Focus Magazine of SWFL Swimsuit Heat Wave | Page 112

Get Mad

Get Even

don't

By Michelle Tomao

When it comes to getting screwed-over by women, singer/songwriter Zach Caruso doesn't get mad, but he does get even with
the release of his fourth album, "Might Be The Rain," a sizzling
set of eight high-impact blues-influenced rock tracks. Several of
which, Caruso admits are craftily worded get-backs aimed at the
women in his life who claimed they loved him, then done him
wrong. In celebration of the CD release, the artist is making the
album's first single, Nobody Knows My Name, available as a free
download on his homepage.
"Finding the right words in a conversation is often hard for me,
so I always use music to express what I really feel," Zach Caruso,
the New Jersey-born artist, said. "When my relationships began
falling apart, I didn't really know what to say to fix things, so I
just started writing songs, and those songs eventually became
the core for this new album."
Whatever word skills Caruso may lack as a conversationalist he
more than makes up for as a lyricist. A former journalism major
with a master's degree, he stokes his album with smart, surprising
metaphors that let listeners feel the aches and pains, and anger
and frustration he experienced while his romantic relationships
crashed and burned before his eyes. With song titles like, Love is
a Dog from Hell, Caruso manages to convey more emotion with
six words than less talented songwriters could convey with 6,000.
Blues rock fans that get their hands and ears on the new CD are
going to appreciate Caruso's rhythm guitar grooves, his inventive
riffs during the breaks, and his use of tasty hooks to kick-start and
sustain the album's tracks. A few might even say his innovative
work as a guitarist is overshadowed by his skillful use of his most
impressive and powerful performance tool: his soulful, expressive
voice, clearly a gift from the Blues Rock Gods.
Caruso's near-raspy, never strained, and from-the-heart vocal
style combined with his chops on the six-string have begun to
trigger comparisons by listeners to several indie blues rock legends.
"Fans of Jonny Lang, Gary Clark, Jr., the Black Keys, and Joe
Bonamassa seem to find our sound similar," Caruso said. "I think
Joe Bonamassa is a musical genius, and as an independent artist
he's showing the rest of us how it's supposed to be done. Obviously we're honored to be mentioned in the same breath along
with him or any of these artists."

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In addition to being both a fan and ardent student of Bonamassa,
Caruso unashamedly admits his writing and playing style was,
and still is, majorly influenced by Billie Joe Armstrong and Green
Day. Although, it was the Black Crows "Shake Your Money Maker"
album that really got him turned on, and tuned in to the power of
the blues rock genre.
"There was something about the music, the sound, the swagger,
that really hooked me," Caruso said. "For some reason it opened
a door for me, and I started getting into blues music and went on
to devour every blues-influenced album I could find, from "B.B.
King" to "Led Zeppelin." The music I produce today is a blend of
all those influences."
New Caruso fans that come out to see him perform at his live
gigs may be surprised to see the performer up on stage playing
guitar and accompanied by only drummer Frank Abrami, bassist
Frankie Prendergast, and backup singer Alicen Ragonese. Using
just three instruments and the magic of his own voice, Caruso and
his band mates manage to fill the room with toe-tapping, buttshaking sound. His new CD exactly captures that toe-tapping,
butt-shaking sound.
It is not to bother telling Caruso's ex-girlfriends that he wrote
songs about them. They will not understand the lyrics, he said.

www.zachcaruso.com