The Tongues

Untitled Document



The Skinny
In the Summer of 2007, off the strength
of their debut EP, .as
seen on TV., The Tongues made it as a TOP 6 FINALIST (Out of over 1300
bands) in the Independent
Music World Series West!
The Tongues have now recorded a debut full length album, Let It Out!, and are completed a full month tour of six European countries in April and May of 2008.
The EP
"Though only five tracks
long, .as seen on TV. shows how far The Tongues can reach, musically speaking.
The Oakland group's debut EP runs the gamut from upbeat, danceable pop-rock
(think new Brit rock/pop invasion without the attitude) to catchy punk (like
a slightly softer version of The Vandals or Bad Religion) to languid, lamenting
rock." -Performer
Magazine
"The 3 guys say that they
are influenced by British bands such as The Beatles, The Pixies, Franz Ferdinand,
The Libertines and Bloc Party. You can hear these influences indeed, but The
Tongues' music is more than just a bad copy: The unique voice of the singer
Barry Le Baron (great name!) certainly contributes to the fact that their songs
remain something independent." -poptilyoudrop.ch



The Band



Barry
Syska - Vox, Guitar - is a quintessential artist who entertains
a palette of many different styles. Syska has a history of various musical
endeavors and has performed at venues from east to west such as The Chance
in NYC, the Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh, North Carolina, and San
Francisco’s Great American Music Hall. In addition to playing in The Tongues,
Syska also continues his solo career. He is currently recording a new album.



Patrick
“P!ckle” Kaliski - Drums, Vox - is a musical gadfly with overdeveloped
deltoids who muses, “I like hitting drums, truly I do, but I would like, ever
so much, to hit them quite, quite harder.” His current musical endeavors include
hitting drums with Rosin Coven, Dr. Abacus, and Gooferman. Pickle's various
bands have taken him on tours through the western states, New York and Europe. Pickle is also heavily involved in sound design
for theatre and film. He is the resident sound designer of foolsFury
Theatre Company and has scored and sound designed several films through
his company Metric
Sound Productions.



William
"Billy" Barnes - Bass, Vox - has been playing the bass since
his mother took away his teddy bear and his blanky. His former musical projects
include playing with 501 Spanish Verbs and Slombis.



Jacob "Jakey" Bollin - Guitar, Vox - The newest member to join
The Tongues came to us from the sledgehammering band, Pink
Clouds. Jakey also takes time to work his solo music with Fairchild



The Fat
The Tongues’ sound…
…combines edgy guitars, pumpin’ bass, and kickin’ drums with singable melodies
and intriguing storylines. Harnessing raw musical exuberance into danceable
grooves.
The Tongues’ story…
…goes something like
this.
In the beginning, guitarist Barry
Syska and drummer Patrick “Pickle” Kaliski met back in 2002 when they began
recording sessions for Barry’s Fantasy
Cravings album. They later played together at various gigs such as the Great
American Music Hall in San Francisco warming up for the Dresden Dolls and Pickle's
other band, Rosin Coven. Over the next few years these musical comrades maintained
an appreciation for each other’s musicianship and beguiled one another with
their animated characters.
One evening in the fall of 2006,
the two found themselves on Pickle’s front porch talking shop. Reminiscing about
their work recording Barry’s solo album of vaudevillian pastiche, and talking
about Pickle’s current projects playing in large groups such as the pagan lounge
ensemble Rosin Coven,
the cartoon jazz quintet Dr. Abacus,
and the Klown-Fi band Gooferman,
they found themselves speaking about a musical avenue both desired exploring.
Barry and Pickle realized that they shared a similar vision – of forming a danceable
rockin’ band with a Brit twist. In fact, the process of forming this band was
well underway. Pickle had already advertised for a bass player and Barry had
already begun writing rock songs. It was then that bassist William "Billy the
Kid" Barnes came into the picture. Billy responded immediately to Pickle’s posting
(after first listening to bands like Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party to figure
out the exact manner in which these young upstarts rocked) and he was a good
fit. Having grown disillusioned with the working world, Billy yearned for his
bygone days of playing in rock bands (501 Spanish Verbs, Slombis).And so the
die was cast.
In mid-March 2006, the trio met for
their first rehearsal at Pickle’s place in Oakland and within a few months they
transitioned from living room to recording studio. They then set about recording
the basic tracks for what was to become their first EP:
.
as seen on TV
These recording sessions lasted long
into the hot summer nights and in that windowless practice space the guys would
shed clothing and imbibe cool liquid to keep the hot grooves from melting their
mettle… Once the basic tracks were cut they called upon Billy's long-time friend
Dan Rathburn at Polymorph Studio. Under a sign bearing the inscription ‘Iron
Lung’ the guys laid down the vocal tracks and Dan made quick work mixing it
all together. Before too long a danceable EP of this band newly christened The
Tongues was born.



In the spring of 2007, The Tongues began promoting their new EP .
as seen on TV. through local touring and promotion.



In June of 2007 The Tongues brought in a new fourth member to close out and
complete the band. Jacob “Jakey” Bollin, formally of the San Francisco indie
band, Pink Clouds, is adding his own touch and guitar stylings to the sound.
The Tongues are pleased as punch to have him on board.



A new full length album is currently being recorded, and in April/May
of 2008 the band will take their sound overseas to Holland, Germany, the Czech Republic & Britain.



Stay tuned for upcoming gigs and
releases.
take a listen to the new mp3s,
and spread the word…
.and while you're
at it
The Tongues are now broken up - since August 2010 - but their music is still available at cdbaby.comThey recently recorded and mixed 5 final tracks for the "Where Do We Go From Here" EP. Four of the tracks are available above.