Treologic

Treologic originally started as a jazz organ trio (organ, guitar, drums) out of the DePaul University School of Music, according to the band’s press kit. The group experimented with various instruments, sounds, and musicians before finally settling with 5 members. Treologic, as listed on their site, is comprised of:

• Billa Camp (MC)

• Lance Loiselle (organ, keyboards, vocals)

• Justin Boyd (drums, beats)

• DJ Savage (turntables, samples, beat drops)

• Eric Koppa (tenor saxophone)

• Jordan Lopez (lead voice, flugelhorn, percussion, trumpet, keyboards, flute)

• Anthony Massaro (guitar, vocals)

(Hang on– 5 members? Well, contact information omits DJ Savage and Anthony Massaro as band members. A bit confusing.) As a side note, Eric Koppa has his own website, and works in a variety of projects in addition to Treologic.

Some of the band members biographies are serious (mostly the instrumentalists), and some are amusing. Lance Loiselle lists his hopes and dreams as “to be happy with good people and good karma.” DJ Savage is described as finding his “calling” after starving days of saved lunch money in 1983 at the age of 7 to buy Run DMC’s self-titled album, and there is mention of being voted “most likely to wind up in jail” in high school. It’s probably a good sign that some the band doesn’t take itself too terribly seriously; as they’ve also been described as avoiding the negative messages and materialism of hip-hop, then they might be said to be lacking pretentiousness as well.

As a result of such an eclectic mix of instruments and styles by musicians with varying backgrounds, the sound is a stark contrast from mainstream hip-hop. The CD Baby site sums this up well as follows: “Using hip hop as the main vehicle, Treologic uses more than one genre or style to flavor the musical palate. The logic is to embrace the rich roots of Chicago hip-hop, gospel, and jazz and bridge the old school with the new.” At least one person commenting compared their sound to The Roots (not surprising, since Roots member Black Thought is listed as an influence, specifically by Billa Camp). A Tribe Called Quest is also mentioned as an influence on their sound, and certainly the smoother backings of jazz in some of their recordings would draw such a comparison Their latest album, Colabo, is set for release October 21^st.

At first listening, Colabo had a decidedly edgier feel to me than their last album, Thank You Lenny, and has a more contemporary (e.g., gangsta) rap tone to many of the lyrics. I found it less to my liking overall, especially with the f-bombs and use of the “N” word that seems to be part of the “keepin’ it real” image that pervades popular mainstream hip-hop today. Fortunately, when I got the CD, a press release flyer was included that made this review a little easier– not only were the explicit tracks marked, but some recommended tracks were highlighted as well.

Of the “recommended” tracks, “Notes to My Child” seemed to stand out the most. The beats sound like a swinging ’70s style funk, with Massaro playing guitar licks reminiscent of Carlos Santana’s “crying guitar” style. The other track I really liked was “Relax Your Mind”, which had a breezy piano backing with a classical-tinged jazz style.

It would seem the band is eager to break out into bigger and more lucrative venues. By simply sending your contact information to their “Street Team” project, and they’ll send you promotional materials, including a free “Treologic” T-shirt. Reminds me a bit of Marvin “Young MC” Young’s old “Delicious Vinyl” record label. Even though the label went bust, the logo was slick and I’m still kicking myself for not getting a T-shirt back in high school. Unfortunately, I’m a much larger guy these days, and the Street Team’s sizes on tees capping out at XL just isn’t big enough. Maybe I’ll ask them if they quietly made some in larger sizes, or are willing to.

The band has been with Cigol Records (apparently an independent label) since their start.  They are currently touring (see dates above) and proudly declare that they have averaged 70-80 shows in the last 5 years.