Shoes For Paul
Waiting for the Good Part
Open Late
It’s rare that I listen to a disc and hear beyond a low-budgeted, indie-production and consider it a collection of the finest little gems to come out of Orlando’s alternative rock scene. Each of the five singles included on Shoes for Paul’s Waiting for the Good Part serves a unique blend of lyrical persuasion and melodic pop charm. Lyrics to lead singer Ryan Cerchiai’s solo acoustic “Maybe Someday” (“Checked out a book on how to find a girl/ but it’s nearly three months overdue”) lend lighthearted acceptance to the frustrating “boy chases girl” scenario. The popular satirical play on pop culture of the late 1980’s is told in “Who’s Your Favorite (NKOTB).” Beyond the humor and ironies of the subject matter, the genius of the song is revealed through its musical caricature of the changing music scene. The soft, melodic vocals of bassist Mike Spoon Spring are overlayed by heavy electric guitar, bass lines, and well-plotted crash-snare drumming by Ryan “Buk” Bukowski – further depicting the novelesque ’80s goodie teen pop gets bludgeoned by ’90s mad grunge.
And then there is the dangerously catchy first track, “Cigarette Girl,” which was inspired by a secret adoration of a cigarette seller working at a downtown Orlando coffee house. With biting yet endearing lyrics right from the pages of a diary (“I nearly melted when she finally spoke/ I bought some menthols and I don’t even smoke”), the song gives rhyme and reason to another “back from experience” experience.
All these creative juices are working – despite not yet having their recently inducted fourth member, lead guitarist Ric Tomasi. Even as an under-budgeted three-piece, Shoes for Paul, whose name originates as an obscure Abbey Road reference (and ode to their idols, the Beatles), have the songwriting capabilities and musical intuition to further create meaningful songs of life experience as well as bring the “fun” back to rock and roll.
Open Late Entertainment, 5328 Central Florida Parkway, Orlando, FL 32821
