A tale of two bands: Tiger Saw, Sunchunck drop new CDs this month

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April 11, 2007

Emily Young, Staff writer The Gloucester Daily Times Wed Apr 11, 2007, 06:25 PM EDT

The name Tiger Saw might evoke images of "pleather" pants and big hair, but Newburyport-native Dylan Metrano and his ever-changing lineup of mellow musician are anything but metal.

The band's name stems from Metrano's love for pinball. Pinball machines, he says, all have a loose story line. One machine, called "Theatre of Magic," features a tiger cutting a woman in half. Every time you successfully score, Metrano said, the machine chants "Tiger saw."

"My roommate and I would just laugh whenever it would say, 'Tiger saw,'" Metrano said. "So, yeah, it has nothing to do with the music."

Similarly, Mike Bertolami of Plum Island and John Catino of West Newbury coined their band's name | Sunchunck | well before they had a band. The brothers-in-law were on a not-so-sunny vacation in Key West, Fla. The sight of another morning of clouds led Bertolami to write off the day. But optimistic Catino spotted a bright spot in the clouds | a "sunchunck" | and was convinced they'd be on the beach before long.

"It was a perfectly round hole in the clouds that the sun was peeking through," Bertolami recalled. "I said, `Did you make that word up? I kind-of like that word | it would be a great name for a band.' We were joking for the rest of the trip, pretending to hold a mike and saying, `Hey, we're Sunchunck and we come from Massachusetts.'"

When Bertolami and Catino started jamming with Amesbury High School teacher Brett Manoloff during the summer of 2002, deliberation over the group's name didn't last long. Despite Manoloff's initial objections to Sunchunck, it won by a 2-1 vote.

"We had so much fun when we first started playing together. The more we jammed, the more we learned, because our musical backgrounds were so different," Bertolami said. "Brett is a hard-core, heavy metal and hair band guy. (Catino) was into jazz. And I was into classic rock, U2, Buddy Guy, Albert King. By default, we didn't know any of the same songs, so we'd just jam and make some up."

The high-energy trio has come a long way in just a few short years. Despite the demanding schedules of their real lives, filled with family and work, Sunchunck regularly plays once a month. They are in the final stages of mastering a four-song recording, "L8," to follow up their 2002 CD, "On the Map." They're playing a release party at Bill's Bar in Boston later this month, whether the disc is ready or not.

"When we do play, our energy is so high | we're so fired up to be up there," Bertolami said. "We have a great time. We make a real event of it."

Tiger Saw's live shows are also a unique event because the performing musicians joining Metrano onstage rotate regularly.

Metrano formed Tiger Saw in 1999, calling on local friends to fill the ensemble. But the band's lineup changes as frequently as a pinball's path: from a tranquil duet to a packed house of musicians. In fact, as many as 21 musicians performed on the band's fourth CD, "Tigers on Fire," which was released this month.

However, only five members will hit the road for the band's upcoming tour, which will crisscross the country. They chose to stay local for their CD release show, which is Saturday night at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport.

"Some of us have day jobs, some of us don't," Metrano said. "It's something that I do probably between six and nine months of the year. For different periods of time, there are different lineups of the band. It's about who's available, but it also keeps us fresh because it's not the same people playing the same songs."

The band's vibe has changed greatly over the years.

"In the earliest record, we were deliberately slow and quiet," Metrano said. "The sound has changed with every person that comes on. On this fourth record, we didn't want to feel trapped into a sound. We had a new horns and rhythm section.

"I've been influenced greatly by rhythm and blues and funk and more upbeat music, so we went in a new direction with this record," he said.

If You Go

What: Tiger Saw and Friends CD Release Show, with special guests Michael Leviton, Leah Hayes and Vanessa Hayes

When: Saturday at 8 p.m.

Where: Firehouse Center for the Arts, 1 Market Square, Newburyport

How: Tickets $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Call 978-462-7336 or visit www.firehouse.org.

What: Sunchunck EP Release Party, with special guest Barefoot Truth

When: Saturday, April 28, doors open at 9 p.m.

Where: Bill's Bar, 7 Lansdowne St., Boston

How: Cover $10; 18-plus show. Call 617-421-9678 or visit www.billsbar.com or www.sunchunck.com.

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