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Ludo Music Player
Avg 4.22 / 5
Total of 68 votes
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Last update: 22 Jul 2008 05:15 AM
Account: AltPremium
Location: St. Louis, MO
Signed up: 09/24/05 20:51:24
Members: Andrew Volpe, Tim Ferrell, Tim Convy, Marshall Fanciullo, Matt Palermo
Genre: face rocking
Influences: everything
AltSounds URL:http://www.altsounds.com/Ludo
Website: http://www.ludorock.com
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Biography
"Our goal?" Andrew Volpe, Ludo's front-man, pauses and reflects in a very rare moment of silence. "To entertain people without making them dumber!"
Perhaps it's Volpe's way with words along with the band's commitment to achieving that goal that has made Ludo so successful in the short time they've been together. The band put out their self-titled album at the end of August 2003, having never played a show. Eleven songs were chosen for the record, ranging in theme from unrequited love to social isolation to high school mythology. All are united by clever, engaging, often hilarious lyrics and Volpes unique storytelling ability. Ludo immediately hit the road, playing coffee houses, open-mics, college campuses, and anywhere else people would listen. The album struck a chord with people and touring continued. Ludo brought their heavy-humored, high-energy rock show from New York to LA, selling albums at every stop. Before too long, Ludo was headlining clubs and colleges throughout the Midwest and Texas, playing to crowds that were decked out in Ludo cherries and screaming every word. "We didn't even realize how lucky we were until we started touring with other bands who couldn't believe how intense and devoted our fans were," says drummer Matt Palermo. "Everyone was saying 'cult following' and we didn't get it."
Things only got better as word about the band spread nationally. College radio and several regional commercial stations were responding to the album. Ludo was receiving national exposure through websites like Myspace and Purevolume and even the cable music network Fuse. The band appeared three times on "Daily Download" and their video for Hum Along was featured several times on Fuse programs - a first for an independent artist. "All of a sudden people were showing up in cities we'd never played," says bassist, Marshall Fanciullo. "We got recognized in a Baskin-Robbins in California our first time there. It was crazy."
After a year and a half, over 200 shows, and 3000 copies sold, it was time for a new record. But neither Ludo fans, nor the band members themselves could predict what came next. "We were writing a lot and one song stuck out to us the most. We started playing it live, and the fans really reacted," says Volpe. That song was Broken Bride. It's the story of a man whose wife dies in a car accident and all that he goes through to bring her back. He invents a time machine, which through a malfunction sends him back to the Jurassic period where he gets trapped in a cave surrounded by menacing dinosaurs. "People wanted to know what was next; they wanted to know what happened to the guy and so did we." The band put everything else aside and spent the summer of 2005 writing and recording what became the Broken Bride EP. "We let the story we were telling dictate everything - the songs, the music, the instrumentation." When it was said and done Ludo had created a rock opera - a love story that spanned from the beginning of time to the apocalypse. While Broken Bride was quite a departure from the previous Ludo release (with longer tracks, heavy-metal breakdowns and a heartfelt piano ballad), it still encompassed standard Ludo themes like adventure, fun, and quirkiness. Ludo fans welcomed the release with open arms, and Broken Bride helped expand the fan base even more. Music critics embraced the record as a rock and roll adventure for the ages" and a competitor for best EP of the year."
Ludo, which consists of Andrew Volpe (vocals/guitar), Tim Ferrell (guitar/vocals), Tim Convy (Moog/vocals), Marshall Fanciullo (bass), and Matt Palermo (drums/vocals) is based out of St. Louis, MO - or as they call it, "The Birthplace of Rock n' Roll" (Ludo is notorious for their loyalty to all things Chuck Berry, with whom they recently had the pleasure of sharing the stage). The band's success has not been without assistance. They boast one of the most ambitious and aggressive street teams on the independent music scene. The "Ludo Ninjas," a unit over 400-strong, span all across the country. Whether it's grassroots promotion, online activity, radio campaigns or holding program directors hostage, the Ludo ninjas are as much a part of Ludo as the cherries that hang from the "D" in the band's logo. As any St. Louis concert-goer will tell you, rarely can one leave a show without experiencing a "ninja attack."
Ludo shows no signs of relenting in their attack either. The touring continues and with it, songs for a new record. Convy remarks, "We made a record that makes people laugh and another record that makes people cry; with the new songs we want to do both... and everything in between!" And they just might.
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