Member Since: 9/19/2005
Band Website: desberardo.com
Band Members: Chris Berardo-Lead Vocals, Harmonica, Percussion; Marc Douglas Berardo-Acoustic Guitar, Vocals; "Professor" Dick Neal-Mandolin, Electric Guitar, Dobro, Pedal Steel Guitar, Banjo, Acoustic Guitar; Art Bagueri-Bass Guitar; Paulie Triff-Drums; Jeremy Simmons-Electric and Acoustic Guitar
Influences: The Eagles ... John Mellencamp ... Willie Nelson ... Bruce Springsteen ... Hunter S. Thompsen ... The Rolling Stones ... Jackson Brown ... Poco ... Larry David ... Neil Young ... The Doobie Brothers ... Ed Hogan ... Badfinger ... Shecky Green ... Fleetwood Mac ... Derek Jeter ... The Monkees ... Ken Krasne ... Jameson's Whiskey ... John Cleese ... Steely Dan ... The Beatles ... The Band ... Hollywood's Mitzi Gaynor ... The Allman Brothers ... Chicago ... The V-Roys ...The Pousette-Dart Band ... Steve Earl ... Bob Crewe ... Loggins & Messina ... James Taylor ... Seinfeld ... The Family Guy (particularly Stewie) ... Vince Gill ... Frank Sinatra ... Sheryl Crow ... Rusty Weir ... Ken Kesey ... Burt Bacharach ... The Sex Pistols ... The Carpenters ... Yes ... Jimmy Buffett ... Lenny Bruce ...
Walt Frazier ... Cold Beer ... Hall and Oats ... Dick Neal and The Wagoneers ... Maggie Montgomery ... Prince ... The Flying Burrito Brothers
Sounds Like: "One of the best roots rock bands in America"
- Western Beat
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"IGNORING ALL THE WARNING SIGNS IS AS GOOD A COUNTRY ROCK RECORD AS YOU WILL HEAR THIS YEAR!
Berardo and his buddies stir it up plenty on this slab of hillbilly propulsion, puntuated with wailing harmonica and churnning electric guitar, not to mention the leader's impassioned vocal. A shouted "Woo-hoo!" from this corner."
-Robert K. Oermann Music Row Magazine
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"One of America's brightest new roots rock bands!"
-Americana Tonight , Nashville, TN ************************************************************
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"Chris Berardo embodies everything I love about popular music
- a pleasing voice, beautiful melodies and hooks, well crafted
lyrics. Shades of The Eagles and Poco combine with a Southern
rock sensibility, creating a fresh sound unlike the usual cookie
cutter country-rock of today.... his vocal
reminds me at times of a more controlled Drive By Truckers
sound ...Pedal steel, mandolin, banjo, fiddle and harp co-exist with
acoustic and electric guitar in a beautiful tapestry of sound.Berardo and his band have crafted a fine album (Ignoring All The Warning Signs) that should
garner lots of attention. We can only hope. It’s better than 90
percent of the music on today’s country radio."
-Gritz Magazine****************************************************
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"Country Rockers on the rise!" - Urge.com / MTV*********************************************************
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"AN ALBUM THAT YOU CAN'T IGNORE ...
"CT based Chris Berardo & The DesBerardos are on an upward trajectory.
One listen to "Ignoring All The Warning Signs" and you'll understand what the fuss is all about.
Berardo craftes catchy, roots-rock tunes about small towns, barstools and hope.
Blues-flavored guitar leads are prevalent, as are hooky mandolin lines and stomping drum beats.
And if the music doesn't catch your attention, Berardo's lyrics surely will. "I guess if you're counting, I have lost more than I've found / But I still hold my head up in this town," he sings in the poignant "Forty Years."
Berardo & The DesBerardos follow all the right signs with an album that you can't ignore."
- Performing Songwriter Magazine 6/07********************************************************
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"Riding straight out of a tequila sunrise and into the arms of an adoring crowd of barroom regulars, this band hits all the right notes to appeal to Jackson Browne and Eagles fans everywhere ... There is a pervasive feel of West Coast rock heaven here, kicked up a notch or two with sizzling guitars and Berardo's winning voice."
-The Studio City (Los Angleles) Sun Feb 2007
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"BERARDO ESTABLISHES HIS PLACE IN THE LEXICON OF ROOTS ROCK ...
"Chris Berardo’s music sits to the mellow side of Reckless Kelly and the Gourds, but with more of an edge than John Mellancamp or Jackson Browne. On Ignoring All The Warning Signs, Berardo establishes his place in the lexicon of roots rock. With only one non-original tune (Jeff Tweedy’s “Passenger Sideâ€) Berardo’s songwriting talents vie with his smoky voice as the star of the CD. Anyone who favors roots rock will immediately resonate with Ignoring All The Warning Signs.
Berardo delivers all the goods." - Vintge Guitar Magazine, coming May 2007
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"I loaned out my copy and never got it back, which furthers my resolve to never lend out my favorite CDs. Ever again. This is the kind of record with what I call “reference†songs - songs that you want to hear over and over again. Should have never taken it out of my CD player. Someday I’ll learn. Berardo’s voice and songwriting is right out of the country rock scene that evolved at LA’s Troubador during the ‘70’s, an era that spawned Jackson Brown, the Eagles, Gram Parsons, and more. Berardo has taken that collective era, and done them all one better on this album of singer/songwriter crafted gems."
****1/2 stars
- Michael Tiernan
NBC SanDiego.com
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"Blend Firefall's organic melodies and harmonies with The Marshall Tucker Band's brand of Southern rock and throw in a bit of bluey, soulful flair and you come up with Connecticut's Chris Berardo & The DesBerardos.The Band fronted by Mr. Berardo boasts two CDs (2003's "Pure Faith" and 2006's "Ignoring All The Warning Signs" ... ) and a road ethic that's put it in venues playing with MTB, Little Feat, Reckless Kelly and others. These guys make clean, real music that harks back to the 1970's golden era when The Eagles and Jackson Brown attracted fans of pop, rock and country. Ah, the good old days."
-Mario Tarradell
Dallas, TX
The Dallas Observer, 2007
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9 out of 10! - The Celebrity Cafe.com 2/07
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“Berardo can get by on the strength of his gritty voice alone, as he proves at the start of 'Barstool.'… (he) performs Jeff Tweedy’s ‘Passenger Side’ with scruffy soulfulness, delivering the song like the fellow roots-rock traveler he is … ‘Everybody Swings Around Here’ is a boisterous portrait of ‘wild-eyed schemers and barroom dreamers,’ while ‘Forty Years’ and ‘One Silver Rider,’ both laced with resonating pedal steel guitar tones, colorfully conjure the birth of country rock.â€
'September Prayer', Berardo'smost ambitious ballad, is also a keeper, and may outlast most musings inspired by 9/11."
- The Washington Post 3/01/07
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" It wasn't that long ago that you didn't have to go out of your way to find hard working, roots rocking crews like this that knew how to turn it up loud and proud and let the good times roll. Now that the industry has a bad case of "all-or-nothing-itis", when you find what used to be thought of as a solid mid-level act, it's cause for celebration. Berardo and his gang know how to lead the charge for helping you let off steam. With some real talent going for them at all levels of the game, this bunch is a real party on a platter. They know how to work an audience and they know how to get you worked up. This is how it was before everyone was an arena rocker, whether they were or not."
-The Midwest Record Recap - Chicago, IL Jan 2007
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"They play with a lot of heart. Berardo's voice leads the melodic offerings ... where he proves to be suprisingly soulful and un-testosterone. Songs focus on wandering and getting lost, on losing women, drinking, and finding something to believe in. Pure Faith is a nice addtion to the record collection of a fan of The Allman Bros, The Marshall Tucker Band, or almost any genre between bluegrass and acoustic music"
- The Fairfield (CT) County Weekly
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"Connecticut’s Chris Berardo conjures bracing roots-rock from the elements used by John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen before him: the open road, the broken heart, the dream of escape."
- The Nashville Scene, Nashville, TN ************************************************************
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"If you enjoy good music, then you will enjoy The DesBerardos. It's really as simple as that. Go see them!"
- The Music Scene Houston, TX
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"NEWS FLASH -- HIPPIES FOUND LIVING IN SILVERMINE, CONNECTICUT!
Can it be true? Yes indeed. They call themselves Chris Berardo & The DesBerardos and they spend their days touring up and down this great country playing "Americana" -- an amalgam that includes pop, rock, and country. Chris Berardo pulls on his influences (Jackson Browne, Mellancamp, The Eagles, Dylan, Springsteen) to create something fresh and exciting -- touching vignettes of growing up in small-town Connecticut.
The decidedly country feel to this record (Ignoring All The Warning Signs ... 2/27/07) separates it from the normal singer-songwriter record and makes it perfect for dancing. So go ahead, down that shot of Tequila, and slip on your party shoes."
-The Working Musician.Com (January, 2007)
©2006 Roger-Z
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"A local institution!" - THe Greenwich / Stamford (CT) Advocate 2007
Record Label: Lamon Records
Type of Label: Indie