Bikeride - Thirty-Seven Secrets I Only Told America

Artist: Bikeride Title: Thirty-Seven Secrets I Only Told America Catalog#: AHA!010 Price: $10.00 CD Also available on vinyl LP for $8.50	Tracks on this CD:
	Erik & Angie
	That's Math!
	America's Favorite Omelettes
	Jennifer
	Peeling An Orange
	Blue Jeans
	A Wet and Watery Blue
	The Letter Dropper
	Do You Like Ping-Pong?
	Samarah
	Parasol
	Clean Sports, Clean Living
	Can You Hear?

other Bikeride releases

Tony Carbone-Guitar,Vocals Sean How?-Farfisa Organ, Wurlitzer Electric Piano Ian Spalding-Bass

What's more fun than a barrel of monkeys? Bikeride teaming up with Paul Frank!
Check out some "Julius & Friends" cartoons and take notice of Bikeride playing the opening theme song! That's right, it's a modified version of the song "Jennifer" from the band's Thirty-Seven Secrets I Only Told America album. Try the "Bad Spell" cartoon - a nice parody of the Bewitched television show!

Julius & Friends: julius and friends by paul frank

Thirty-seven Secrets I Only Told America

"I have my own theories on producing albums…I’m obsessed with how albums are laid out. It’s almost like a film: you have to have an introduction and an ending; tempos have to go up and down…keys have to change."-Bikeride’s Tony Carbone quoted in OC Weekly.

Fountain Valley, California’s, Tony Carbone gets his obsessions right on Thirty-seven Secrets I Only Told America. Guitars (acoustic & electric), farfisa, ukelele, and an artfully panned game of ping-pong are just some of the elements strung, squeezed, and segued seamlessly into the mix. Drawing on influences such as Burt Bacharach, ‘60s West Coast vocal groups and the obligatory Beatles/Beach Boys brigade, Bikeride sound like none of the above.

The band began as leader Tony Carbone’s 3-song thesis project at California’s Loyola Marymount University, and turned into the 1997 self released full-length Here Comes the Summer! A varied, multi layered pop album, reminiscent of indiepop’s favorite touchstone, The Apples In Stereo, HCTS! captured the attention of Urbana-Champaign’s Hidden Agenda/Parasol, who signed on to release Thirty-seven Secrets.

Prior to the album’s debut, Hidden Agenda released the "America’s Favorite Omelettes" 7" single that featured three extra tracks including a cover of "Our Lips Are Sealed." And, in the fall of 1999 Tony will assist a friend with her music-related project at NYU by allowing the school to release and promote a seven-song demo collection.

Recommended listening method for Thirty-seven Secrets: Sunny day, headphones, and yes…a bikeride.

The pop renaissance of the 90's owes much of it's success to talented, young artists like Tony Carbone, who is the lead singer/songwriter/musician in FountainValley, California's pop band, Bikeride. Carbone must have studied the past four decades very carefully while he was at Loyola Marymount University, because Thirty-seven Secrets I Only Told America incorporates a zany but effective mixture of Beach Boys, Burt Bacharach, Prince, Squeeze and the Pixies into the debut album's thirteen original songs. The album showcases a variety of refreshing, quirky and breezy pop songs… The musicianship is quite ambitious for a first release and it delivers very pleasant results. Carbone and his cohorts deserve to be heard from again! - Amplifier

Creamy Anglophile indie jazz pop, with Moog, Wurlitzer and Latino beats. - Mojo

Now here's a clue - Bikeride is short for Bicycle Rider! Starting out as leader Toy Carbone's University thesis project, the music of Bikeride has a strong sense of pop artifice - Beatles/Beach Boys/Burt Bacharach/Love are obvious references. Meticulously put together in the studio, 37 Secrets' lush multi-layered sound is a wonder to behold. Another classic addition to Parasol's sophisticated pop stable. - Big O

Bikeride mastermind Tony Carbone delivers his own State of the Suburban Union Address on Thirty-seven Secrets, a frequently wonderful product of low-budget ingenuity and a big, soft heart. …Carbone marvels at the intoxicating blur of his native California's endless summer, while the songs' "American lovers" live a high life he can only write about. Clever wordplay and a deft hand at Bossa Nova stylings make giddy fun of "That's Math!" while "Parasol" and "Jennifer" replicate the heyday of bubble gum pop so completely they could have been covered by the Banana Splits….Bikeride could take America into its love-starved arms and feel it squeezing back. - Exclaim!

What do you get when you throw every dazzling moment from the pop highlight reels of the last thirty-five years into a blender? Bikeride. Bikeride? Yeah, that's what I thought. Who are they? Well, trust me on this one, you're in for a treat. With a refined assuredness in their songwriting skills, imagination up the wazoo, and fine instrumental chops, these guys have come roaring out of the gate with one of the best albums of the year, or virtually any year. - College Press

Bikeride have fun and it's infectious. They're all about bright, breezy farfisa-tinged pop. And what they lack in clout they make up for with brave, off-beat arrangements…Check out: The funky Erik and Angie, a song the kids (whoever they might be!) can dance to; the single America's Favorite Omelettes, one fuckin' fantastic song, which is full of twists and turns; the sweetest and most straightforward track, Jennifer; and Can You Hear? Which blends crashing guitars with willowy fine keyboards to incredible effect. - Bucketfull of Brains

PURE POP WEB-SITE

Thirty-Seven Secrets I Only Told America
Bikeride (Parasol).

You wouldn’t expect these bizarre lads and lassies to hail from the mecca of conservatism known as Fountain Valley, Calif., but then again the world is full of reactionaries. Bikeride’s gleeful sound is all over the map; the band liberally sprinkles all sorts of instruments throughout some of the oddest musical structures in pop music. Lead singer Tony Carbone sounds like he sucks helium for breakfast, but that effectively adds to the silliness. Try to imagine what a cross between Chicago and Earth, Wind, and Fire would sound like if it was backed by Stereolab, and you’ll just about get the opening cut "Erik & Angie." You’ll smile along with the band on tracks like "America’s Favorite Omelettes" and the early Zappa-esque "Peeling an Orange" and "Blue Jeans." Lounge fans will also dig the soft, jazzy "That’s Math!" and "Jennifer." Bikeride can not only be proud of being the second Parasol band to write a song called "Parasol" (Choo Choo Train, featuring Ric Menck, now of the Velvet Crush, was the first), the band can also be proud of the song’s staying power. The album effectively ends with "Can You Hear," which can be best described as a 60s go-go tune on acid. Friends, if all of this doesn’t pique your interest, nothing will.

David Bash
June 29, 1999

AVERSION.COM

Thirty-Seven Secrets I Only Told America
Bikeride
Hidden Agenda Records

There’s really only one thing separating Bikeride’s take on `70s pop from the rest of the field: simple respect. Unlike Beck, Fatboy Slim or most of the other polyester-flag waving retro revivalists, Bikeride approaches its journeys into `70s pop without the affected cooler-than-thou sense of kitsch marking the bulk of its contemporaries’ work. The result is an album totally free from the postured camp of modern `70s hipsters, delivering a sound truly reveling in the flavors of `70s pop.

Bikeride flushes the arrogant aloofness of Beck and the crowds of other retro-hipsters, passing on the condescending sense of tongue-in-cheek parody finding its way into the bulk of `70s-esque pop. Where Beck can nearly be seen smirking with each note on Mutations, relishing his smug dip into the oh-so-fashionable past as radio stations and listeners alike are let into the exclusive club of kitsch, Bikeride turns Beck’s own joke upon its creator with Thirty-Seven Secrets. Unlike artists slumming with stratight-faced versions of Carter-era camp, Bikeride cranks out an album with enough heart and texture to take the wind out of the finger-pointing sails of the retro-kitschster crowd.

With jangly guitars and keyboard harmonies, Bikeride manages to get a bit funky without getting funky-fresh. True to its inspiration, the band encompasses a wide variety of sounds, though manages to handle each with respect rather than the contempt frequently found. Wandering from laid-back lounge tunes ("That’s Math") to shag-carpet pop ("Jennifer") to mellow acoustic and moog pairings ("A Wet and Watery Blue") Bikeride pulls much of the legacy of the `70s under its belt.

The decade of disco and glam wasn’t without its stupider moments, however, and Bikeride’s authenticism finds time to follows its roots into those areas as well. From the goofy "Peeling an Orange," making the original Schoolhouse Rocks seem cerebral, to the grating vocals of "Blue Jeans," Bikeride also reminds us just why music moved on.

In the end, however, Thirty-Seven Secrets proves to be ahead of the game when it comes to revisiting the `70s, with songs so true to their roots they are bound to make fans either giddy with delight or sick to their stomach depending upon their taste toward retro pop, as the band’s genuineness bolsters its sound while simultaneously making crossover possibilities slim.

CONSUMABLE ON-LINE

REVIEW: Bikeride, Thirty Seven Secrets I Only Told America
(Hidden Agenda/Parasol)
- Bill Holmes

Wish all my school projects came out this good; Bikeride came together in 1997 to flesh out leader Tony Carbone's collegiate thesis and wound up releasing a full length recording called Here Comes The Summer. In keeping with the theme and process, Carbone spent the next couple of years jotting down ideas and lyrics over lunch breaks for this sophomore project.

Bikeride's low-key approach and Carbone's high vocals remind me of the Three O'Clock, Apples In Stereo and even early Mitch Easter, although you wouldn't call this record power pop by any stretch of the imagination. Sure, there are hummable melodies galore, like the opening track "Erik And Angie" (think New Radicals without all the bombast), the snare-driven hand-clapper "Jennifer" and the Farfisa-laden "America's Favorite Omlettes." What's most impressive, however, are offbeat touches like the engaging horn arrangements on the peppy "The Letter Dropper" and the carefree, whistling intro to "Samarah."

By driving on the other side of the road...er, bikepath, the band sounds unencumbered and fresh, the antithesis to overproduced hit single attempts.

In this age of one-sided recordings, the art of balancing two halves of an album has gone by the wayside, but "Do You Like Ping-Pong?" is a clever palette cleanser (yes, it's nothing but several seconds of a ping-pong game), especially if you are wearing headphones. The loopy instrumental "Clean Sports, Clean Living" also bridges the gap between the bouncy closers: "Parasol" (no wonder the label liked them!) and "Can You Hear?" The record is full of different sounds and tempos that bear repeated listenings.

Bikeride won't be radio stars, but with lines like "I told myself it was too much heaven/just to see you walking into a 7-11," you'll find yourself walking up to the DJ or record shop counter and asking, "Who WAS that?" And if you get that chance, you'll find these songs worming their way into your heart. If that's not enough, you'll fall in love with the girl on the roller blades, just like I did. A great summer record to brighten your day.

Hooray for summer and all its trappings. This dandy little 13-track gem is an absolutely perfect addition to any summer of fun in the sun. Cute doesn't even begin to describe the plethora of pop treasures on the first full-length from this Southern California outfit. All the requisite influences bear out on Thirty-Seven Secrets..., like Burt Bacharach, The Beatles and, of course, The Beach Boys, but there are more than a smattering of places where this band finds its own way. The boys at Elephant 6 should check out this sunshine jamboree right away. (Parasol, 905 South Lynn St., Urbana, IL 61801) -Rockpile