Funky Hammond organ, tasty harmonica, gutsy vocals and a "who's who" cast of Erie musicians make "The Vehicle" by Ron Yarosz a satisfying listen. Recorded at three different studios using fourteen additional musicians, Ron manages to create an astonishingly cohesive whole. The sound is mostly funky and soulful, with a tinge of Southern Rock here and there, as well as a few acoustic numbers thrown in for good measure.

Most of the drums are handled by former Jake's Bluesman Ron Sutton, with a couple of tracks featuring Doug Welser of Starfish. As one of Erie's most in demand bassists, Kenny Cornelius fills the bill and then some. Bass on one track is provided by Jassen Wilber (another Jake's Blues alumni, who joined Ron Sutton in Burning Orange and now Bernard Allison's band). Jason Lewis and Trevor Huster round out the low end duties with Huster also contributing loops and samples to one track.

Although Ron Yarosz plays acoustic guitar on this release he has enlisted the talents of several notable Erie guitarists including Mike Ohm, Rodger Montgomery, Scott Cravener, Pat Vahey, Jason Dohanich and Midtown Recording engineer Randy Hetherington on rhythm guitar (interesting since Randy usually plays drums). Of particular note is the contribution of Jim Rennicks on lead and rhythm guitar on "Busted". Jim was an old friend of Ron's from back home in Ohio, and tragically the day before Jim was to come to Erie to play on The Vehicle he was killed in an auto accident. Ron was determined to honor Jim's memory, and used guitar parts recorded earlier by Rennicks in which to build "Busted" around.

Ron Yarosz sings all of the vocals with Karen Jeffreys contributing backgrounds on one track. Ron's main instruments included harmonica, Hammond organ, Rhodes piano, and acoustic guitar as well as rhythm guitar and percussion on one track each. Ron appears to be equally adept on any instrument he wishes to touch.

Artwork for the CD was created by OVM's Dev Jana, while mastering was provided by Kieth Veshecco of TRS fame. Audio engineers were Randy Hetherington (Midtown), Trevor Huster (Diecaster) and Tom Hitt (Cycling Troll).

All in all The Vehicle is a fine effort and an excellent example of the quality of music available in Erie. You can purchase a copy on Ron's website of in our own Online CD Shop. -J.Trevethan