PRESS KIT
Infidels Records
Infidels Records: Artist - UniversalDice
UniversalDice's music falls somewhere under the category of classic indie rock, appealing to fans of both classic rock and indie oriented rock that is adventurous and surprising. The band's goal is to make the music sound good and make it meaningful. There are no limitations, so the band is liable to rock out, or use a string quartet if that is what it takes. Lyrically, UniversalDice is in a category by itself, using a conversational lyrical style from a true-to-life humanistic perspective. This band is NOT trendy, dated, edgy, generic, rebellious, traditional, current, modern, retro, alternative or mainstream, etc. This simply is NOT what you were expecting.
UniversalDice has been fortunate enough to have received many reviews and playlist additions, and have garnered positive feedback from both curators and listeners alike. This positive reception only fuels the passion to continue creating music that stands the test of time. These songs are not meant to be disposable. They are NOT "product." We're in this for the music.
Songwriter, singer and political and philosophical writer/activist Gerry Dantone has a writing style that is first and foremost humanistic, but also coherent, provocative and multi-layered. In addition, the band's primary themes are as big as they get; life and death and meaning and purpose. No other band is as prepared to tackle these subjects as UniversalDice. Longtime bandmates Bob Barcus on guitar and Eddie Canova on bass are among Long Island's finest session players and more recent members are longtime Long Island musical giants Walt Sargent and Vincent Crici who add their keyboard support to the band's latest tunes.
There are several upcoming releases in the pipeline. The band will be releasing a number of singles in the coming months, followed by a highly anticipated full album release, “Misfit Memoirs,” in mid 2024. After over 25 years, the band is entitled to its "memoirs." The album’s theme will be about looking back and understanding who you are, and the regret and hard lessons learned along the way. The first single, released March 4, 2024 will be “Curse,” a song telling the true-to-life story of a family and the rejection by parents of their child for being different by way of a dialogue between the parents and child. Future singles will include “Once Upon a Time,” and “Slip Away."
Additionally, this is truly an album by UniversalDice. Besides performing the songs, it was written, performed, recorded, mixed and mastered by the band. Even the cover art, lyric videos and just about anything else you might think of were handled/created by band members. UniversalDice is proud of these new songs and hope you will consider them.
The songs of the previous album, "birth, love, hate, death", the second rock opera written and produced by Gerry Dantone, were well received. "blhd" was focused on love in real life terms, imperfections and all. This is a nuanced album and the lyrics are NOT what you would expect - there are no easy cliches here, no unrealistic happy endings. At the same time their memorable melodies recall the qualities admired in many classic bands though their songs never sound like any of these classic band's tunes in particular. These songs are original in every sense.
Music to "birth, love, hate, death":
Lyrics to "birth, love, hate, death": http://www.universaldice.com/lyrics_to_birth_love_hate_death
If you prefer, here is a link to a Spotify audio player - you may need a Spotify free account:
https://open.spotify.com/album/05QPPMIufSsPAbcMdTSO5F .
Our songs are posted to YouTube as well - no account needed: https://www.youtube.com/@universaldice
Reviews of "birth, love, hate, death":
Indie Music Reviews: "We don’t see albums like this in the mainstream much anymore... more and more artists of every musical type are increasingly building easily digestible releases. Not so for Gerry Dantone and Universal Dice. This aims high and finds its mark.
Valhalla Music Blog: "Whether pulling off some keyboard/vocal tenderness with “Honestly” and soulful closer “Forever,” or coming straight from the rock n’ roll gut on “I Love It When They Hate It” and “Better Man,” Universal Dice can do absolutely nothing wrong on this record. If you long for the days when musical giants walked and ruled the Earth, then "birth, love, death, hate" will be exactly the kind of sonic reminder you’ve been hoping to hear for ages. What an album, what a band; highly recommended!"
Razorfish: "Universal Dice pulls out all of the stops on this monstrous masterwork. With diverse songwriting flair, excellent instrumentation, meaningful vocals and lyrics and a production job that leaves a ton of space for each instrument to cut through, there’s absolutely not a single bum note or tune in the bunch. Anyone that wants a slice of REAL DEAL, vintage rock n’ roll done with an updated outlook on the sound must absolutely score a copy of birth, love, hate, death… it simply doesn’t get any better than this."
Indie Band Guru: "Gerry Dantone’s aspirations remind us of an earlier time in our history, not far removed from today, when musicians and composers working in popular music looked to stretch the form to accommodate the wide breadth of their dreams and express the seemingly inexpressible. The fourth studio release from Dantone’s band Universal Dice birth, love, hate, death is one of those albums and carries listeners on an amazing, bracing journey over sixteen songs."
Skope Magazine: "Universal Dice’s fourth release is definitely their best yet and shows Dantone’s songwriting creativity has no appreciable limit."
Released on CDBaby, Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere else, et al.
Sounds like Green Day, the Killers, the Who, the Beatles, Eagles, Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, but really they sound like no one else!
Genre: Classic indie rock and classic rock
www.UniversalDice.com
https://www.facebook.com/UniversalDice/
https://twitter.com/universaldice
https://www.instagram.com/gerrydantone/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5UqnHMQA5AgmLcD4W7BGLM?si=CLIl4HSlTxW8FUAqFW-uWw
https://www.youtube.com/@universaldice
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/universaldice/67000312
