THE VOYCES: Press & Fanmail

Hey guys,

You've really done it. I just love the whole CD. It rocks.
Your voices are beautiful. Great songs. Everyone who hears me playing it asks who it is because they dig it. Much continued success!
Bruce

Holy Sh*t, your new cd is good. Why you are not a totally world famous band, I will never know.

Kissing Like It's Love is a hit!
I think I have played that song about 200 times already. ;)

S

Love 'Kissing' from start to finish. Lovers In The Sky is my new anthem.
Peace.

A synopsis of the new disc goes like this: First I feel giddy. Next I want to die. Then I become hopeful. Then I want to die again.
Your songs break my heart.
Thanks, I think.

Dear Voyces,

I was introduced to your music by a friend of mine who played me your song "Relate To Me" on the guitar. He told me that I needed to buy the Thicker than Water soundtrack, and I did. Your song was my favorite song on there, so I bought The Angels Of Fun. I loved it so much, I bought three copies of Kissing Like Its Love. Well, since it arrived in the mail I have not stopped listening to it.
Not only that but everyone who hears it wants a copy too. It's so good. My favorite tracks on Kissing are "Lovers in the Sky" and "Humming." The songs are pretty and your voices are dreamy.

We don't have a big music scene here in New Mexico but I wish you would perform out this way sometime. In the meantime I wear my Pretty girls listen to the Voyces t-shirt to spread the word about you people.

Kara

Dear Voyces.

I love your new video! It's freaking AWESOME!
Your bassist has a price tag dangling from his bass??
Are you serious??
LMAO at the whole thing!
Keep it up.

Noah

Hey, I discovered you guys at Rockwood in March, went to that other show you did there in March, and now I'm hooked. Unfortunately your release party falls during my finals week here at school, but I bought the disc off iTunes and it's awesome. Still not the same as the live performance, of course.

Thanks for releasing an awesome CD, and play Rockwood again sometime. It's a great place even when you're pressed up against the wall.

-Jake S

(re: your new video)
I don't know what to say ?!?! .I have never laughed so hard and got a b*ner at the same time. thanks for a truly new experience. love and kisses kc

Hello Voyces from beautiful Montreal!

Just a short note to state the fact that "Kissing Like It's Love" is probably one of the best pop songs I've heard in a very long time!! It has everything! Great lyrics, tremendous song structure (Eb..yeah!!!), terrific arrangement and most of all and most importantly...., infectious "ear candy"!!! You're going to do very well with this!!! I wish you the best of luck and hope one day you'll make your way up north to the "city of festivals"!!!

Cheers!

Gord

Loved your show on Saturday. Bang, bang, bang. One great song after another. The people I brought had never heard you and they were shocked. They came out of obligation yet left with a stack of your CDs. All the way home I kept saying "I told you so!" From my perspective, as a fan, I thought the show was more mesmerizing than your recordings. To look at you all while hearing the music is something very powerful. You pulled the audience in with both your style and the energy you've got flowing from the stage. When you said that it was your last song, I almost cried. I'm not kidding!
Susan

I just had to drop a line to let you know how much I and everyone else, enjoyed Saturday. You were all amazing. It was such a rush to see you on that stage, every bit the rock stars, and so deserving of the venue. The energy was infectious and people were really enjoying the set. I watched as people poured into the room once you started playing and everyone just got carried away by the music. People who saw you for the first time LOVED the music, and those who have been to other gigs said this was the best yet.
Outside, our friends who didn't buy tickets in advance stayed in the line and listened to your set outside. Then they talked about how they can tell this story when the Voyces are playing at the Garden. My sister saw, through a window, a guy at the bar, at the back of the room, probably a fan of the other band, who couldn't help but bob his head like crazy to the Voyces. She said she thinks that happened with lots of people - they came for the headliner, but are now converted Voyces fans. I
couldn't agree more.

XOXOXO,
Chris

the show was unforgettable. you all sound SO great together. i've seen many many band play and only a few could i say were as good live, if not better, than on the album. you guys not only blew us away with your music, but with your style as well. all of you looked so psyched to be up there, and i must say all very fun to watch.
i think that Jude is especially wonderful. she has an elegance on stage that i've never seen before, and her voice is so delicate, yet powerful. your voices (or should i say voyces) are a stellar match.
once again, you kicked ass! thanks for a great show!

~Veronica~

Hi there!



Just want to let you know that your show on Saturday night was so rad. I’m so, so, so happy I got to see you guys play!!! I swear to god I haven’t had that much fun in ages I couldn’t stop bouncing around…..haha.
And I haven’t taken your CD out of my CD player since I got it last week! Good luck on tour!!!!!



XOX

Mins

Last night was the first time I saw you perform and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Thank you so much for “Kissing Like it’s Love” – I listened to it this morning and I’m sure it will fly off the shelves.

My best to all of you.

Thank you for performing in my son’s club.

Sincerely,

Benita Rockwood

Listened to (one of your songs) this morning all the way to work. There is one part where Jude’s voice breaks my heart. I mean that almost literally. I feel a tearing in my chest every time. I think that the two of you are so cosmically lucky to have found each other. She just has such softness and light about her and it brings out that same beauty in you. Cheesy? Perhaps. You guys make me want to write poetry or something—but only on songs like that. When you launch into Canyon Ladies, I want to do dirty things to hot boys. Now THAT is a dynamic band.

Diet Rock lives, baby! It’s like Yacht Rock minus all those jazzy chords… The Voyces write unpretentious pop music with 0 calories and a toss-it-back flavor. Is it the simple blending of influences like Cat Stevens, early America, or perhaps some bizarro world where Matthew Sweet left his recording cave to frolic in the So Cal sun? Either way, The Voyces have had an interesting rise to the upper echelon of NYC bands and their sound, at its best, feels like second nature.

The Voyces' story starts with Brian Wurschum, a singer/songwriter who moved from California to NYC and formed the Voyces. Brian’s got a Jimmy Buffet vocal style (minus some of the exaggerated twang) and a rock solid harmonic sense. With their initial lineup, The Voyces released "The Angels of Fun" (2003) with Diego Garrido (The Simpsons, The Squid and the Whale) and then had one of its tracks, "Relate To Me," in Jack Johnson’s "Thicker Than Water" film. Original singer Laurel Hoffman left the group in 2004 and after a hiatus Wurschum joined forces with singer Jude Kastle to reform the Voyces (along with drummer Eric Puente and longtime bassist Frank Carreno).

Kastle and Wurschum really are a wonderful pairing. Their voices complement each other well with tight vocal harmonies - often in parallel thirds with Kastle’s throatier alto enriching Wurschum’s understated melodies. The rhythm section is solid and straightforward, making sure the attention stays on the songwriting and vocal choices.

The Voyces have been able to create space for themselves in NYC largely through the timely placement of their music. TV, Movies, Television commercials; all have raised their visibility level outside of NYC without them ever having to step foot outside the city. As Brian told me, "We have yet to tour. (Booking west-coast shows as we speak.)" I found it particularly intriguing that their current release "Kissing Like It’s Love," was at the top of the Barnes & Noble record sales before it was even released.


Notes Wurschum: "Yes, it is true. Because of Barnes & Noble sales, our CD was in its second printing before it was officially released. It was also #1 at Darla, our distributor, for a while. This was due, in part, to our track in the Jack Johnson movie (and soundtrack). But we have some songs in other movies, and in some television commercials, as well… None of us were expecting this at all. We knew we had fans from all over the world~ happily, they write to us quite a bit ~ but the sales were more than we were imagining."

When the New York Mets come to Dodger Stadium, it's not unusual for local blue crew supporters to get drowned out by funny-talking East Coast transplants who turn out in droves to cheer on the Big Apple nine. Reversing that forever "go west" trend is Brian Wurschum, who actually left the 805 and relocated to New York City sight unseen. Yup, on purpose. He's coming back on Sunday with the Voyces, a group that can sing and harmonize better than it can spell. If you're in the mood for pretty pop-rock, check the band out at Grady's Record Refuge in Ventura.

Wurschum should know the way west — he's from Newbury Park. Locals will remember him for his prior 805 musical adventures with the groups Majority DOG and Zelig.

The DOG band was the first group to ever play at Civic Arts Plaza and, in keeping with its low-budget outlook, band members used to practice at the Park and Ride lot off the 101 in Newbury Park. The DOG band also played at Café Voltaire a bunch of times — that's the place that locals whine about missing the most after Charlie's and, soon, the Alpine.

Wurshum has been Back East for several years now, not long enough to talk funny but long enough to form the Voyces. The singer-songwriter discussed his imminent homecoming during a recent phoner.

Hey man, how's the Voyces' biz? Are you guys rich rock stars yet?

Yeah, we are rich rock stars.

Cool. Can I borrow a dollar?

Yes, you can.

All right then. You went to New York City on purpose. Why?

I moved back here in 1999 and now I can't remember.

Didn't you see "Midnight Cowboy''?

It's been so long that at the time it seemed like a really good idea. We'd never been here and at the time we just wanted to see what it was like. I'm glad I did because I met the Voyces.

What's it like back there?

I like it. It's just the opposite of everything of where I'm from.

The anti-Newbury Park?

There is no Newbury Park back here and there's a lot of really great people here.

What's your take on the NYC music scene?

It's very aggressive, much more aggressive. There's this place called the Sidewalk Café that is like a hub in a lot of ways. Basically everyone I met here I met at that place.

What about those Voyces?

This lineup has been together for about a year and this is what I call the Voyces. What are the Voyces all about? We're just doing our rock 'n' roll thing, I guess.

What does it sound like? Any majority DOG or Zelig in there?

Since I wrote the music for those bands and I'm still writing the music for the most part, I don't think that I could escape that flavor.

Any Majority DOG songs?

No. That's done, I think.

Have any Café Voltaire stories?

Oh, Café Voltaire. That place was great. I loved that place. It was our favorite place to play out there.

There's a place now called Zoey's, which is the spiritual successor to Café Voltaire.

Yeah, I heard about that place and I'd love to play there.

How has the Internet changed things for you?

The Internet has enabled us to sort of find out who's listening to us and reach those people. That's the biggest thing it's done.

What's the deal with this tour?

This is really the first time we've left New York. The other singer, Jude Castle, and myself played one time in California before but the band has never traveled. We play about two or three times a month but we haven't been together very long and just put an album out. We're just starting this process; you know, hit the road and hustle up some interest. We're coming to Ventura first, then we're going to drive up to Northern California and through Oregon to Seattle.

What's the best and worst thing about being a musician?

The best thing is performing live or having somebody say, "I listen to your album at home." The worst thing is everything else.

"... Ya aprovecho y te mando una nueva canción para tus Sesiones S.O.S., no se sí tendrás este disco es de un grupo americano llamado The Voyces y el álbum se llama “Kissing Like It’s Love” es de este año 2007, es bastante recomendable esta lleno de sonidos pop, folk-rock y algo de psicodelia.

“La canción que elijo es una de esas canciones que se te quedan metidas en la cabeza y las vas tarareando durante

todo el día, con lo cual consigues que todo sea un poco más llevadero. No debe ser siempre mirar hacia atrás y recordar viejos discos, también hay que vivir al día y descubrir nuevas bandas como este quinteto llamado The Voyces y su canción “Kissing Like It’s Love” que da titulo a su excelente segundo trabajo y además es el tema que le abre, toda una gema del mejor pop con influencias de finales de los 60’s, alegre, contagiosa, con excelentes armonías, en resumen una delicia.”

THE VOYCES
New York-based acoustic rock quintet The Voyces offers a quartet of superlative songs on their page. "Relate To Me" is a transcendent beauty. From the band's current Planting Seeds Records album, "Kissing Like it's Love," come the pensive "Canyon Ladies," the winsome "Humming" and a jaunty title tune. Sweet harmonies enhance graceful melody lines.
www.myspace.com/thevoycesmusic

New York City needs The Voyces... if only for today. With recent memories of seventy degree temperatures still lingering fresh in my mind, it is hard not to feel as if Mother Nature is pulling some wicked chicanery on me, and everyone else that lives and works here. I mean seriously…WTF? I guess, it is still March. Luckily, The Voyces landed in my inbox today. And thank god. With a courtly tip of the cap to both the choirboy harmonies of Simon and Garfunkel, and the West Coast gleam of The Eagles and "Harvest" era Neil Young, pleasant little numbers like "Kissing Like It's Love" and "Relate To Me" hit my ears like a blast of warm, summer air across the wintered bow of our city. So make sure you don't miss these peddlers of perfected pop music at The Rockwood Music Hall tonight at 10PM. I promise The Voyces are something worth dragging yourself out through the dirty ice and snow that besieges New York for.