We Are Misery Exquisite.
Misery Exquisite - Jeff - Alaa - Diane
Yes, we are.
Misery arose in Winter 2008 from the ashes of Naughty Jungle of Love. Jeff Hart brought a working catalogue of songs, and the group soon got to work honing them. As the group gelled, and moved further towards a ROCK sound, bassist Andrew Moreno was replaced by newcomer Alaa Safa. Diane Calano provided an unrelenting beat, and Hart's voice stayed out front. Great care has been taken to get the music right.
Even as the group has experimented with harmony, dissonance, and genre-blending the songs have remained simple, powerful, and never too far from pop sensibility. It has long been Hart's opinion that genres were for songs, or even parts of songs, and not for whole bands. The group does not try to write this kind of song or that, but by virtue of writing the kind of song that they like to hear and play, have a catalogue that explores quite a bit of territory within ROCK.
Misery's first studio effort -- an 8 song disc -- is on schedule to come out by the end of 2009. The recording, like the songs themselves, were crafted and nursed to life with the help of Jon Jenkins and JungleTone Studios. With plenty of material, Misery will likely be back in the studio soon thereafter to keep working. We love to play, and will never stop.
Jeff Hart - vocals, guitar
I was born in New London, CT - where I now live - and grew up in Uncasville just 10 minutes away. I spent high school playing bass, then guitar in my good friend Jake's basement, largely goofing off, and breaking cheap equipment. A few years later I was at ECSU studying Philosophy and trying out for Naughty Jungle of Love. Soon thereafter, the education grants went away, leaving me in debt to the university. I dropped out and threw myself into NJL full time for several years, while we enjoyed a fair ammount of success. I think back on those days and realize that I had a crash course in fronting a band that was more valuable than any other education I could have recieved. It was a real pressure-cooker, but I came out on the other side forged and tempered.
The band was my life for several years, so afterwards I felt at a complete loss. I threw myself into a couple of other projects -- a hard rock group named Bunta Nuna, then an acoustic trio called Strangebird. Restless, I packed it in and drove to California, staying with a friend in SanFrancisco for a little over two months. If anyone is wondering I can tell you that they have all the same bullshit over there, except all your friends and family are still back here. Of course, you already knew that, and so did I, but it didn't stop me from climbing in the truck and going. It was an incredible trip and I feel like I know my country a lot better having been across it. I think I've been in 38 states and 3 provinces now.
Something did snap while I was out there, though. I was desperately afraid of not being able to write songs if I wasn't miserable and struggling. I was also sure that I would always need to strive for international fame, which is frankly a rediculous goal. At one point I thought that my life would be a waste if I didn't have at least one #1 single. talk about stressed out. I had to admit to myself that life would go on whether I 'made it' or not, and that there was at least an outside chance that I'd never be fabulously wealthy. It hurt, because when you're living in your car, or on a friends' couch, etc. those dreams really keep you together. But, I bought a pint of whisky, a case of beer,and a bus ticket out of town (which I didn't end up using), and sat on the couch to reconcile these new and horrendous thoughts.
I arrived back in CT and put my life back together. I stopped drinking almost by accident -- I took a day off to get some persepective and ended up detoxing for 3 days, after which I NEVER wanted to have to do that shit again! I developed a romantic interest in longtime friend and NJL fan Amy Wells, whom I'm proud to say I will marry this coming June. And, I put the word out that I needed a rhythym section, and it was time to finally play all of my solo material that had been mostly shelved durring the NJL period. This is finally the band I've wanted since high school.
These are my songs, naked. And like the rest of my life, I've carefully re-examined them, and put them back together on firm footing, piece by piece. I didn't really know what happened to me out there in California, but everything has gotten so much better since. I'm buying a house in New London, and I'm going to throw down roots and become a great strong tree. If this has been reflected in my music, then so much the better. I still don't like writing happy songs, and I doubt I'll start now so don't worry about us pussing out. This is rock and roll, I promise you that.
Alaa - Diane - Back To Top
Alaa Safa- bass, backing vox
So I was born in Lebanon... thats the country, not the town. Came to the states in 1992 and lived in Mass, in a little town called North Adams. I've been in love with music as far back as I remember; started with me playing beats on our family's wood stove a long time ago. I burned myself plenty, but never quite learned to stop. I finally picked up a guitar when I got into high school, started taking lessons until I realized that I didnt want to be playing what someone else was telling me to... Looking back, that may have been a little shortsighted, but you live and you learn.
At about the age of 15 I bought my first bass guitar. Maybe a week later I was asked to join a metal band lead my a friend I worked with. Plague of Tomorrow, my first band, aptly named for the member's love or marijuana (P.O.T. get it?), had a run of about 2 years, busting out all of about 4 or 5 songs during this time. I left this band with hopes of something better, but no to avail. My next project quickly nose-dived as I realized it takes more than people who like metal to make good metal. Also, when no one wants to show up for practice you should probably call it quits.
College was a fun little change, bringing me out of my home town for the first time, at least for an extended stay. I went to Western New England College in Springfield, MA where I majored in Mechanical Engineering. At this time I was just playing guitar all the time, neglecting classes when I had to, and pissing off roomates whenever possible. This was a good time musically for me because I was able to expand my musical influences to encompass most genres out there. Metal was still in my blood though. Old habits die hard.
After graduating in 2007, I had what some might call a drinking binge for the next 6 to 8 months. This was mainly fueled by my arrival back home, being welcomed by the same crap I had left there 4 years earlier. Finally in early 2008, I landed a job at Pratt & Whitney, moving down to CT to see what that would hold for me. Luckily, I was able to find Jeff and Diane, who had already been jamming for some time. I joined up with them and wasnt really sure what to expect, but they didnt disappoint. They were both cool as hell and damn did Jeff have some cool tunes for us. So now we have been together for about a year and a half now. Still making rockin tunes and looking to the future of the group.
Jeff - Diane - Back To Top
Diane Calano - drums
I was born and raised in Southington, CT. After living in many towns throughout CT I came back to my hometown. I bought a house back in 2005 and still live there. It ain't much but it's mine! Music has always been a huge part in my life. I would lock myself in my room for hours and days on end and just listen, feel and dissect. I started playing music in the third grade. The violin...oh ya....From there I moved to the saxophone then guitar. Lessons have always bored me to death. So I quit it all. I could never get the hang of reading music and applying it to my instrument. Then I was introduced to the drums.
My mother's best friend had downsized from a house to a condo and had nowhere to store her drums. So she set them up in our basement. I asked her to show me how to play and it was all over. I was hooked! This instrument made sense to me. No notes, just beats. She taught me the basic drum beat that everyone learns when they start off and I took it from there. I would sit in my basement for hours and listen to music and just play to it. It was the most amazing feeling ever! But of course, if I wanted to take music in high school I needed to learn to read drum music. So I took lessons for about a year my sophomore year of high school...really just to earn an easy credit. So I played drums in the concert and marching band all through high school.
Next off to college I go. I attended Eastern Connecticut State University from 1996 to 2000. Of course I was not able to bring my kit to school so I took a bit of a break until my senior year of college. That's when my friends started a band and asked if I would play drums with them...So my first band was Naughty Jungle Of Love and I played with them for about a year until I graduated. I moved onto work and career and they continued to play and I was replaced. Naughty Jungle ended a few years later. So I completely stopped playing music after that.
About 8 years later I got a phone call from a friend looking for a drummer. I eagerly accepted with hesitation since I have not played in so long. Well they didn't care and I played their music and practiced my butt off to prove how much I wanted to be in their band. We ended up coming up with a band name Vision and recording a CD about a year later called No Regrets. We played out in all kinds of bars and clubs and a year after that recorded a second album called Seven Shades Of Wrong.
In the middle of all this I got a call from a friend looking to jam some original music . . . that friend was Jeff Hart. So after practices with Vision I would go to practice with Jeff. I fell in love with his music. This was some of the most amazing material I have ever had the pleasure of listening to and writing my own drum beats to. So I was playing in two bands for about a year and a half until Vision broke up. Now I am solely playing with Jeff and Misery Exquisite and honestly having the time of my life!
Jeff - Diane - Back To Top
