Nowhere Slow

When a man loves a woman very much, they show that love by getting together and forming an acoustic pop/rock 4 piece band from Scranton, PA. Hence, Nowhere Slow being the love child of Big Daddy Jazz and Mama Soul.Nowhere Slow, Members include Rick Gillette lead vocals and guitar, John Canjar on lead guitar and backing vocals, Will Clauss on bass and Matt Kester on drums. Modern Rock /Soft Rock / Acoustic Rock Contact Info: RG1Management@nowhereslow.com New Cd to be released read bel...

When a man loves a woman very much, they show that love by getting together and forming an acoustic pop/rock 4 piece band from Scranton, PA. Hence, Nowhere Slow being the love child of Big Daddy Jazz and Mama Soul.Nowhere Slow, Members include Rick Gillette lead vocals and guitar, John Canjar on lead guitar and backing vocals, Will Clauss on bass and Matt Kester on drums. Modern Rock /Soft Rock / Acoustic Rock Contact Info: RG1Management@nowhereslow.com New Cd to be released read below Nowhere slow (The Weekender) by Alan K. Stout Music Columnist When Nowhere Slow drops its new CD is just a few weeks, some things will be new, while others will stay the same. But vocalist and guitarist Rick Gillette says the new record — the band’s fourth and its first in three years — should satisfy its fans while also allowing the group to grow as musicians. “It’s not going to be a huge departure for Nowhere Slow fans,” he says. “It’s the same type of poppy rock songs that we had before. But we go a little heavier on this album, and we even go a little lighter, so it’s kind of got everything on it. I think we can please almost everyone.” Gillette says the musical changes that did come during the sessions weren’t calculated but rather happened quite organically. And that, perhaps most importantly, is what’s most pleasing to the band. “I think it’s just a progression,” he says. “You’re on your fourth album, and you want to explore other realms of your musical taste or development. I’ve been playing acoustic guitar for the last three years, and it was like, ‘What would happen if I put an electric on?’ That was kind of what we were looking for. Explore everything, and not just limit ourselves to what we considered our go-to Nowhere Slow sound.” Rounding out the Nowhere Slow lineup is Will Clauss on bass, John Canjar on guitar and Matt Kester on drums. The new CD is a follow-up to 2001’s “Look Up And Jam,” 2005’s “Two Weeks” and 2007’s “Stranger In The Alps.” It was recorded at Windmill Studios in Mt. Cobb, was produced by Eric Ritter and is being mastered at Abbey Road studios in London. Song titles include “Made You Look,” “Go Away,” “Same Old Love Song” and “This Is Our Night.” Though Nowhere Slow has been a popular working band in NEPA for nine years, the forthcoming CD will be the first on which Canjar and Kester have been a part of the project from the beginning. Gillette says the two have been a big plus for the band. “It’s definitely affected the record,” he says. “The two of them have worked together their whole lives. It was very easy for them to adjust, musically. And Matt knew the songs for the longest time. He used to do sound for us for years. It was a really easy transition. John and Matt are both extremely musical people and very talented musicians, so it definitely gave us a little more of musical edge.” Gillette names Dave Mathews, John Mayer and Third Eye Blind as some of his influences and favorites, and says songs by acts such as Kings Of Leon, Train and Maroon 5 all sometimes show up in the band’s sets. He adds, however, that although the group’s members have plenty of common bonds when it comes to music, their differences have also had a positive impact on the band. “I go as heavy as Breaking Benjamin, and I go as soft as Michael Buble,” he says. “I know it’s typical to say, but I really do like everything. And the rest of the guys, we’re pretty much the same. We all have stuff in common that we like, and we all have stuff that we can kind of show each other. I was never into The Beatles that much until John started really showing me some of their stuff. It’s not that I didn’t respect them, I just never got into it. It’s cool that we all have this little different backgrounds that we can show each other, and it kind of helps us develop our sound.” Gillette says the band feels fortunate to have been a busy and working unit for nearly a decade. He says that shortly after Nowhere Slow debuted, the NEPA club scene began to slide, and that he is aware it might not be possible today for a new band to find such immediate success. But there’s more to luck and good timing involved in Nowhere Slow’s longevity. The band is professional and personable, and, as recently seen at its performance at the Weekender/Mountaingrown Original Music Series, it has some great new songs in its repertoire. Gillette says it all comes from two things: passion for music and a constant desire to get better. “First of all, we love what we do,” he says. “And second of all, I don’t think we’ve even begun to peak yet. In 2001, back at the time, I was an 18- or 19-year-old kid, and I was a little naive in thinking that what we did was this decent album. But listening back to it now, I’m like, ‘Oh my God. This is just awful.’ Back then, we were just kids trying to do it, and I think we’re still are kids trying to do it, we’re just progressing more. We still have a ton to learn, and we have a ton to do. We still have that ‘we’re-just-starting’ mentality. It doesn’t get old for us.” Nor does releasing new songs that connect with fans, which should happen again in August with the release of the new album. “You talk about music being art, and they always say, ‘Once you complete a song, it’s not yours anymore. It’s somebody else’s.’ I try to take that to heart, and use that with everything I do with music. It’s not just about me as an artist. It’s about the people that are coming to see you. Because if they don’t come to see you, you can’t do what you do. So it’s kind of theirs, too. That’s how I always think about it.”