Wiser Time recently released “Hanging Around” - the first single from an EP expected to be released in November 2023. The song features the unmistakeable vocals and guitar style of Carmen Sclafani, who founded the band over twenty years ago.
“I've got three tracks complete and two more in production that I'm hoping to have done over the next few months,” explained Sclafani. “The EP is called All Fired Up, and I want to wait until November to release it, during the beginning of the US election cycle. I think I'm most proud of the title track and the overall quality of the songwriting. I did some really interesting production things with that track.”
Sclafani plans on doing some select acoustic or stripped down shows to promote the new songs and would like to have some full bands shows as well - possibly even recording a live record, which is something he would love to do.
The EP continues a trend for Wiser Time in the last five years. While the band has released several albums, they have focused on singles and EPs since the release of Within - the band’s last full-length album - in 2017. I wondered if he had thought about grouping the recent singles and EPs together to form a full-length or if he was more interested in releasing singles and EPs when inspiration hits.
“In truth, it's really about what inspires me at that particular moment in my life and what my resources are to record because I don't have a studio. Or it's something topical, like ‘Unreasonable Force,’ which has to be released in the exact moment of protest. I've thought about doing just what you said and perhaps making a full album that combines the last few EPs and singles.”
There are few artists that have created a sound as distinctive to me as Wiser Time. Carmen’s soulful vocals stand out, but the way he plays guitar is just as easily identifiable to me. There’s a certain strum, a certain subtlety to the sound that forms the Wiser Time sound and has ever since the band’s first album - the utterly brilliant, debut album There and Back Again, was released in 2006. That sound is as distinctive to me as the jangly guitars of R.E.M.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Carmen Sclafani was born in Bayonne and moved to the Warren area where he went to school.
“I grew up in all of those surrounding areas like Millington, Sterling, North Plainfield, etc,” he recalled. “I remember playing the Somerset Sidelines as a teen! Oh my! Places like the Gold Hawk in Hoboken, The C-Note in the Lower East Side of NYC. The Crossroads in Garwood. Orphan Annies in Sterling. I could go on and on. I really just found my way into being able to work as an artist and musician, and I think that part of that was timing to some degree. I was coming of age in the mid 90s right as the Internet came-to-be. That was a really exciting opportunity and creative time because of the new technology and that there was no creative paradigm to follow... we created it. I was always working in art and in music, but just came to a point in the mid 2000s where I just simply found/created a sustainable path. And it still comes with challenges! Art and music are typically feast or famine.”
Wiser Time, is more or less, a place for the songs of Carmen Sclafani. It’s similar to how The Waterboys is a place for the songs of Mike Scott, but in Carmen’s case it goes far beyond the music. These songs are not just to flesh out the songs of a singer-songwriter into a full band sound; these songs serve as a diary - a place to capture the periods of his life. He once described it as his own musical On The Road and the concept was there from the very beginning.
“It was 2001, and I was really beginning to explore my songwriting and taking my craft seriously in that, ‘music is going to be my career for real’ kind-of-thing,” said Sclafani. “I was playing coffee houses in NYC and NJ, and beginning to demo my first song, ‘Divided.’ While in a friend's studio, another mutual musician friend stopped by to visit. He told me that he had just moved near me in Millington, and that he would love to play with me. I was showing him a song that I had written (and recorded decades later on ‘Within’), which he replied, ‘It reminds me a little bit of that song 'Wiser Time' by the Black Crowes.’ I just loved the entire meaning and how it related to my Kerouac, On The Road sensibility, and I decided to use it as my theme. He didn't last too long and I've had a number of steady musicians contribute over the years both in the studio and live. I've definitely developed some cats that have been with me for a long while, which I think helps to make my overall sound have some cohesion over the span of my recording career as Wiser Time.”
“Wiser Time really is my On The Road, and someone can just read all of my lyrics from my first recording up until now, and they would find a rhythm and flow,” he continued. “Some songs are just fun rock, but the majority has a real depth. Not only do I try to document periods in my life, but simple ‘periods in life’ that need to be talked about in a troubadour way. A Woody way. A Dylan way. My ultimate goal is to one day break down this musical story and tell it in an actual novel. I may just complete the circle and call the novel, There And Back Again. We shall see in due time…”
As with The Waterboys, Carmen’s band has changed and over the years, but a few core members remain at the heart of the project. Drummer Steve Decker and keyboardist Rob Clores have played with Carmen for decades and are people that he has strong bonds with.
“The band has definitely evolved over time, but there's really more of a small group of cats in the crib at this point who I consider to be a real part of things,” he added. “Everyone is a working or touring musician, so it's difficult sometimes just to get everyone in the same room. I really see just continuing my recording journey and putting together select shows that we all enjoy. My rock 'n roll Lounge Lizards if you will, and I'm really blessed and grateful to have such a talented group of musicians in my circle.”
Wiser Time has played shows all around the tri-state area. When asked if any shows stand out for him, he mentions two that were very memorable.
“I would say a favorite gig was a full band gig at the former Joey Harrison's Surf Club in NJ, opening for Marshall Tucker. The night was absolutely perfect, the venue and beach were packed, and the band was on fire. I'll also say an after hours jam with Jimmy Somma in Mifflinburg, PA after a festival that the entire band played. Jimmy and I stayed at this hotel in town, which is like some beautiful old sleepy town somewhere back in time. We came into the hotel with our guitars in hand, and somehow ended up closing the bar into the witching hour with a few of the patrons and the manager. We were just in flames, and it was a really special moment that we both hold dear.”
Carmen’s rock and roll world these days also includes working with other artists in various roles from producing albums to utilizing his illustrations and art background.
The official video for "If I Were A Dinosaur" by Arlan Feiles, which includes illustrations by Carmen Sclafani
“I love working on projects and producing,” he explained. “Some of the artists in the area whom I've been working closely with recently are all really strong songwriters and storytellers like Arlan Feiles, Bruce Jepson and Kevin Hill. The thing that I like about working on other projects is just the opportunity to lift someone's art in some way. I love having my creative or intellectual fingerprint on something, and truly get pleasure in helping others achieve their goals”
“Hanging Around” is available on the usual streaming outlets: YouTube, Apple Music, Tidal, Pandora, Spotify, Soundcloud, etc. If you are a fan of roots rock or Americana artists, give it a spin. And be sure to check out the band's catalog. They have been one of the most underrated bands in the area for a while.
