all the stripped backed presentation and clever lyrics at the core of these songs are melodies that are as infectious as the common cold. There’s a surprising warmth from the very first song, ‘It’s Not A Matter of Just Me’ which prevails throughout most of the album. The thought of a homeless man singing songs from the back of a battered old van, in a parking lot accompanied just by his piano playing gives the impression that you’re in for an uncomfortable soul-baring session. While Stroffolino’s lyrics are nothing short of compelling and his stories are always worth listening to the actual overall sound is a welcoming one. No wonder Feuerzeig was drawn to the sound drifting out of the piano van that day. While the songs he heard then were covers, Stroffolino’s vocals are impossible to ignore and when coupled to his own, brilliant poetry the results are nothing short of stunning. Stroffolino is so much more than just another poet who has set his words to music. There’s even a song here, ‘Fire Side Of Me’ that displays a pop sensibility you’d never think Stroffolino would be capable of even given his talent for those infectious melodies that adorn every cut on ‘Griffith Park’. I am Nnot sure when the liner notes were written but Stroffolino states that he’d love to tour in a new van (the original Piano Van was left stranded in Oregon); if there’s any justice left in this world he’d get his wish, these songs and this intelligent, passionate man deserve to be heard by more music lovers than the few who happen to be passing by wherever Stroffolino is pouring his heart out in song right now.

Track Listing:-

1 It's Not A Matter Just Of Me
2 Break Up Make Up
3 I'm Not Going Astray
4 Don't Be Afraid
5 Make It Rain
6 Time
7 Fire Side Of Me
8 Wherever It's Grey
9 How Do You Know It's Raining_
10 Equal Love
11 Eyes Of The Dead
12 Vida Guerra
13 Don't You Want To Take Care Of Me

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chris-Stroffolino/123543097692563
http://pianovan.com/
http://pianovan.bandcamp.com/

Label Links:-

http://www.brokenhorse.co.uk/

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