Steve Nardelli, Francis Dunnery and Tom Brislin of The Syn talk about the making of the eagerly awaited new Syn cd, 'Big Sky'!

Added: 09/11/2008

The 'V-band Project' is an ongoing, online music creation project which is open to musicians from all over the world. What makes it so incredibly unique is that singer/songwriter and leader of The Syn, Steve Nardelli, wrote music for, funded the world-class recording and production of both the audio and video for, and participated fully (co-lead vocals) in the making of a Syn-style song played and arranged almost entirely by musicians from the band's official Yahoo! Groups fan forum, 14 Hour:

Join the official Syn fan discussion forum at Yahoo! Groups

In the future, V-band Project musicians will interpret new or unreleased Steve Nardelli-penned songs together virtually (and sometimes in-person in a professional studio setting like Brett Kull's MM3 Studios in Philadelphia) and have the resulting original music released through Umbrello Records' worldwide music portals. A unique video/film record of the creative process involved in the recording of each V-band song will be made, promoted and distributed worldwide.

Details of the next V-band project and how to be considered for inclusion in it will be released to coincide with the release of The Syn's highly anticipated new CD 'Big Sky' in early 2009. The Syn are: Steve Nardelli, Francis Dunnery, and Tom Brislin with Brett Kull, Paul Ramsey, and Dorie Jackson.

I am so impressed with and excited by how the short for the first V-band project video film has turned out. The full 20 minute film - which includes full interviews with V-band members; the story behind The Syn's V-band project as seen through participants' eyes; and complete footage of the V-band's live performance of "Reasons & Rituals" will be released shortly. For now, get a taste ..ting-edge Umbrello IPTV at:

http://umbrello.tv

A huge hand and thank you once again goes out to Steve Nardelli, Brett
Kull and MM3 Studios, Mobius Entertainment, and the rest of the
awesome members of the first 'V-band Project' project:

Kevin Still (Pittsburgh PA)
Kelly Child (Silicon Valley, California)
Cary Clouser (St. Anne's, Canada)
Steve Nicholas (Connecticut)

Steve S-N

Steve Sikes-Nova
Executive Producer
'14 Hour Technicolour Dream: The V-band Project'
on Umbrello TV and Umbrello Records
"An Ongoing Online Happening...Stay Mod and Stay Tuned!"

****
And don't forget to download your own FREE .mp3 of The V-band's song "Reasons & Rituals" at the very bottom of the link below:

FREE .mp3 Reasons & Rituals at Umbrello Records

"One of the highlights of 2005 was the return of the SYN. The classic
British art-rock band that featured singer-songwriter Steve Nardelli,
late great keyboard icon Andrew Jackman, and both future Yes bassist Chris Squire and guitarist Pete Banks. The SYN arrived during the same era as the 1967 Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd and served as a logical forerunner to the dawn of the progressive rock era of YES. Now in a logical extension of their now classic 2005 Syndestructible comeback CD comes an amazing 2008 track written by SYN vocalist Steve Nardelli entitled 'Reasons And Rituals'. Created as a virtual collaboration with contributions from members of The Syn fan forum. 'Reasons And Rituals' is right up there with the best of Syndestructible. As fans await the upcoming SYN Big Sky album, 'Reasons And Rituals' makes for an excellent snapshot of what's to come."

by Robert Silverstein,
20th Century Guitar Magazine

UK & INTERNATIONAL PRESS AND PUBLICITY SERVICES:

gary@musicstreetjournal.com

USA Press Contact:

media@umbrellorecords.com

and

Steve Sikes-Nova
Senior Media Consultant, Umbrello Music Entertainment, LLC
Hampton Roads, Virginia
ssikesno@yahoo.com

Following the hugely successful Francis Dunnery charity shows in Cumbria, UK this past weekend, Steve Nardelli will join Francis Dunnery and The Dorie Jackson Band at Islington Academy in London

Saturday, 1st November
Tall Blonde Helicopter Full Band Concert featuring Francis Dunnery
Carling Academy Islington  
London, England
Tel - 0844 477 2000
www.ticketweb.co.uk
Tickets £17.50 (price in advance - subject to booking fee)

24 cc hotline 0871 220 0260 and 0844 847 2450 online at www.seetickets.com and www.ticketmaster.co.uk     

to acoustically showcase some songs from The Syn's highly
anticipated 'Big Sky' album (release pending Feb. '09; Umbrello Records, http://www.umbrellorecords.com).

'Big Sky' features the core talents of Steve Nardelli, Francis Dunnery, and keyboardist extraordinaire Tom Brislin (Yes Symphonic/Spiraling) with major contributions from both Brett Kull and Paul Ramsey of Echolyn, and with Dorie Jackson on backing vocals; more significant guest-artist announcements for 'Big Sky' to follow soon.

UK & INTERNATIONAL PRESS AND PUBLICITY SERVICES:

Gary Hill, pr@musicstreetjournal.com

USA Press Contact:

media@umbrellorecords.com

and

Steve Sikes-Nova
Senior Media Consultant, Umbrello Music Entertainment, LLC
Hampton Roads, Virginia
ssikesno@yahoo.com

Steve Nardelli tells me on October 12, 2008 that: "Joe Whalen of WHPC 90.3 FM sent me this unsolicited email regarding Reasons & Rituals. I share it because Joe is a well known prog radio show host in New York with great taste and knowledge of music:

Hey Steve.. Just listened to Reasons & Rituals in its entirety & will
surely do so many more times & burn it to disc. I hope this track
will have a lasting home on the new album. It needs a solid sanctuary
beyond the internet, I feel.. (Steve Sykes Nova was very together with
you & I would have paid for a similar chance to duet with you!) This
is a kick-ass track, full of all your core values & enthusiasm for
living, powerful & solid in its presence, & complete with many clever
melodic twists & key modulations that add to its power & immediacy.
This track rocks, Steve. Very impressive indeed. ROCK ON !!! 

''Reasons and Rituals" is a song that has classic progressive rock elements and a modern edge. There is a healthy dosage of The Syn in the main song structure, but at times you might also hear Jethro Tull. In many ways this is tied to 1960's psychedelia, but yet no one would think of it as outdated. Steve Nardelli''s songwriting style shows through with an optimistic world view and message of hope. His voice seems to bring a Ray Davies feel to a progressive rock motif. This isn't the progressive rock of the 1970's, but it's also not the heavy metal influenced prog that's so common today. It's a true representation of what Nardelli calls "Mod Prog." It's a great song that's sure to please fans of the Syn, but will also have plenty of draw for anyone who enjoys progressive rock in general. Still there is plenty here for those with more mainstream tastes. Nardelli is a class act and you''d never know that the other guys on this aren't professional musicians because this is no amateur effort.'

http://www.musicstreetjournal.com

'14 Hour Technicolour Dream: The Virtual Band Project' on Umbrello Records releases its first single, the Steve Nardelli-penned (and previously unreleased) "Reasons & Rituals."."

In a unique interaction between a band and its fanbase - completed while The Syn have been making their new album 'Big Sky' (expected Feb. 2009) - musicians from The Syn's official fan forum have been virtually building a song written for them by Steve Nardelli, the leader of The Syn.

The '14 Hour Technicolour Dream: V-band' was conceived by Steve Nardelli and rural Virginia public school teacher & vocalist Steve Sikes-Nova (the creator of The Syn's fan forum in Yahoo Groups in 2005) as an ongoing musical 'happening' that will encourage participation by musicians worldwide regardless of nationality, colour or religion.'

The common bond between participants in current and future V-band projects will be the SYNergy of creating music together as an artistic community no matter what the physical distances between participants. Through the utilization of both
virtual co-creation and recording tools and hi-tech, physical recording
facilities, musicians have and will come together to create something beautiful!

Final production of  "Reasons & Rituals" took place at MM3 Studios under master engineer and producer Brett Kull (Echolyn;  The Syn 2009 Touring Band). This was done to create a visual, physical record of the event which will be shared with music fans in the coming weeks. Future V-band projects are expected to have this wonderful opportunity for amateur and semi-professional musicians to record in a state-of-the-art studio as well, thanks to the sponsorship of Steve Nardelli and The Syn.

The V-Band is part of Umbrello Music Entertainments 'Mod Prog' series and stands for the union of 'Virtual' and, of course, 'Peace' -
a commodity one can find in music above all else.

There is, and will be, no charge for V-band music;  it is offered for FREE
download at your convenience. If you'd like to make a donation to the
ongoing V-band project, your support will be acknowledged and is greatly
appreciated.

"Reasons and Rituals" is available for FREE .mp3 DOWNLOAD at the following Umbrello Records link:
http://www.umbrellorecords.com/artists/14hourtechnicolourdream/vband/vbandreasonsandrituals.html

14 Hour Technicolour Dream - Syn Forum:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/14Hour/

The Track
"Reasons & Rituals"

The Band:
Steve Nardelli (London, New York) - song writer; lead vocals; vision
Steve Sikes-Nova (Virginia) - lead vocals; Executive Producer
Kevin Still & Jim Hutchin (Pennsylvania) - bass, guitar, keyboards, additional drums; pre-production
Cary Clouser (Canada) - flute, harmony vocals
Steve Nicholas (Connecticut) - keyboards
Kelly Child (California) - drums
Special Guest Musician, Engineer & Producer: Brett Kull (Echolyn & The Syn
touring band)'

A full, filmed performance made at the time of final production at MM3 Studios, Philadelphia PA will be released shortly as will interviews filmed at that same time.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Media - Please contact Steve Sikes-Nova at ssikesno@yahoo.com for interview and other requests.

UMBRELLO HEADLINES
http://www.umbrellorecords.com

DUNNERY CHARITY EVENTS

October 4, 2008 - The Syn (core members for 2008-9: founding member Steve Nardelli; Francis Dunnery - former It Bites; Tom Brislin - Yes Symphonic, standing in for Rick Wakeman) + Brett Kull and Paul Ramsey of Echolyn, are taking a break from recording their eagerly awaited 'Big Sky' album (multi-media release scheduled for 24 February 2009).

Members of The Syn's 'Big Sky' sessions will play a couple of UK charity shows in October with Francis Dunnery and his Tall Blonde Helicopter Full Band. Other guests include Soni from Hootie and the Blowfish; Phil from Motorhead; Dorie Jackson and her band, Phil and Wayne and possibly Chris Difford. Both shows are almost sold out, so book early if you're interested!

:)Steve Sikes-Nova
Senior Media Consultant
Umbrello Media Entertainment, LLC
New York/London

On the net:
Dunnery Children's Fund - The Charlie and Kathleen Dunnery Childrens Fund gives 100% of each donation we recieve to childrens health and education.
www.francisdunnery.com/main.htm

Welcome to the Charlie and Kathleen Dunnery Children's Fund Charity web site. ... up an incredible weekend of fun, entertainment, and of course fundraising! ...
www.ckdcf.org
__________________
Albert Einstein, when asked to describe radio, replied:
"You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." 

***14 HOUR TECHNICOLOUR DREAM: THE VIRTUAL BAND (aka 'the V-Band') is a Syn-sponsored, ongoing project headed up by myself as executive producer.

The V-Band's first offerring will be "Reasons & Rituals" (Nardelli) featuring Steve Nardelli, Brett Kull, Kevin Still, Kelly Child, Cary Clouser, Steve Nicholas and Steve Sikes-Nova. "R&R" was recorded both virtual and live in Philadelphia at Brett Kull's MM3 Studios on September 13, 2008.

The track itself, photos, videod interviews, and a video of a live performance will be released prior to the release of The Syn's new CD 'Big Sky' as part of the new 'Mod Prog' series offerred by Umbrello Music Entertainment, LLC, London/New York.

Stay tuned to The Syn's official blog (are you signed up?) and watch for bulletins/press releases both for breaking news and more detailed information!***

:)Steve S-N
"Stay mod...and stay tuned!!!"

Steve Nardelli will give a press conference tomorrow to be covered as major news by BBC television, Sky News (UK), as well as all of the major national UK radio and print press outlets re: the release below.

Steve Sikes-Nova
Senior Media Consultant, Umbrello Music Entertainment, LLC
----------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York | London
UMBRELLO MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT GETS $12 MILLION IN EXPANSION FUNDING
INVESTMENT ENDORSES WORLDWIDE DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION MODEL
June 23, 2008, New York – Pioneering entrepreneur Steve Nardelli, lead writer and vocalist for the legendry '60s band The Syn, has earmarked $12M of a total investment portfolio of $600M to expand the operations of his New York-based Umbrello Music Entertainment. With this infusion of capital and two major new contracts to add to their growing client list, UME is now in a prime situation to solidify a leading market position.
Umbrello Music Entertainment is working with production house Edpic to supply targeted video and music content to Nokia, the world's largest manufacturer of mobile telephones, and to Amazon.com, the major online retailer. These agreements will be further supported by Umbrello's record label and Umbrello.tv. (http://umbrello.tv).
Nardelli states that Umbrello will offer a true alternative to mainstream chart music and video. "Through our global digital portal agreements, we will supply quality broadcast content to a worldwide audience of millions."
"Steve identifies change before change happens," says UK billionaire Mike Ashley who partnered with Nardelli to purchase and re-build Donnay, a leading manufacturer of sports racquets. The Donnay brand became a cornerstone of Sports Direct bringing their company forward into international retail superstardom.
Nardelli has started to invest the bulk of the $600M into property development projects in the UK with an emphasis on "green and planet friendly" social housing developments through his Evergreen Homes Company.

------------------------------------------------
About Umbrello Music Entertainment:
UME is an independent producer and distributor of high-quality content for diverse digital entertainment platforms worldwide. With production studios in London, Philadelphia and New York, UME's library of premium short form programmes is extensive with unending additions. UME offers their clients a competitive advantage with unique,attention-grabbing content that gives their viewers more choices. As a video partner, UME works with clients to assess their needs and develop effective quality programming for
maximum impact to their target markets.
*****
Contact: pr@musicstreetjournal.com
www.umbrello.tv
www.umbrellorecords.com

Steve Nardelli, Tom Brislin (Spiraling/Yes), and Francis Dunnery (It Bites) - along with some very special guest artists - will be back in the studio throughout July '08 to work towards finishing the recording of 'Big Sky'. This project will be the modern incarnation of The Syn's second full studio album (see also 'Syndestructible', 2005, Umbrello Records). These sessions, like those of earlier this year, will be filmed for broadcast on various Web 2.0 media portals through Umbrello Music Entertainment, LLC.


In addition, the virtual band project '14 Hour Technicolour Dream' featuring an original, unreleased song by Steve Nardelli, two Umbrello Records recording artists, Kevin Still (also credited as a producer), Kelly Child and others, with yours truly as executive producer, will complete its recording process - which is already well underway - during that same time period.


Much more information to follow shortly both here and at http://www. synmusic. net

Best,

:)Steve S-N

Steve Sikes-Nova
Social Networking Webmaster for The Syn & Umbrello Music Entertainment, LLC

Note: The Syn now also have an official page on Facebook:

http://www. facebook. com/pages/The-Syn/8804892878