A lot of professional musicians skip music school, but in the case of Renato Annicchiarico (aka Enahena), the drummer and lead singer of local trio Tan of Dreams, it’s truly a surprise. He has more music pouring out of him than he knows what to do with.
“I don’t write music. I don’t read it. It’s just always been with me. The melodies are spontaneous. They just come to me on an hourly basis. My phone is filled with hundreds of tunes,” Annicchiarico says.
Fortunately, he has psychedelic rock trio Tan of Dreams to funnel these songs to, which is why the relatively new group has more than 30 songs in their repertoire. During any given set, Annicchiarico will play whatever one of them he feels like playing in the moment.
“We go on how my inspiration is, on the fly. I’m jumping from one song into something else, which could be another song, originals or covers. It can also be an improvisation, like a total new thing. I also sometimes improvise the lyrics,” Annicchiarico says.
The group’s music is moody and dreamy, but still rocks out, and is filled with catchy (albeit strange) hooks. Appropriately, “tan of dreams” is an old term for the color of dreams.
“The dreams can have different colors, different flavors. So tan is a transformation, something that changes. So it’s like converting dreams into reality,” Annicchiarico says. “People dance to our music. Sometimes I wish I didn’t play drums, because I dance when I sing. I’m a good dancer.”
INFO: 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14. Crow’s Nest, 2218 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz. $5. 476-4560.
.Love Your Local Band: Tan of Dreams
