A Moment's Worth

A Moment's Worth
Also known as AMW
Origin Pelham Bay, Bronx, , New York
Genres Rock, Pop Punk, Indie
Years active 2004-present
Labels Sony Music, Smart Fox Records, In-n-Out Records
Associated acts Dibs on Anthony, My Arcadia, Bryan Keith
Website http://www.amomentsworth.com
Members Alex Bondarev, Johnny Endico, Anthony Albanese, Framk Quarto, Nicola Trezulli, Vin Gajeski
Past members Chris Ragone
Notable instruments
acoustic guitar, electric bass, drums, and vocals

A Moment's Worth is a U.S. band from The Bronx, New York consisting of Alex Bondarev, Anthony Albanese, Frank Quarto, Johnny Endico, Vin Gajeski and Nicola Terzulli. The band was established in 2004 and has released four CD's to date - Ironic Last Words (2004), A Moment's Worth (2007),Sleepless (2008) and "Start Where You Are" (2010).

A Moment's Worth has shared the stage with A Wilhelm Scream, Matchbook Romance, Patent Pending, Kevin Devine, Jet Lag Gemini, I Am The Avalanche, Socratic, Kenotia, Rehasher, Endwell, The Killing Moon, Tokyo Rose (band), The Bride Wore Black, and many more.

They spent 2008 working on an undisclosed project sponsored by Diesel Clothing and Belvedere Vodka. Project was completed by Fall 2008. The production became their first extended play - Sleepless (2008)

On May 15, 2009 the band announced that they had signed with In-n-Out Records for a special release in Japan of their upcoming album along with the Sleepless EP. In-n-Out has notably covered inspirational bands for AMW such as New Found Glory, Finch, Fenix TX, RX Bandits, Allister, Pulley, Armor For Sleep, and I Am The Avalanche.[1]

History

Formation

A Moment's Worth originally formed under the name Dibs on Anthony (collaborators on Girls Like It Short, Runaway Studios, 2001) with Alex Bondarev on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Anthony Albanese on lead guitar, Chris Ragone on bass and Frank Quarto on drums. They assembled in elementary school and played as Dibs on Anthony until their first full-length release in 2004. Shortly after the 2004 release, Ironic Last Words, bass player Chris Ragone left the band and Johnny Endico stepped in to take his place. Shortly after the 2004 release of Ironic Last Words, Chris Ragone parted ways with the band for professional reasons. They remained very close friends and continued writing with Chris into their next release.

The band states, "As if by the hand of Fate, our high school edition best friend Johnny agreed to be our new bassist, 'even if [he] had to play on a rubber band.' Johnny was a great addition creatively and musically." Nicola Terzulli, friend/producer/engineer joined as an additional guitarist in the summer of 2007. This line up solidified their sound in second full-length release, self-titled A Moment's Worth. The album is a matured continuation of the band's life changing experiences.

On their official Myspace page, the band states "In short, we are A Moment's Worth. We play rock, pop-punk, and what we feel speaks best for us in a song. We don't claim to be anything but ourselves. We are, however, real people who pour every ounce of ourselves into our songs, in hopes that you will take our music and make it your own."

Ironic Last Words

The first full length, Ironic Last Words was produced and recorded by Nicola Terzulli in Bronx, NY. The result was a sort of memoir the band claims was "inspired by the larger-than-life energy of bands such as Green Day, Goldfinger and NOFX." The self released album features catchy riffs, soothing melodies, sincere lyrics and large bass tracks. A Moment's Worth initially sold over 3,000 copies of their first CD through playing at local venues including the legendary CBGB, The Continental and the Knitting Factory.[2] A reviewer named Freddy Nunez from The Monthly Cluck wrote about the album: "Five years ago A Moment's Worth formed under the name Dibs on Anthony. Hailing from Bronx, NY, these four high-schoolers took nothing but their love of music and cheap equipment and threw themselves headfirst into a punk band. Hours upon hours of practices turned their out-of-tune-feedback-chord-banging into real music. And they still have the same cheap equipment.

Jokingly self-described as 'pseudo-emo post hardcore punk rock', A Moment's Worth combines together equal parts of their influences, which range from Goldfinger to Thrice to Armor for Sleep to Brand New to NoFX. A Moment's Worth offers something very few contemporary punk bands can offer, especially bands so young. Their maturity, both lyrically and musically, belie their age to the point that someone hearing them for the first time would add several years to their age.

The lyrics stem 100% from real life experiences; nothing about this album is fabricated. This isn't an album about high school written by 26-year-old guys. This is an album written about the truths of life by the 18- to 20-year-olds that lived it and wrote it. Unlike some of their older material, Ironic Last Words focuses more on reality. Influences stem from friendships, relationships (both failed and successful) and even the finality of death.

Ironic Last Words is their most important release to date. It took over a year to record; the band is very meticulous about making sure their album sounds as close to their live shows as possible. The time spent in the studio gave them the opportunity to get more creative and more experimental without having to worry about time. Easily the most technical, musical, and even catchy album of the three released in their short career, Ironic Last Words is an audio documentary of the members of the band. In that same sense, it is an album five years in the making.

Blasting through venues all over the Bronx in the small, but solid Bronx Underground scene, A Moment's Worth's energy radiates through every crowd they play for, every single night they play. In the early stages of their career, A Moment's Worth shared the stage with Smackin' Isaiah, now known as A Wilhelm Scream under Nitro Records, and very nearly stole the show.

A Moment's Worth is music for anyone who's longing to feel like they're not alone."

- Freddy Nunez, Album Review in The Monthly Cluck

A Moment's Worth (Self Titled)

The second full length was produced/recorded by Nicola Terzulli and self-released by A Moment's Worth. The album contains deeper lyrics than the prior release, where singer, Alex Bondarev explores the concept of time, bonds of relationships and his experience on coming to The Bronx as a Russian immigrant during the Second Chechen War. This album also reflects on all the adventures that he explored while living in Visakhapatnam, India from 1989 to 1993 before moving to America. They had their first tour on April 13th, 2008. On April 13th, AMW packed and headed out on an East Coast tour down south. They called it the "Imagine Tour."

They learned about playing punk shows in crowded Virginia bars, sleeping in vans in Walmart parking lots, 15+ hour drives, North Carolina's southern hospitality & roadside motels, how badly last-minute venue cancellations hurt bands, Delaware's beautiful beaches, and much more.

Most importantly, they had a blast as friends on their first big band adventure and got to meet lots of amazing people. They made a music video for The Eternal Optimist. At Bronx Underground's FLC venue, A Moment's Worth premiered their first music video for "The Eternal Optimist."

The video was filmed almost entirely in the Bronx, features a large cast of Bronx Underground bands & friends, and tells the story of friends banding together and rescuing one another from various circumstances.

Ray Zablocki was the director & producer. Kevin Schaefer did the cinematography.

Sleepless

Sleepless EP cover

A Moment's Worth's most recent release to date was also produced/recorded by Nicola Terzulli and self-released by A Moment's Worth. It is also the first album recorded by A Moment's Worth that was made in a studio. They released the single at the First Lutheran Church in The Bronx as said on their Facebook page. The album was reviewed by Gregory Robson from AbsolutePunk and wrote: "As music consumers, we so often relish in the task of trying to set apart a band as one-to-watch, and/or which band will become the next big thing. More often than not, this quest forces us to wade through releases that are often underwhelming and mediocre. Neither of those sentiments though can be said about the eight song EP Sleepless by Bronx, New York band A Moment’s Worth. Beginning with the hard-hitting opener “Unsound,” the quintet lets listeners know that their brand of ferocious rock is not to be taken lightly. The bass lines are energetic, the drums are propulsive, and the guitar riffs are fiery. Lead vocalist Alex Bondarev, whose vocals are restrained for much of the eight songs, allows the music to take center stage, and lets his voice take second fiddle to the extremely proficient playing. In truth, Bondarev’s voice is underutilized and should have taken the forefront, especially when he sings lyrics like: “And I've chosen this existence where we're always racing time / And we're running on pure passion / Leaving everything and everyone behind.”

Whereas some bands are loud for the sake of being loud, A Moment’s Worth kicks up the sonic level without sacrificing musicianship. Every minute of the record is incredibly cohesive, as if to assume that the band has been playing together for a dozen years (they’ve actually been a band since 2003), and that making music is something they could do in their sleep, without even mustering any energy. So often reviewers pass along the words effortless without giving it any real consideration, but the way in which the five players put together rhythm and melody on second song “Zero.Four.One,” it's apparent, the endeavor really is effortless. Third song “Too Far, Too Long,” may be the only dud, but it’s allowed to be, as fourth track “Sleepless,” and fifth track “My Lost Self,” steal the show and cement this band as a serious contender for major label status. In “Sleepless,” Bondarev sings of an apocalyptic like moment, “And I was at home with my whole family / And we watched as the streets filled with smoke / And the TV had spoken of death and confusion / And what we should do for the bombs they were using.”

Ingeniously, the band doesn’t allow "Sleepless" to end and the song flows directly into “My Lost Self,” almost making it one long eight-minute track. Whereas "Sleepless," was infectious, achingly catchy and built around a memorable guitar riff, "My Lost Self," is built on Bondarev's vocals, which soar above a hodgepodge of electronic and synth noises. Both "Sleepless" and "My Lost Self" are the album's crowning achievements and the only songs on which Bondarev's vocals stand above. The back-to-back segue is an incredible trick that made me listen to the disc a few times to actually realize the nuance was occurring. Sixth track “Exit With a Desperate Cry” is a minute of a gentle guitar riff while vocalist Bondarev delivers barely audible spoken word verses. The song serves as a lead in to the ferocious album closer “Cross My Heart,” which draws on much of the same energy as the opener.The album, which was recorded and produced by guitarist Nicola Terzulli, also bristles with the sparking gloss of a major label album and proves that the band is as adept behind the knobs as it is in performing music. In its five-year history, the band has amassed a slew of low-level awards and a host of prominent endorsements. Major label status should hopefully come calling in due time." - Gregory Robson, AbsolutePunk.net. One of the memorable moments for the band was when a group of fans who live in Japan came to one of their shows. A group of fans in Russia made a cover of the song Sleepless and posted it on Vkontakte.

"Start Where You Are"

A Moment's Worth also has a recent release, which was released in August, 2010.

It has already received considerable attention and praise in a recent review from AbsolutePunk: "The album, which was recorded and produced by guitarist Nicola Terzulli, also bristles with the sparking gloss of a major label album and proves that the band is as adept behind the knobs as it is in performing music. In its five-year history, the band has amassed a slew of low-level awards and a host of prominent endorsements. Major label status should hopefully come calling in due time." Source: http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=408151

Sure enough, in May 2009 the band signed a major deal with In-n-Out Records that included a release of Sleepless and their upcoming album in Japan and it was later found that In-n-Out Records and A Moment's Worth cooperation was disintegrated after unknown economic troubles in In-n-Out Records' native Japan[3] A Moment's Worth has also released a single called " Confidant ", they have been performing it at local venues and have performed at the 2012 annual St. Theresa Feast of their native Pelham Bay in The Bronx. They have also made an appearance on BronxTalk to promote the upcoming single. Before the single was introduced, the band was featured on the cover of the New York Press in 2011. At the 2011 Elfenworks IHH Awards in San Francisco, their song Dedicate from Start Where You Are won the first place prize and was honored and praised by actor Danny Glover.

The album features a song named Dedicate and it has a music video which features several actors and singers including Andrew Bondarev, Alex Bondarev's younger brother who plays a boy who sneaks into their studio at midnight and starts playing their instruments. Several songs have been dedicated to Andrew Bondarev including Hero, We Are The Believers, and Nobody Here Knows Me. The Dedicate music video has currently no dislikes on YouTube and is available on high definition. The band later declared that all of the achievements made by Dedicate and Start Where You Are where not possible without the support of director Ray Zablocki and Rosemarie Elizabeth Photography. After this statement, a very large number of fans called for the band to be nominated for a 2014 Grammy in excitement for their upcoming album that is hugely anticipated by both fans and spectators.

Members

Discography

Full releases

Compilation appearances

EPs

Videography

Record Label History

The band has been holding many record labels such as Smart Fox Records, Sony Music, and In-n-Out Records but it currently claims that it is unsigned and has been only having negotiations with In-n-Out Records and Sony Music. At one point in the band's history, it was officially signed to In-n-Out Records but only for week because of economic troubles in Japan and eventually the collapse of In-n-Out Records.

Noted appearances

"Campus MusicFest held a successful pilot this past spring in New York City. The three finalists brought it live at the Gibson Showroom in NYC on May 01, 2008 and were each awarded Epiphone guitars and Virtual CDs, with the winning band, A Moment's Worth, walking away with a Mac Mini, Logic Pro, and the custom Epiphone Les Paul Jr." [4]

Radio play

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Biographical information from Pure Volume
  3. ↑ http://www.amomentsworth.com/?p=496
  4. ↑ http://www.campusmusicfest.com
  5. ↑ http://www.amomentsworth.com/?p=513
  6. ↑ http://www.killbrand.com
  7. ↑ Teatr Shkoly Sovremennik P'ecy - http://www.neglinka29.ru/dir/25

External links

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