VENICE - “Brunch Buffet - Tasty Covers” (Lennon Records 2016)
Over the years, when people have asked the members of Venice who their musical influences are, they’ve felt funny merely stating the obvious few -- CSNY, The Eagles, The Beach Boys, etc. -- because sometimes it might have only been one song from an artist that moved them or flipped a switch in their creative brains, but not necessarily the entire catalogue. That’s how Venice’s new CD, “Brunch Buffet” came about, as a great way to answer that question once and for all, with a cover album revealing the diversity of their musical influences. “Yes, those West Coast vocal harmony bands obviously helped shape our sound,” says vocalist Mark Lennon, “but this album isn’t only about the classic rock or California coast influences. It’s also everything from music of our parents’ generation to singer/songwriters like Shawn Colvin. We cover Keane on this album, and they’re a British band from the 2000's. It's all the same to us, because our music is not only about the 60’s and 70’s, it's about great songs and artists from any time or place.” And while many older artists helped build Venice’s foundation, newer artists along the way have naturally influenced their journey forward, resulting in a familiar but ever evolving Venice sound. “Ultimately, 'Brunch Buffet' only includes SOME of our favorite songs by SOME of our favorite artists,” guitarist/producer Michael Lennon adds. “In putting together an album of what we considered 'Tasty Covers,' we realized that no matter what songs end up in this collection, we’ll always have second thoughts that we didn’t do song X or Y by artist Z. So I guess we’ll just have to record another album so that we can visit those there! ‘Supper Smorgasbord - Tasty Covers Part 2!’ “
