April 6, 2001
The Independent, Humboldt County

Attila & Band Storm Iguana

By Deb Winters

REDWAY- Believe it or not, even Attila has to pay taxes. That's what he was working on last Saturday at his Bay Area home, taking care of business before he and the band hit the road and head for Humboldt.

A trio of accomplished musicians who call themselves an exploratory pop concept band, the Attila & Dave Project is comprised of Attila Medveczky, Dave Stevenson and Rusty Aceves. They'll play the Iguana in Redway, Friday night, and can also be heard Saturday from 4-6 pm live, on KMUD, 91.1 FM.

Whether on the road or in the studio, the group displays an adaptability that comes with training, experience, and a sincere commitment to professionalism. Together since 1995, ADP has produced two CDs. The production credits from their latest CD, Lifeline, recorded in 2001, show the virtuosity and flexibility of each member. Medveczky is bass, Mini-Moog, analog and digital synthesizers, Fender Rhodes, bass pedals, piano and lead vocals. Stevenson is electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, bass pedals and vocals. Aceves is drums, cymbals, gongs, tabla, doumbek and synthesizers. To see them in concert during which the trio routinely play four instruments simultaneously is according to Medveczky "worth the admission price alone."

Pervading their multi-layered, highly produced sound is an air of intellectual detachment reminiscent of Fripp and Eno. In continual juxtaposition with the group's cool surface, there is a troubling, yet exciting uncertainty revealed in the psychedelic, nightmarish sound of their sound and lyrics. In songs such as Moonlight, the singer's agonized voice nearly drowns beneath a dark, haunting crescendo before there comes a note of hope "and a light," "and a voice I know so well... Goodnight, goodnight. It will be alright tonight." Reflected in Some Saturday Blues are concerns about love and marriage, "And will you still love me when I'm just no more fun?"

Besides Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the Beatles, the group's sound also hints of influences from jazz and classical music. Training for Stevenson and Aceves, each, includes a degree in music. Lyricist Medveczky has a degree in English.

In publications from around the Bay Area and around the world, ADP has been hailed for their progressive and innovative alternative rock music. Adroitly, and with a nineties sensibility for merging divergent sounds, they combine mid-sixties psychedelic music with fifties surf-style guitar playing. They may not be "the next Whitney Houston or the toast of Hollywood," says Medveczky, but they are a group that plays with a sense of awe and reverence that they've found to be a big plus.