"PROVENANCE" AN ALBUM 15 YEARS IN THE MAKING DROPS JULY 31, 2024

https://www.howardnema.com/2024/07/06/provenance-an-album-15-years-in-the-making-drops-july-31-2024

(UPDATED) 7/9/2024 8:51AM EST

No. It didn’t take fifteen years for Connecticut alt-rockers AZURE SOUL to produce their debut album, PROVENANCE. The album was completed in late 2008 and has been sitting on the shelf ever since.

It is even stranger that the band’s debut album, PROVENANCE is also the band’s swan song. AZURE SOUL disbanded in late 2009, but in their short time together the band produced a solid album and a legacy that has stood the test of time.

AZURE SOUL was founded in Torrington, Connecticut in March 2008 by guitarist and singer/songwriter Howard Nemaizer and singer/songwriter Brian Steen. Steen recruited Rick Fonck on bass and Fonck suggested drummer Andy Bournival.

The decision to form a band came after Nemaizer met Steen at the Winchester Restaurant in Torrington, CT. Howard was looking to form a band. Brian told him he was a singer. Howard invited Brian to his home studio to jam some tunes. When he heard Brian’s songs for the first time Howard was impressed and immediately offered to produce them at his home studio.

The band began to take shape after Brian found Rich Fonck, a consummate bassist and musician, whose grooving melodic bass lines earned him the nickname “Funk.” Powerhouse drummer Andy Bournival was brought in by Rich to play on the recordings.

Howard Nemaizer described the recording process:

“The plan was to record live, with Brian in an isolation booth recorded with a Neumann TLM 102 to pick up his guitar and voice, like they did a lot with Johnny Cash. Rich’s bass and my guitar were both recorded direct through a Zoom pre-amp. I had a Sennheiser E901 mic on the kick drum and Sennheiser E604 mics on the rack toms and snare. I used a Earthworks Audio SR25 on the hi-hats, no over head cymbal mics on anything. This was how we did the basics on all the tracks–live. And the songs only took one or two takes; three tops. It was magical.”

Brian Steen on stage @ Cousin Larry’s in Danbury, Connecticut 2009

Singer Brian Steen, who authored the songs on PROVENANCE viewed the chemisty of the band and the execution of the songs on the album as capturing “lightning in a bottle.”

Guitarist Howard Nemaizer agreed. “It was rare. Very rare. Everything worked. Everything flowed. We vibed on every song we recorded. In fact, they got better. And no fifty takes to get this or that. None of that shit. It was spontaneous and it was real. Pure, honest energy.”

This became clear the moment they burst into the first take of “Lonely Nights.” One take was all it took. The same was true for “Dead Man’s Disease.” So right off the bat, the musicians gelled and knew they had something very special. Smiles were abound. The band was born.

After mulling over a long list of band names, the group settled on AZURE SOUL, as a homage to the blues. “After all,” as Nemaizer explains, “rock and roll comes from the blues and azure is a shade of blue. And the blues is full of soul. So it fit, AZURE SOUL.”

Indeed, the band had soul. Together they crafted a unique and definable sound all their own, that came from blending Brian’s acoustic with Howard’s electric guitar. Their music is an interesting listen.

PROVENANCE is an ecletic album. A blend of songs and genres that merge soft rock, country and alternative with hard rock. The album’s production quality is remarbly good, as producer Nemaizer notes: “I was surprised how good the tracks sounded recorded on a $600 portable ZOOM R24. I set out to make demos of Brian’s songs, but what we got were better than demo quality. I guess it was a combination of using good mics, getting good levels and all, but the real key to what we got in the performance was the energy in that room. We caught that. Over and over again. If you listen close, there are all sorts of subtleties that happened in the basic rhythm tracks that were all recorded live. Many happy accidents. Tons of ’em on there.”

Howard Nemaizer in his home studio where Provenence was recorded in 2008.

The band burned copies of their album on CD and sold them at venues across Connecticut, Massachussets and Rhode Island. In short time, AZURE SOUL developed a loyal following, performing 78 shows from 2008-2009, including 54 shows between July and October, 2009 thanks to their booking agent Sherri Slater.

AZURE SOUL placed 2nd in the Connecticut Battle of the Bands and was signed to BLACK ARROW PRODUCTIONS, LLC in October of 2009.

Impressed by the band’s powerful live sound and the strength of the demo recorded in Nemaizer’s garage studio the band’s first album was to be produced by manager, Bob Bell, but the deal fell through.

Sadly, Internal problems led to the band’s dissolution on New Year’s Eve 2009.

AZURE SOUL did reorganize under several incarnations before they fully disbanded in 2014.

Singer Angela Renee (L), drummer “Cracker-Jack”, Brian Steen (C) and Howard Nemaizer (R)

Guitarist Howard Nemaizer (L) vocalist Glenn Malthrope (C) and bassist Rob Post (R)

The nine demo songs recorded in Nemaizer’s garage studio are all that is left to chronicle the history and sound of the band. Now, these two decades old recordings are being given new life.

In a recent public post published on Facebook, Nemaizer wrote:

In 2020 I began recording and releasing my catalogue of songs and tunes I wrote in WHITE MAGIC and BAD BUDDHA in the 1980’s and 90’s. In 2009 I formed AZURE SOUL with Brian Steen. We captured some lightning in a bottle. The band was popular, but short lived. Sherri Slater got us booked all across CT/MASS in the summer of 2009. We performed 54 shows that summer. Brian is an amazing songwriter. Some of the best guitar work and best solos I have ever composed were during this time. It was the first time I collaborated on someone else’s music. We made some pretty decent sounding recordings, 9 songs were recorded on a ZOOM 24 track digital recorder at my home studio. We sold a ton of CD’s at shows and the songs are out there on YouTube for years, but were never mastered. Now they are fully mastered and will be released on all music streaming platforms soon. In memory of original Azure Soul bassist Rich (Funk) Fonck, who passed away in January, 2024.

source: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/WVDpBwZadNvkDq2r