MANAYUNK

 

Throughout the week, it’s not hard to find good live music in Manayunk. Bourbon Blue, Manayunk Brew Pub, Goat’s Beard, Flat Rock Saloon – the list goes on. Nice acoustic sets that pair well with food and drink, it’s a perfect date night. There are many musicians who come through the circuit. A good handful are regulars; seasoned veterans who have been making music their living for years. And then there’s Vinnie Paolizzi. His alternative/acoustic sound is influenced by Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, and John Mayer. He fits right in. Oh, and he’s only 20. He won’t take advantage of his drink tab for another couple months. That doesn’t stop him from being a fixture in the Manayunk music scene. Vinnie has been playing in Manayunk for a year now and, with the help of Bourbon Blue, is taking the next big step in his music career.

On February 24th, Bourbon Blue will be hosting the release party for Vinnie Paolizzi’s debut EP: Waiting on Me. The night is promising. The Tim Williams Band will kick off the night and later Vinnie will perform music from the album.

It’s a big night for Vinnie. A lot of hard work went into getting him there. The album was completely financed by Vinnie, himself, from his equipment and speakers to the studio time. Vinnie saved everything he could from playing music throughout the city and poured it all into the album.

“I had to save for the whole spring and summer of last year to pay off my speakers, mixer and guitar. Then, when the album idea came up, I put everything into that.” It is important to note that currency involved here is college-kid-money.

Vinnie is quick to point out that, while he handled everything financially, he was far from doing this all on his own. He speaks of Tim Williams like he’s his big brother.

“Tim Williams is the only reason I’m where I am. He was doing an open mic at this bar in Paoli called Baxter’s. It’s right down the street from where my mom and dad grew up. My dad went there for a beer on the way to his wedding. That’s how significant this bar is to my family. One day this bartender there that we’ve known forever was like ‘hey I have this friend, Tim Williams. He hosts this open mic. You should meet him.’ I came down and my grandparents came down, and it was otherwise a dead night. And Tim let me play for what felt like an hour. I had never played that many songs in front of anyone before. And Tim said, 'You were great!’ and he ended up hooking me up with one of his booking agents. Tim’s the one who showed me the ropes.”

Vinnie also caught a bit of luck on the production end as well. Vinnie had a relationship with Glenn Barratt, the Grammy winning owner of Morning Star Studios in Norristown, from when he recorded some music at the studio a couple years back. Vinnie approached Barratt with the idea of a five song EP and a set amount he could spend on it.

“I told him ‘this is how much I can afford and I’m sorry, I can’t go any higher. Glenn said ‘great’ and budgeted ten hours for the project. And we did the first round with the drums and the bass and he said ‘this is really good,’ and then we put the guitars on and he said ‘this is really good’. Then he listened to the songs again and he said ‘Listen, this is going to be really good and I want to spend a lot more time on this than you can afford, so I’m just gonna do it. And I wanna do your next project. He originally budgeted 2 or 3 days of work on it and he must have spent 2 months on it.”

The fact that the party will be hosted at Bourbon Blue is rather significant to Vinnie. With his signature boyish smile, Vinnie told me about his not-so-smooth start with the bar. “When I first played there a year ago, I was told that I was a little too green for the larger crowds there. ‘Maybe someday.’ And now, a year later, they’re hosting my release party. We’ve come a long way. I am so grateful to Brendan and Mel and Steve (of Bourbon Blue). They are awesome.”

Interested in writing for Manayunk.com? Email Shannon at sgeddes@manayunk.org.