During their nine-year history, the New Jersey-based Amber Blues have released two critically acclaimed albums (A Year and Some Days in 2007 and Your Next Obsession in 2010), built an enthusiastic following, performed countless shows, and stood up for social causes they believe in (including animal rescue). But with their third album, The Colors That You See, Amber Blues are taking it to the next level creatively—and one of the people they have to thank for that is Israeli producer Kobi Swissa. The Colors That You See marks the first time that Amber Blues used an outside producer from start to finish, and thanks to Swissa's guidance and direction, they have never sounded more focused.
Amber Blues consists of guitarist Jimmy Clark, lead singer Tarek Ismail, bassist Dave Brumberg, and drummer Tom Gerardi, who call their music New Classic Rock. Drawing inspiration from different rock eras, New Classic Rock combines elements of the classic rock of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with elements of the modern alternative rock of the 1990s, 2000s, and early 2010s. Amber Blues have both an inter-generational appeal and an interfaith appeal; their lineup includes a devout Muslim who grew up in Egypt (Ismail), a Jewish-American (Brumberg), and an Italian-American Catholic from Staten Island (Gerardi), and Clark describes his own outlook as a "Celtic Pagan spirituality."
Amber Blues started in 2003, when Clark and Brumberg founded the band's original lineup. Ismail came on board in 2005, and Gerardi joined in early 2011.
"I feel that as a band, we really know who we are at this point," Brumberg asserts. "This album is called The Colors That You See because you're seeing the true colors of Amber Blues."
* For full bio, please visit amberblues.com
