The Casual Fridays

You might call Gabe Tena a modern day Renaissance man — when it comes to music, anyway. The frontman of The Casual Fridays has remained loyal to the band for years, seeing some career ups and downs along the way.

When he recently found himself the only remaining member of the band, he could have abandoned his efforts and joined or started another group. Instead, he decided to make the most of the situation and get creative. Even if that meant playing multiple instruments himself for single tracks on a new album.

The result is a three-song compilation featuring collaborations with artists from Hometown Letdown and Desert Ratts, and rapper Spiddimz of Homegrown Outlaws.

“This is the ninth album and it’s different than all the other ones,” Tena said. “I’m doing a different approach with this one. I played a lot of the instruments myself. On the song ‘Separation,’ I had vocals by Melissa Carrillo.”

On the track “Punch It,” Tena plays several saxophone parts himself – making up for the lack of the horn section usually associated with music from The Casual Fridays. The song, he adds, presented the biggest challenge of the project.

“Beside You” features a rap by Spiddimz – a first for The Casual Fridays.

Even Tena’s means of distribution this time around is outside the box. While previous albums by The Casual Fridays have been sold online and at live shows, the latest album has a more personal touch. Tena has kept busy promoting the new album on Facebook. Fans who like or comment on his posts will receive a copy of the CD in the mail, complete with a custom postage stamp. Tena is personally handling that aspect as well.

He’s already received garnered replies from fans locally, but said he hopes to increase interest in the album in other parts of the country.

“I’m promoting the album on Facebook. It goes out to anyone who wants a copy,” Tena said. “Nobody ever does that. (Let’s) see how it works out.”

In the meantime, listeners can learn more about the history of The Casual Fridays by buying the band’s previous album via digital download, for only $1. That album contains 14 tracks with roots in ska, soul, punk and reggae rocksteady. Proceeds will be used to promote and cover the costs of the upcoming release.

While Tena’s approach to his music career might seem somewhat unconventional, at the moment, it gives him some flexibility as he completes his degree in bilingual education. That’s part of the reason he won’t be on tour for a while, having also recently performed 28 shows in Colorado.

“I haven’t thought much past finishing this album,” Tena said about the future. “My main goal is exposure for the band on the Internet. I want to take a different approach, versus what we used to do, which is playing shows and hoping someone would buy our CD.”

The album was recorded and mixed by Sean Kendall at Ivory Wing Studios in Las Cruces. Guest musicians include Jesse Moya on bass guitar, Lee Janecka on drums, and Justin Comer on bass guitar.

To buy the band’s previous album visit Cdbaby.com/cd/thecasualfridays1. Follow the band on Facebook at “The Casual Fridays,” to learn how to receive the newest album for free. - Las Cruces Sun News