C.D. Onofrio
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2003 | SELF
Music
Press
Sometimes stark, while at other times lush, Love in the Wasteland is solid solo work from Onofrio, a long-time Niagara Falls musician and one of the founding members of the Perpetual Peace Project Collective.
And Onofrio gets more than a little help from his friends with a veritable who's who of the Niagara music scene including the likes of Aaron Berger, Rod Standish and Rita Visser among others.
It's a marathon effort clocking in at more than 60 minutes and spans 13 songs. At moments, the collections is brilliant in its folk simplicity while at others, it is grandiose with full musical arrangements. The constant is Onofrio's soulful vocals and they bind the songs together beautifully. It is the type of music that demands you shut out all distractions and listen.
Wasteland is a recurring theme — Onofrio says himself that is partly a reference to his time in Niagara Falls working with others to try and revitalize the city's downtown — cropping up in many songs, notably “A Walk in the Wasteland”, “Love Song of the Wasteland”, “The Wasteland” and “Queen of the Wasteland” among others. In this respect, the album is a bit of a concept work, and a good one at that. - Niagara Life Magazine
Discography
C.D. Onofrio
Collingwood Sessions (2004)
Wind Through Leaves (2009)
cd (2011)
Love In The Wasteland (2014)
W/ The Peace Projector
Heart to Heart (2014)
w/ theAdores
theAdores (2007)
Goodwill (2011)
w/ Sea Of Gold And Burgundy
Terrible Arrows (2009)
Sea Of gold and burgundy (2011)
Photos
Bio
“a troubadour wearing a crown of fire” - (allisplural.ca)
C.D. Onofrio is an award-winning singer/songwriter and poet based out of wonderful Niagara Falls, Ontario. He writes in a broad range of styles but is most aptly characterized as a Folk artist.
Music has taken C.D. on a zig zag of voyages across turtle island (North America). These adventures have inspired the content of C.D.'s upcoming release, which explores the intersection between psychology, mythology, landscapes, and travel. Using landscape both as a metaphor for the way that we see the world and as, literally, the environment that surrounds us, Onofrio paints lyrical and musical pictures with his songs. The album is being released by Nish Records as a series of postcards, delivered through traditional mail (as well as through traditional mediums).
Onofrio's most recent album Love in the Wasteland was his first full-length solo effort. It came after multiple solo E.P.s and releases with bands and other artists. The album showcases a “veritable who's who of the Niagara Music scene... at moments, the collection is brilliant in its folk simplicity while at others, it is grandiose with full musical arrangements” (Niagara Life Magazine).
Onofrio was awarded folk artist of the year at the Niagara Music Awards (2012) and received the Allister Young Endowment Award for artist of the Year from the City of Niagara Falls (2015). Two volumes of his poetry, Visions of A Rainbow Bridge and Vignette, have been published by Greyborders Publishing.
Since first picking up a guitar, writing songs has come naturally to C.D. Onofrio. He has accumulated a beautiful and diverse catalogue of songs over this time. His aim is to be granted permanent residency into the tower of songs, the long and sacred tradition of people putting words to music and turning the human experience inside-out.
Light carves shadows on the stones
as my song becomes my own
patterns played upon these strings
turn to notes the singer sings
- “Infinity Plays with the Sands of Time”
Band Members
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