#chrispastore

Like a lot of musicians and creatives, COVID brought out a lot of inspiration, whether is be the world around us falling apart, to have more time to do the things we’ve been putting off. Chris Pastore is no different. This seasoned musician has been working on his album, Turn the Music Up Loud, for a long time, compiling of new songs and old one. COVID gave him, and others, and excuse to work on these sort of projects. He recently released his single “Deliver Me” from said album. This acoustic song is about the consequence that we must face, whether we want to or not.

We got the chance to speak with Chris Pastore in this edition of Indie 5-0. 

Let’s dive in:

What was your inspiration for “Deliver Me”?

2020 revealed weakness, desperation, helplessness, and people found themselves in dark places with little hope. I have had this melody and the hook "Deliver Me" in my head for some time, and being under the COVID lockdown helped bring the song to reality. The words inspired by someone in trouble, of course, beaten down & needing a helping hand, we've all been there. The song starts with a delicate acoustic guitar, the opening lines set the tone, and story quickly settles in with tightly knit drums and bass, introducing the whurlitzer, then organ, building, building to a crashing chorus supported by an infectious guitar/piano hook.  A nightmare that had to be confronted, an uplifting story, inspiration, of facing the consequences, brought to life by melody, a choir, salvation by music, with an orchestral crescendo and musical question mark ending. The song and lyrics are meant to be spiritual guidance almost like a preacher's sermon.

What was the writing process like for this particular song? What was the production process like?

The chords and phase "Deliver me" had been circling in my head for years, but I needed a topic. Once I hooked onto that topic in the COVID lockdown the words flowed quickly. I sent the acoustic demo around to the rest of the band and tapped drummer Mike Gambone to create the perfect beat. We landed with the steady driving building drum track that opened the song up sonically. The rest happened at Wrightway Studios in Baltimore, we refined the drum nuances, Bob Brooks locked in quickly on the bass adding catchy riffs and fills, I stumbled across an electric guitar vibrato fill line while noodling over outtakes, and the chorus guitar picked melody just fell into place. The keyboardists and I met up at Sound On Sound Studios in Montclair, NJ because of their array of vintage pianos and organs. The Wurlitzer and Hammond tracks that Matt Stone added were pure gold, depth, warmth, really capturing the essence of the song. Layer in some vocal and guitar harmonies, some feedback at the end and there you go.  

“Deliver Me” comes from your upcoming album, Turn the Music Up Loud, which is your first album release in about 10 years. What prompted you to release music again?  

I finished so many songs during COVID, nothing to do, my mind raced with ideas, no distractions. I've got about two more albums worth of material to record!

Who is your biggest musical inspiration and why?  

I'm inspired by capturing whatever the story is at the time in my life. There are many love songs, many stories to tell. “Deliver Me” was a very sensitive subject matter, but we nailed it.

What do you hope to share with “Deliver Me”?  

The song went way beyond my expectations for writing, production, performance and recording. I hope people enjoy it, can't get it out of their head, connect in some way to the vibe, and share this group's ability as a band and me as a songwriter to produce quality music that people like. There's a lot more to come. 

You can hear “Deliver Me” here:  https://open.spotify.com/track/086pXpSYYak0oKMWL5ttrH?si=b12bdfb334c64957