Saratoga Park
Saratoga Park
Saratoga Park are Paul Howard (guitars, keys, vocals); Ginger Howard (vocals, keys); David Lauder (drums/percussion, vocals). We are something akin to having Dave Matthews, the Pretenders & Barenaked Ladies thrown in a bucket, and there we'd be! Ecclectic alternative pop!
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
Ginger & Paul have been playing and recording together since 1989 under several different band names, "the Scrapyard", "Cerulean Blue", "Saratoga Park". Paul writes the music and half the lyrics, while Ginger pens the other half. Saratoga Park began in 1998 with Paul & Ginger doing coffee houses and pubs acoustically. They eventually joined with David Lauder, Byron Hall & Keith Prior and hit open mics and any other venue that would have them. The response was great and they began to record their first CD as Saratoga Park (Closed for Season). However, a traffic accident sidelined Paul Howard and the momentum never quite returned. Now, with David Lauder still anchoring the drums/percussion, Paul & Ginger have recorded "the Short Bus". They've had tracks featured on a special radio broadcast on KGON 92.3fm(Portland, OR) and got a few snippets on the Mark & Brian radio show out of KLOSfm in L.A. They are currently looking to get their uniquely original sound out there any way they can.
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
We're playing live acoustically right now, mostly outdoor venues, markets, etc... as well as some open mic nights.
Your musical influences
We listen to a huge variety of music, from classical to classic rock to alternative, etc... Some of the bands we love are Dave Matthews, Barenaked Ladies, Yes, the Police, Missing Persons, No Doubt, etc... We really love the sound of the 12-string acoustic and a nice growling bass to anchor the tunes, along with some nice fun drum lines and pop hooks. We like to think of these songs as complex and progressive tunes crammed into a 4 minute pop format!
What equipment do you use?
Roland V-drums, Casio keyboards, Line 6 amplifiers.
Anything else?
Takemine, Peavey, Ovation & Yamaha guitars.