First Juliana Theory album in 15 years explores old work in a new format
The Juliana Theory reunion will move forward by looking back.
On March 26, the emo/alt-rock band from Greensburg will release “A Dream Away,” an album that reimagines some of its most beloved tracks in stripped-down fashion.
The first new album in 15 years from The Juliana Theory — now consisting of singer-guitarist Brett Detar and guitarist Joshua Fielder — comes in the wake of the band, which formed in 1997 and went on hiatus in 2006, releasing a pair of singles, “Can’t Go Home” (November) and “Better Now” (January). “Better Now” will be the one new track on the album.
“When I was a kid I used to wait in anticipation for new episodes of MTV’s ‘Unplugged,’ ” Detar said in a statement. “I loved how artists would sit on stools in an intimate venue and perform their otherwise electrified songs on almost entirely acoustic instruments. At its best, ‘Unplugged’ versions of songs could outshine the ‘official’ versions.”
“A Dream Away” springs from the duo playing an acoustic tour in 2019.
“Every night we were playing these songs that people knew, but they were in a format that we had never done before, and that is what was so interesting to me about it,” Detar said. “It was really cool to watch the expression on people’s faces when we started our set and they weren’t necessarily sure what song it was just yet, and then to see that spark of recognition and excitement when ‘Watch Your Mouth!’ came in. Everyone was singing along by the third word. That tour was the foundation for this record.”
The duo has fleshed out the songs with mellotron, piano, glockenspiel, woodwinds and strings.
In advance of the release, they’ve shared the new version of “If I Told You This Was Killing Me, Would You Stop?” from their 2000 album “Emotion Is Dead,” which sold more than 150,000 copies and earned them a slot on the Vans Warped Tour and a contract with Epic for the 2003 album “Love.”
Saving Moondog’s
Plans are being finalized for a multinight online concert event to save
Moondog’s, the Blawnox blues club that, like most music venues, has been closed since the start of the pandemic.
Mark Byars and Cheryl Rinovato are co-producing the event, which will feature a broadcast with video footage of national artists Selwyn Birchwood, Joanna Connor, Tinsley Ellis, and Niecie and Jerry Cortez ( Tower of Power), along with Pittsburgh acts Johnny Angel and the Halos, The Bill Toms Band, Soulful Femme, The Granati Brothers and more.
They are also collecting items — signed guitars, artwork, pick-guards, etc. — to auction during the broadcast. Those who want to donate items can contact moonyfundpgh@gmail.com.
The goal is to reach $10,000 to donate to Moondog’s, whose longtime owner, Ron Esser, said in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story last week that he is ready to resort to takeout spaghetti dinners to keep the 30plus-year-old club afloat.
Byars is a singer-songwriter-guitarist from Pittsburgh living in Sanford, Fla. He collaborates with Rinovato, a retired pharmacist who plays in the band Soulful Femme.
“We have to do everything we can to preserve the history of Pittsburgh music. That’s exactly what we’ve set out to do,” Byars said in an email. “This is our deeply personal effort to keep music alive in Pittsburgh.”
The concert date will be announced soon. In the meantime, they have created a PayPal for the Save Moondog’s campaign at Facebook.com/savemoondogs.
In addition to fundraising for Moondog’s, Esser, who worked at the late Oakland club Graffiti, has been the
force behind the Pittsburgh Blues Festival, benefiting the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, and the
Pittsburgh Blues and Roots Festival at the Syria Shrine Center, benefiting the Autism Society of Pittsburgh.