Punk Rocker and the Writer Team Up to Give Back to Texas
By JOHN DALY
Donna Balancia, music journalist, and Vince Conrad, music producer and founder of bands The Smart Pills and American Bad Taste, have released a single called “One Step at a Time,” to help support the victims of Hurricane Harvey.
Downloads of “One Step at a Time” are available on Bandcamp and CDBaby for $1.99 and a portion of all sales will go to The Coastal Bend Food Bank one of the organizations helping hurricane victims. As several hurricanes and earthquakes have occurred since Hurricane Harvey hit, it is important to make sure aid still gets to Texans, Balancia said.
“At a time when most of the country is going back to school, we can’t forget that many victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas have nothing to go back to,” Balancia said. “They were hit first and they were hit hard. Vince and I want to help, even if it’s in some small way like a music download.”
One Step at a Time: ‘Like Aimee Mann Meets The Cars’
“One Step at a Time” is an upbeat 1980s-style adult contemporary song similar in sound to The Cars, and Balancia’s melodious vocals sound like “an upbeat Aimee Mann,” according to a review by Alyson Camus in Rock NYC Live and Recorded. “The chorus will stay with you on first listen,” Camus writes.
“Vince is known for his work in the punk rock world and he’s a multi-talented musician,” Balancia said. “He’s a prolific songwriter, guitarist and arranger. I’m the wordsmith, singer, and melody composer. We’re releasing an EP in the November, but this song, “One Step at a Time” is being released early so that we can help the victims of Hurricane Harvey.”
The Punk Rocker and The Writer
Conrad who made his mark in the 1980s with punk bands The Smart Pills, The Aliens and American Bad Taste, recently released some hidden gems he unearthed while going through his storage unit. Â He remastered and re-released several of the original punk recordings from the 1970s. Check out his website here at VinceConradProductions.com
Conrad and Balancia crossed paths many times in the 1980s in New York City, but never actually met until their love of alternative music brought them together at a Los Angeles punk club to see a Walter Lure show.
Check out “One Step at a Time” and donate here at either at Bandcamp or CD Baby
Disclaimer: Balancia is the editor of CaliforniaRocker.com and the president of The Entertainment Magazines LLC, the parent company to this site and several other websites that cover tourism, technology, film and music. For more information contact [email protected]
