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This page contains a few of the newspaper articles
and critic reviews that have been printed about Perpetual Motion.
CD Review from RockonColorado.com
String Theory, Perpetual Motion
Perpetual
Motion's newest release, String Theory, forges new ground in
what they call the "Acoustic World Fusion" genre. Basically
they've taken jazz, blues and rock tunes and play them acoustically
with a latin groove. Each original song is based around Josie
Quick's vibrant violin and the masterful guitar work of Tom Carleno.
Sure there's percussion and bass in there, too, but make no mistake
this is about the violin and guitar. The melodies that might
otherwise be handled by a vocalist are taken to new places by
Quick's violin. While this act is primarily a jazz based band,
they are not beyond applying their considerable skills to rock,
blues, or anything else that strikes their fancy. This is jazz
for those of us who aren't jazz snobs. "Jungle Fever"
has a cool latin/tribal feel thanks to the percussion. The lone
cover on the CD is "Josie" from Steely Dan, which takes
on a new character when played on violin and guitar. We love
it when a violin is used in a rock song. "Terminal Velocity"
also rocks pretty good. "Pasion de la Luna" emphasizes
Carleno's guitar with a Spanish/flamenco style."Big Red
Blues" shows that blues is well within their grasp. The
CD has excellent production qualities. They clearly spent some
time in the studio making sure this came out right. Buy this
CD if you like acoustic/instrumental music.
Voice
March 10, 2005
Concert features genre-spanning sound
By Peter Jones
What do you get when you cross a guitarist who can't write lyrics
with a violinist who can't sing?
Instrumentals, hopefully.
"We focus on
our strengths," violinist Josie Quick laughed.
She and husband Tom
Carleno are the nucleus of Perpetual Motion. The Denver band's
self-described style is "dynamic acoustic jazz, combining
blues, rock, Latin and more."
"More,"
in this case, spans bluegrass to surf music.
"When people
ask me what kind of music we play, I just say good," Quick
said. "It's hard to put a label on it."
Perpetual Motion brings
its genre-spanning sound to the Lone Tree Public Library March
13 for a free concert.
It was not for lack
of trying that Perpetual Motion gave up on putting words to its
music. The couple has tried tapping into its love for Beatles
lyrics,but the results were uniformly disappointing - more "moon
in June" than "Here Comes the Sun." Voices were
not their best instruments either, they admit.
The couple has, however,
incorporated lyrical melodies and a kind of vocal phrasing into
their music. Carleno-Quick compositions are not so much instrumentals,
they say, but songs without words.
"Surfing on Cloud
Nine" is described in CD liner notes as "a song about
the joy of being alive." That may surprise listeners who
assumed that instrumentals were not "about" anything.
"We make the
effort to make the melodies hummable. When I'm playing, I try
to think vocally. I think where the breath would be if we had
a singer," Quick explained.
Perpetual Motion's
material ranges from the American folk roots in "The Wyoming
Blues" to the scat-jazz of Wheels are Turning. "Surf
'n Turf" honors surf guitar king Dick Dale.
Despite appearances
to the contrary, the eclectic husband and wife team was not always
this comfortable in its musical skin.
Quick was originally
a "classical music nerd" who was growing steadily tired
of playing note-for-note Beethoven in school assemblies. Her
epiphany came from an unlikely source, a fiddle-based, southern-rock
hit by the Doobie Brothers.
"I was just enthralled
by "Black Water," she said. "I realized I could
play any style I wanted to on the violin."
By the late 1980s,
she was teaching the same lesson in a Denver music store, where
Carleno happened to teach guitar down the hall.
Before long, the frustrated
rock musician was smitten by his female colleague, His opening
line had more truth than most, however.
"I've written
some music. I'd like to hear what it would sound like with a
violin," Quick can remember him saying to her one day. "He
thought he was so smooth, as cheesy as it was."
A love connection
was not all that gelled. Quick's violin actually did sound pretty
good with Carleno's jazzy material.
Perpetual Motion was
ready to move.
Although the band
has seen as revolving door of personnel over the years, including
two veterans of Boulder County's Wind Machine, the married couple
has always been the stable calm in the group.
Three or four can be a crowd sometimes, anyway.
"It'll be just
the two of us at the library," Quick said.
Perpetual Motion will
perform March 13, 2 p.m. The Lone Tree Public Library is located
at 8827 Lone Tree Parkway. The concert is free, but reservations
are required. Call 303-799-4446.
Perpetual
Motion: Christmas Time is Here review
Go
Go Magazine
by
Judy B.
January 21, 2002
What
a beautiful and inspired record this is. And, it’s holiday
tunes no less. Making an album of traditional Christmas songs
is tricky because the songs are sooooo overplayed during December,
and because tasteful can turn to tacky in the blink of an eye.
Perpetual
Motion’s holiday release brings high quality musicianship
and creative instrumental arranging (very important on a record
such as this) to standards such as "Joy to the World,"
"Carol of the Bells," and "Do You Hear What I
Hear." Also included is the title track by Vince Guaraldi
and some well-placed original tunes like "Northern Lights"
and "Nova."
Perpetual
Motion usually records instrumental records that fit in well
with mellow jazz or New Age listeners. The founding duo of Perpetual
Motion, guitarist Tom Carleno and violinist Josie Quick have
such huge musical ears, however, that the music stays fresh and
accessible to any "type" of fan with high musical standards.
Even on a Christmas CD, the duo does not disappoint.
Surprise
your family by putting on a CD filled with the holiday spirit
during dinner this year. Tell them it’s a local band. How
cool is that?
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Profilin'
from the Rocky Mountain Bullhorn, June 2001
Perpetual Motion
by Judy Brady
The phrase "perpetual motion" conjures up images of
constant
change, innovation and movement--like an interactive Energizer
bunny, meeting every new challenge with a step forward, a new
idea and an unflagging energy.
Colorado musicians Tom Carleno and Josie Quick named their band
Perpetual Motion, making the first of many bold statements
regarding their instrumental music. In the twelve years since
the
two got together, Carleno and Quick have utilized a gamut of
influences, tastes and musical resources to form an unusual alliance
in the expanding Colorado music scene.
Sometimes their music sounds like pop, or maybe classical. No,
it,s
blues, maybe classic rock, or jazz. We should know by now that
the
easier a band is to categorize, the crappier the music. But Quick
and
Carleno bring out the beauty of acoustic music without lulling
us to
sleep. Their selection of tunes, Carleno,s adept arrangements
and
their energetic stage presence are always entertaining.
Unusual, but certainly the backbone of the group,s sound, is
Quick,s violin. It,s not the symphony style we know from
Beethoven records and diamond commercials, but a much more raw
and emotional tone amplified to complement Carleno,s guitar.
Their versatility makes the band great for intimate settings
but can
transfer well to larger venues. And although their artistry and
love
of the music are apparent as a duo, they have released three
albums
featuring a number of stellar local musicians.
Perpetual Motion,s appeal reaches a wide audience through the
tasteful use of great original pieces and an odd assortment of
cover-tune arrangements. Drawing from songs on their 1997 release,
Surfing on Cloud Nine, the band can easily shift to a fabulous
rendition of "Josie" from Steely Dan or The Beatles,s
"Dear
Prudence." And it all seems to work.
At a time when many musicians think that louder, faster and more
aggressive is better, the music fan needs a moment to listen
to
quality music that is not only artistic in its nature, but introspective
and inspiring. Carleno and Quick bring the sort of sensitivity
to
their music that reveals professional skill and training along
with a
warm chemistry extending past the microphonesalways different,
and always moving.
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MEET PERPETUAL MOTION By
Deana Gloyd
Sitting
down to dinner in a restaurant with guitarist Tom Carleno and
violinist Josie Quick was like meeting old friends that somehow
you had never really met. Josie, with her warm engaging smile,
and Tom with his attentive but subtle nature instantly made me
feel quite at home. This warmth and sincerity that one experiences
when meeting them translates into their musical style, which
is difficult at best to categorize. Kate Lavin, of the Daily
Staff Writer, states that their compositions are "a unique
style of original music." Linda Gruno, of Backbeat, indicates
that their music showcases "the trio's emotion, interplay,
and sensuality." While Kevin Duke, of Denver Live, feels
that the music is both "mesmerizing" and "peacefully
ambient."
The
musical style of Perpetual Motion is one that shows great depth
in the ability to develop and perform several genres of music
harmoniously. Josie feels that it was her Classical chamber experience
that prepared her for the kind of music that she and Tom create.
She describes their musical sound as "counter point"
or a "musical conversation" that is going on between
the instruments. Josie feels that what makes their music unique
is this musical conversation that is similar to what she experienced
in her string quartet work, rather than the stringency of individualized
parts that are expressed through rock music. For Josie "counter
point" between the instruments "is the epitome of joy.
I just love the way [it sounds] when you have two voices, three
voices, intertwining and talking to each other." The melody
is described as "melodic fragments" where Tom plays
keynotes on his guitar that Josie echoes on her violin. The point
of their style is to play in harmony with the other musicians,
complementing each other's sound.
Tom,
who is the composer for the group, describes his composition
style as hearing the whole composition in his head before he
starts to write. He admitted that he had to pay more attention
to the composing when he and Josie first started playing together.
"I had to start thinking about how I could put another voice
to this story. That was when I first started writing out her
parts." Josie laughs about the time when Tom asked her if
she could play a tenth on the violin "A tenth on the violin
is. ..a virtuosic interval," Josie explains. "Yeah,
I can play tenths", she admits telling Tom. Then she adds,
"He throws this thing at me that is not just parallel tenths
but [also a piece] which goes from octaves to ninths," This
is no easy task for a violinist. It was at that point that the
two began to develop a way that they could each write their own
parts while still remaining in harmony with each other. Both
Tom and Josie feel that this is one of the most interesting aspects
of their musical relationship. "Tom will start playing melodies
and I will begin to hear my own part in my head," Josie
told me. Eventually, the two join each other downstairs, where
Tom practices and composes, and the musical piece is jointly
written. Josie admits that she is now starting to compose her
own music for the band but has not yet recorded her first song
for release.
Other
rotating members of the band also join the duo by writing their
own parts into the harmony. Michael Olson, current acoustic bass
player for the band, begins his part of the process after receiving
a chart of the musical notes from Tom. These notes are "not
written in stone," states Michael, "If I have a better
idea, I am to let them know." At first this may appear as
no great challenge; however, Michael assures me that the challenge
is to "still fulfil the role of the bass player (while finding)
something unique" to bring to the musical conversation.
In addition, Michael must strive to create a separate melody
from the other instruments.
The
unique qualities of sound and writing style that characterize
Perpetual Motion can be attributed, in part, to the musical influences
of Josie Quick. When I asked Josie who her musical influences
were I expected her response to be Franz Schubert, or George
Frederic Handel; but instead she told me that one of her musical
influences was the rock group Heart, while another was violinist
Stephane Grappeli. I sat there thinking how diversely opposite
these two musical influences were; yet her explanation reflected
both the diversity and unity in her own music with Tom. Josie's
fascination with Heart stems from the fact that they were two
women "who were good musicians, not just eye candy."
For Josie, Grappeli had a "clean, precise, very musical
and melodic sound." And, perhaps, it is in these two extremes
that we find the best way to describe the sound that is Perpetual
Motion -it is simply the transformation of emotional experiences
into a musical conversation that is clean and precise and completely
Perpetual Motion.
Perpetual Motion at the House of Rock
By Avaril
The
words "instrumental music can often have some alarming effects
on people, especially those who consider themselves to be rock
aficionados. Some shudder as image after image of elevators rush
through their head, or, if they are in the younger set, they
fall into spasms of faked dry heaves. But, then again, they have
never heard instrumental music until they have heard Perpetual
Motion. "Heard" is perhaps the wrong word. Perpetual
Motion is an experience.
Somewhere on the back roads of Northglenn
is the House of Rock; a small club with a big sound. And amidst
the regular rough looking bar crowd, Tom Carleno and Josie Quick
of Perpetual Motion set up their guitars and violins. With an
easy, almost offhand manner, they complete their sound check,
Josie steps to the mike to introduce their first song "Spring
F ever" and they begin. And nothing else seems to matter
after that. Josie's fingers glide along the neck of the violin,
her bow is quick and precise, her face a picture of serenity.
Occasionally, she plucks the strings to add variety and dynamics
to the song. They finish the song in a flourish. ..and everyone
in the room sits there blinking for a few seconds as if they,
don't quite know where they are. Then the small crowd bursts
into raucous applause.
In honor of the fact that they are playing
at a "Rock" club, Perpetual Motion announces they will
do a cover of Steely Dan's "Josie", for obvious reasons.
So, now it is time to sit back and let the elevator music wash
over you because surely it's sacrilege to convert "Josie"
into a violin instrumental. But Tom's arrangement is impeccable
and Josie infuses her violin with such rough energy that she
brings out the very essence of the song.
So,
the night continues with Perpetual Motion's haunting melody "The
Big Red Blues." Tom plays an exquisite pure blues counterpoint
to Josie's violin. ..a combined sound that can give the listener
that tingly "someone just walked over my grave" kind
of chill. And while the chills run down your spine, the more
vocal members of the crowd are clapping and shouting, "Whoo!
Yeah!"
Let's
take a moment to look at the enthusiastic crowd. For all intents
and purposes, they represent your basic stereotypical bar-going
crowd. ..the ones you might expect to give stronger credence
to a heavy rock group. But, they found something exceptional
tonight. Or, perhaps, Josie and Tom gave them no choice. They
held the crowd enthralled.
The music just sucks you in...a movie
in every song, Can you hear the children running and playing
in "Jacob's Pond"? You can't help but think of the
outdoors, water and the joy of youth, And "Zero Gravity
..stars...can't think of anything but stars. (Am I the only one
who hears a few bars from the theme of Close Encounters?) The
musical images are so vivid they almost spring forth from the
strings.
Jumping
from original songs to cover tunes like "Dear Prudence"
and "Black Water", Perpetual Motion shows that enviable
elastic ability to change their sound at a moments notice. While
it is easy to get caught up in the dizzying violin talent of
Josie Quick, it is also Tom's talent for songwriting and arrangement
that makes Perpetual Motion such a listening experience. His
guitar chords and constructs seem relatively simple compared
to Josie,s violin work, but they are a perfect complement.
It is almost difficult to believe there are only two instruments
on stage.
When
Perpetual Motion winds up their set with "Wyoming Blues,
there is an almost audible sigh of regret from the audience.
We had a casual fling with excellence and it was hard to let
go.
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From Riff Magazine, January 2001
Perpetual Motion
By Bobby
Bensley
Just the name Perpetual Motion
implies that this band has a busy sound. With 3 CD releases Ready
Willing and Able, Surfing on Cloud Nine and Christmas
Time is Here under their belts this band has earned the name.
Eclectic and melodic the music
of this group is hard to nail down to just one genre. If forced
to do so I would call it Progressive Jazz, but would be doing
it a disservice, as it is much more. The music of Perpetual
Motion is as varied as their influences.
Guitarist Tom Carleno
plays with a flavorful fingerstyle that incorporates many different
open tunings. Drawing from a background of rock influences such
as Queen, The Beetles and Al Stewart, Carleno
sets the ambiance for their instrumental landscapes. Running
the gambit from Jazz to Blue Grass to Celtic, Perpetual Motion
is at once delicate and relaxing, as well as strong and masculine
and they can shift between the two with ease.
Violinist Josie Quick
really brings an element of uniqueness to this group. Drawing
heavily from such Classical influences as Jean Luc' Ponte,
Stephane Grappelli and Django Rienhardt she adds
color and classical movement to the rich and interlaced melodies
that set this group apart from the rest.
On their release Surfing On
Cloud Nine, Quick and Carleno trade rapid counterpoints of
melody which build a strong dialog around the drum and base lines
of Chad Johnson and Maft Deason. Richly textured
and layered with sensuous melodies, Perpetual Motion simply
delivers good music that will leave you whistling.
While available at major outlets
such as Borders, Tower Records and Twist and Shout, the full
collection of Perpetual Motion releases is available online
at www.perpetualmotion.net
as well as www.hapiskratch.com.
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From Westword, December 14, 2000
Unwrapping our annual roundup
of musical season's greetings -- and beatings. By Michael Roberts
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| A better... bet is Christmas
Time Is Here, by the veteran Denver quartet called Perpetual
Motion. Following a tasteful version of "Joy to the World"
that also appears on Rocky Mountain Christmas, the combo
enlivens "Northern Lights," "It Came Upon a Midnight
Clear" and the wittily titled "The Little Drummer Boy
(From Ipanema)" via stylish arrangements and the refined
violin playing of Josie Quick. No, it doesn't rock -- but not
everything has to, ya know? |
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This article ran in the The Daily on September
16, 2000
Eclectic ensemble blends unlikely instruments,
jazz
By Kate Lavin ,
Daily Staff Writer
Anyone
who has ever gone out on a limb to get a date has to appreciate
the sheer guts Tom Carleno of Perpetual Motion had when he used
his own cheesy pickup line on violinist Josie Quick more than
10 years ago. Carleno, an acoustic guitarist, had played in several
bands over the years. He was in-between groups when he met Quick
at a Denver-area music store where they both taught private music
lessons. The conducting casanova made a bold move in hopes of
furthering both his musical career and his social life.
Your typical
bar hound probably would have winked at Quick before blurting
out, "Hey baby, I think we could make beautiful music together."
Luckily for Quick, Carleno was a little more tactful, and instead
opted for "I have some songs I've written. Would you like
to get together sometime and play them?"
Flattered,
and inspired by Carleno's obvious sincerity about his craft,
Quick agreed to break away from her classical training and move
toward a longtime interest of hers, jazz violin.
Up until she met Carleno, Quick had trouble playing
with traditional jazz groups because, before the onset of electric
violins and violin pickups, the sound of her instrument got drowned
out of the mix. Once Carleno hooked his own strings up
to an amp, the pair wailed away, creating perfect balance of
harmonies. The folk-classical compromise can be heard on Perpetual
Motion's first CD, "Ready, Willing and
Able."
The duo played together for three or four
years before setting foot in the studio, at which time Carleno
and Quick decided it was time for a rhythm section. Susan Mikulich
and Chad Johnson joined the group for three of the covers, and
before long the quartet was a regular fixture at coffee houses
like Java Creek in the Cherry Creek neighborhood.
"Our songs work as both duets and as
a full band," Carleno said. "There is a lot more musical
energy as a full band."
Johnson became known as a Jack of all trades
around Denver, using his percussion skills to play anything from
glass bottles to furniture to horseshoes. Mikulich was a pro
on the bass. The original duo used the new, full sound to expand
into blues, swing and bluegrass.
Shortly after the band recorded its second
album, "Surfing on Cloud Nine," Johnson left the group
and drummer Rob Chamberlin took his place. Around the same time,
Michael Olson of Wind Machine took over as bassist. Coincidentally,
Wind Machine's Steve Mesple was an early mentor for Carleno.
The quartet spends a lot of time creating
a unique style of original music that they perform mostly at
summer music festivals and jazz nightclubs. Most recently the
band played at the Sunday night concert series, City Park Jazz,
in Denver.
"We
try to let audiences know that we're more than just a jazz band,"
Carleno said. "We don't like to pigeonhole out-selves into
one category."
The band is largely thought of as a jazz band
because of their improvisational talents. Most of Perpetual Motion's
songs allow for an improvisational solo by any given player.
Traditionally, Carleno starts the composition
of all of Perpetual Motion's songs. Once he has mapped out the
guitar angle, he plays it for other members of the band, who
improvise counter melodies.
"Before I was mostly in cover bands,"
Carleno said. "Josie and I are more professional than the
bands I played with in the past. Doing original material also
keeps me really motivated to make the band work. Doing my own
songs gives me a personal drive to make this a success."
Perpetual
Motion is currently spending time in the studio recording its
third CD. The album should be released in time for the holiday
season.
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Click on this link for a review on our CD Surfing on Cloud Nine on Jazzreview.com.
"Taking the folk idiom in a different direction,
Perpetual Motion's Ready,
Willing and Able mixes guitar and violin into a contemporary
acoustic sonnet. The melancholy and moving instrumentals will
earn this disc an easy spot on the late-nite listening list."
Dave Thomas
The Denver Post
"Best Orchestral Maneuvering" Perpetual
Motion
"The trio Perpetual Motion - violinist Josie
Quick, guitarist Tom Carleno and percussionist Chad Johnson -
calls its work "acoustic jazz with a classical flair".
That's wonderful, but it's not all this energetic crew does.
Whether performing Carleno's original compositions or covering
jazz, pop, Celtic, classic and folk style, Perpetual Motion conveys
a sense of melodic freshness. The group's debut album Ready,
Willing and Able shows what can be accomplished when players
pursue styles outside their instruments' "Best-Suited"
field."
Westword Magazine
Best of Denver - Arts
& Entertainment
June 28 - July 5, 1994
Perpetual Motion - Ready, Willing and Able - Swallowtail
Music
"Let's say you're reading a book by a softly
burning fire with a glass of wine. This album is perfect accompaniment.
With Josie Quick's sweetly singing violin meshing beautifully
with Tom Carleno's soothing finger picking on guitar, you can
be swept away to a gentler place with Perpetual Motion. With
melodies interweaving and playing off each other on this instrumental
album, the result is at once mesmerizing or, if you prefer,
peacefully ambient. The musicianship of Quick and Carleno is
exemplary throughout the 11-song disk. One highlight is Make
Way for the Mia Express inspired by their cat running through
their house. It is one of only three songs on the record with
percussion (Chad "Taz" Johnson), and bass guitar (Susan
Mikulich).
If the description sounds even slightly appealing,
then it definitely deserves a place in your collection. Plus,
a portion of proceeds from album sales goes to the Colorado AIDS
Project and Leukemia research."
Kevin Duke
Denver Live
DEC/JAN '96/'97
 
 
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