ION INDIE MAGAZINE August 2014, Volume 3 | Page 56

Music by THE RUSSELLO PROJECT “54”

THE RUSSELLO PROJECT
Story, Photography and Videography by Ken Jones
I’m at an open mic type event taking photos of a band I’ve seen multiple time, and the same question is
going through my mind that has never gotten a good answer…HOW is it possible that I’m not witnessing
this on a national stage? This band has people’s jaws open wide and watching in disbelief, as they
produce note after note of virtuosic playing of the most emotional music I’ve even heard. With the talent
onstage, you have to wonder how bands with this caliber of musicianship can be playing the pub scene
still. The answer to that question comes with knowing some of their history, and that they haven’t been
a full unit for very long.
The band is THE RUSSELLO PROJECT, and they are the fulfillment of a long musical dream for guitarist
extraordinaire CHARLIE RUSSELLO. It took a while to complete the lineup, but Charlie found like-minded
musicians in JOHN CHARLES CARPENETTI on drums and MIKE BOSI on bass. No easy thing to do—finding
musicians of the same caliber as this phenom of a guitarist. With the lineup complete for little over a
year now, The Russello Project is set to take the music world by storm. In the advent of modern promotion
using Facebook and other forms of social media is the norm. You can often hear Charlie say at a show—
while blowing the minds of new fans—that it’s about the “quality” LIKES that they get on these social
media platforms, and not just about the numbers. Everyone who’s witnessed the EXPERIENCE of The
Russello Project is definitely a quality “liker”. They win more and more fans at every gig, no matter how