When Gianni Staiano got his clavinet back just a week before his group 7 Come 11 recorded their new EP, it was newly equipped with a whammy bar. The clavinet looks like a keyboard, but it has guitar strings under the keys. Stevie Wonder made it famous on his ’70s records. The whammy bar bends notes and makes everything sound awesome.
“It completely changed the direction of the record. Totally different idea than when we went in. We ended up raging, rocking out just for fun. It’s always nice when that happens,” Staiano says.
This new EP, Universe Out Of Time, is an aggressive rager. Staiano also plays the organ and a moog, and runs them through effects pedals. The clavinet’s whammy, though hugely influential of the new record’s sound, wasn’t the only reason the songs came out harder-edged, particularly when compared to 2016’s dance party record Light It Up.
“Those were the Obama years. It was still pretty good back then. We’re always going for the dance vibe, but things weren’t quite so fucked,” Staiano says.
The group’s songs like “Nobody Wins” do address the divisiveness of the current political climate. “The only way forward is if we can all get along. We got to heal the wounds, and heal the divide. We got to come together,” Staiano says.
INFO: 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $6. 429-6994.
