Search - John & Brittany :: Start Sinning

Start Sinning, the 32-minute musical blitzkrieg from Philly's most unique song-writing team, John & Brittany, is a record that, at its most basic level, is about the discovery, or perhaps re-discovery, of the power of rock n roll. While the joy of their creation is evident in each of the record's ten varied tracks, the music belies the tragic circumstances which surrounded John Faye and Brittany Rotondo as they embarked on Start Sinning. On May 2, 2012, just weeks before launching an ambitious Kickstarter campaign to fund the new recording, Faye's mother was struck by a moving vehicle while she was out for a morning walk. She passed away in hospice 6 weeks later, refusing further medical treatment after having survived the accident and initial surgery. I think watching my life turned upside down in the blink of an eye put our relationship into sharp focus for Brittany, Faye states flatly. Rotondo agrees: We were in a huge fight with each other just the day before, and when he called me about his mom, that all just evaporated. Faye continues: The one tiny silver lining in all of the pain and sorrow from my mom's passing is that it just blew away all the bs between Britt and me. We are closer than any two people I know and she was there for me in a way that made both of us turn a corner in our friendship. In spite of having to do some serious compartmentalizing in order to promote the Kickstarter campaign, Faye and Rotondo managed to exceed their goal of $10,000, and were able to commence recording with long-time friend Stephen LaFashia (of the band Jealousy Curve) manning the console. With Faye struggling to come to grips with the reality of losing his mother, it was a record that the duo truly needed to make. The studio was a refuge, a quiet eye in the center of a massive storm of emotions. Faye and Rotondo, along with drummer Jason Miraglia and bassist Michael Vivas plowed through the tracking phase of the record in a mere 6 sessions at Philly Sound Studios. The results are as eclectic as John & Brittany themselves, yet striking a consistently potent balance between Rotondo's Stones-y swagger and Faye's Beatle-esque melodicism.