The Breakfast

The Breakfast (formerly Psychedelic Breakfast) is an American jam band known for its style of progressive and funk rock, in addition to its exploratory nature of improvisation.[1]

The Breakfast
OriginEast Haven, Connecticut, USA
GenresJam band, rock, progressive rock, funk rock, stoner rock
Years active1998 – present
LabelsHorizon Music Group
Websitehttp://www.thebreakfast.org, http://www.thebreakfast.info
MembersTim Palmieri (guitar, vocals)
Adrian Tramontano (drums, vocals)
Chris DeAngelis (bass, vocals)
Jordan Giangreco (keyboards, vocals)
Past membersRon Spears (bass, vocals)
Matt Oestreicher (keyboards, vocals)

History

The band was formed in 1998 in East Haven, Connecticut with the original lineup consisting of guitarist Tim Palmieri, bassist Ron Spears, drummer Adrian Tramontano, and keyboardist Jordan Giangreco. They decided on their first name, Psychedelic Breakfast, based on the suggestion of Tramontano's cousin. It is a reference to the Pink Floyd song "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast," from their album Atom Heart Mother.[2][3] The original idea of the band's name was a play off of that song, "Adrian's Psychedelic Breakfast," after Tramontano; it was later shortened to just Psychedelic Breakfast.

The band began cutting its teeth by playing shows at a variety of local bars in the New Haven, Connecticut area during the early goings of 1999. That summer, they released their first album, Psychedelic Breakfast. Four songs from the album were featured on the MTV series, Undressed.[1][4]As 1999 wore on and the world turned the page to the new millennium, Psychedelic Breakfast began to progressively start spreading throughout the Northeast.

In the summer of 2001, the band released its second studio album, Deuce. They followed that up by delivering their first live album, Bona Fide, in the winter of 2003, a time during which the band began supplementing its Northeast shows with the occasional national tour.

In 2004, Psychedelic Breakfast won a Jammy Award for being the "New Groove of the Year."[3] Shortly thereafter, the band decided to change its name to 'The Breakfast.'[3] Around this time, Relix Magazine published an article about The Breakfast.

In the summer of 2005, The Breakfast dropped its third studio album, Real Radio, and then set foot on a U.S. tour that saw them open for bands such as The Wailers, moe., North Mississippi Allstars, and Gomez.

On June 17, 2006, The Breakfast performed its 1,000th show at Toad's Place in New Haven, Connecticut. Then on July 7, Giangreco played the final show of his first stint with the band at Beardslee Castle in Little Falls, New York. Palmieri, Spears, and Tramontano performed as a trio at Corner Pocket in Orange, Connecticut on July 8 and then forged ahead with that lineup, with Palmieri playing both keyboard and guitar.[4]

The Breakfast released their fourth studio album, Moxie Epoxy, in the fall of 2006.

On August 12, 2007, Matt Oestreicher played his first show as The Breakfast's new keyboardist at Gathering of the Vibes in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

On December 31, Spears played his final show as The Breakfast's bassist at Electric Company in Utica, New York At Spears's penultimate show two nights prior at Toad's Place, Giangreco joined The Breakfast for four songs to close the performance, including a stellar version of one of the band's most highly regarded songs, Mooboo's Voodoo (Episode 2), and then a cover of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's "Karn Evil 9" with Spears on lead vocals. A 'Thank You' video montage featuring Spears, the other members of the band, and their friends was also shown.

On January 11, 2008, Chris DeAngelis played his first show as The Breakfast's new bassist at Sully's in Hartford, Connecticut.

On September 25, The Breakfast announced that Oestreicher would leave the band at the end of October. The band then embarked on a national tour, playing dates as a trio with Palmieri handling guitar and keyboard duties until Oestreicher's final run with The Breakfast, which began on October 13 and culminated with his last show at Docksider Tavern in Erie, Pennsylvania on Oct. 25.

On October 30, RAQ keyboardist Todd Stoops sat in with The Breakfast to begin their yearly Halloween run, The 10th Annual Fonghoulish Freakout, which consisted of that night's performance at The Iron Horse in Northampton, Massachusetts, a show at The 'Sco at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio on October 31, and then a November 1 show at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge in Burlington, Vermont. The run commemorated The Breakfast's 10th anniversary, featuring the theme of 'Cartoonage,' named after one of the band's songs, "Tunage," and consisted of them interspersing notable cartoon theme songs with their own material.

On November 7, Giangreco joined The Breakfast for its performance at Bear and Grill in Fairfield, Connecticut. He then played with the band for their shows at Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, Massachusetts on November 28 and at Daniel Street in Milford, Connecticut on November 29.

On December 12, The Breakfast announced that Giangreco would rejoin the band as its keyboardist. Giangreco began his second stint when they played at Mill Street Brews in Southbridge, Massachusetts on December 26.

In the summer of 2009, The Breakfast released the live album, Live As Is, which consists of selected material from the group's February 28 show at The Field in Bridgeport, Connecticut on Palmieri's 30th birthday.

On October 31, 2009, the band played its 11th Annual Fonghoulish Freakout show, for which the theme was a celebration of music by Parliament-Funkadelic. Rico Lewis, who played with P-Funk, joined The Breakfast for its second set, composed entirely of P-Funk songs.

In October of 2011, The Breakfast announced that it was taking an indefinite hiatus and that the group's final pre-hiatus show would take place at Daniel Street on Oct. 28 as part of the 13th Annual Fonghoulish Freakout. The band played a three-set show and closed the night with one of its fan favorites, "Wild Pack of Asscracks."

The Breakfast would return to the stage just a shade more than two months later when, on Jan. 13, 2012, they turned in a performance at the Groton Motor Inn in Groton, Connecticut.

The Breakfast continued to play shows from time to time, increasingly playing a few more with each subsequent year. The band has performed 56 concerts since that night in Groton.

In April of 2018, The Breakfast announced that it was working on a 20th anniversary album at Horizon Studios in West Haven, Connecticut. On November 2, The Breakfast released its fifth studio album, Phantasmagoria, on the same night that the band performed a 20th anniversary concert at Toad's Place.

Lineup

The Breakfast is known for a high level of musicianship as all four members of the band are proficient at playing each instrument, something they occasionally do by "switching up" during a live performance. Palmieri is the primary songwriter, lyricist, and vocalist with Tramontano, DeAngelis, and Giangreco providing backup vocals and some lead, in addition to their own compositions.

Discography
  • 1999: Psychedelic Breakfast — Independent
  • 2001: Deuce — Sonance
  • 2003: Bona Fide — Sonance
  • 2005: Real Radio — Horizon Music Group
  • 2006: Moxie Epoxy — Horizon Music Group
  • 2008: Zone 1 — Horizon Music Group
  • 2009: Live As Is — Independent
  • 2018: Phantasmagoria — Horizon Music Group

Notes

The Breakfast has 93 original songs and also plays a wide variety of covers, including live performances of the albums Morrison Hotel (The Doors), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (The Beatles), Lawn Boy (Phish). The performance of Lawn Boy was part of The 9th Annual Fonghoulish Freakout that took place on October 27, 2007 at the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge in Burlington, Vermont. Phish bassist Mike Gordon was in attendance and then joined the band for the encore and their cover of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive," which featured Gordon on bass, Spears on guitar, and Palmieri on vocals and dressed and singing as Tony Clifton. Other Freakout themes have included The Big Lebowski and the Star Wars series, where the band has played sets that interspersed their own music with songs from the movies.

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References
  1. Jesse Jarnow. "Psychedelic Breakfast at Allmusic". Retrieved 2006-12-19.
  2. Lee Seelig. "Backstage Pass - What's In A Name?". Archived from the original on 2006-07-24. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
  3. AJ Keirans (February 28, 2004). "The Breakfast of Champions (Or What's In a Name?)". Retrieved 2006-12-22.
  4. "The Breakfast bio". Retrieved 2006-12-19.
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