pasquale
On his dynamic and compelling debut EP, Orange County, California based singer/songwriter Pasquale Talarico aka Pasquale continues his thriving career as a regional Contemporary Christian Music sensation with a simple declaration to the world that God is My Everything.
Released this summer, the seven track collection features “Turn The Radio On,” a song about increasing spiritual awareness which became the #1 airplay song in only three weeks on the college radio station KBCU in Kansas thanks to passionate listener response; and “Your Glory,”
a powerful track about the world’s increasing need for God, which appears on the Indie Ignite compilation CD and is currently spinning on several Contemporary Christian (CCM) stations across the country and also on the internet. Another song that has had tremendous emotional and spiritual impact is the deeply reflective “Why,” which he wrote after his sister-in-law passed away shortly after giving birth to her son at the age of 38.
While he’s been active in youth ministry in Southern California for seventeen years and has performed at hundreds of church and conference shows for thousands of people over the years—mostly in California but with stops along the way in Chicago and New York--many of Pasquale’s longtime fans are fascinated when they learn about his unique musical background. As bass player for the renowned Orange County, California based pop punk band Supernovice—ranked in 2003 by OC Weekly as #56 in their feature “The 129 Best OC Bands Ever”.
He appeared on their album Timely, played on tracks that appeared on major compilations with NOFX and Sublime, performed countless shows and opened for numerous major rock bands in Southern California. With all the success he enjoyed, he still felt something was missing....Later teaching himself acoustic guitar—originally so he could assist with music at Christian youth retreats—Pasquale enjoyed similar accolades in a secular, Dave Matthews styled group.
Collaborating with producer Jerroll Lehman, who has worked over the years with top Christian musical forces like Bill Gaither, Sandi Patti, Jon McLaughlin and The King’s Brass, Pasquale drew on an incredible well of prayer and divine inspiration to create My Everything. Lehman invited the singer to Nashville to record the sessions at two renowned facilities, The Tracking Room and Quad Studios, and hooked him up with some of the city’s top first-call musicians, including electric guitarist Jerry McPherson (Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Reba McEntire, Amy Grant); drummer Scott Williams (Reba McEntire, Amy Grant, Point of Grace, Phillips, Craig and Dean); bassist Joeie Canaday (Natalie Grant, LeAnn Rimes); acoustic guitarist Mike Payne (Sidewalk Prophets, TobyMac, Francesca Battiestelli, Rebecca St. James); keyboardist Jason Webb (Natalie Grant, Leeland, Phillips, Craig and Dean); and saxophonist Mark Douthit (CeCe Winans, Reba McEntire, LeAnn, Israel and Newbreed).
“I think the songs really share intimate details about my faith journey,” says Pasquale, a self professed “man of faith always wanting more.” “For me, it has been filled with a lot of ups and downs. I recognize that I am a broken man, yet with God's grace I am able to keep going. I think God gives us so many blessings and that often they get lost in the mix of daily life. We find ourselves so busy with our smartphones, laptops, and iPads that we often overlook the blessings that God surrounds us with each and every day. I think a lot of people struggle to see God in the world. Many of us are just too busy to see the simple things that show us all how much God IS in the world.
“These songs,” he adds, “are my authentic way to share my relationship with God . Each and every song has a unique story. Not one of those songs is the same. There is love, pain, sadness, and joy in each of them. I hope when people listen to them, they feel a connection. If one of the songs speaks to them, helps them with their journey, in the end, that is the greatest compliment a songwriter can get. More than anything, from ‘Simple Man’ to “Remember Me’ to ‘Why,’ the songs I write are the stories of my life and show me as a real person".
Pasquale’s powerful transition from secular rocker to budding CCM star began when he helped bring contemporary, rock-driven praise and worship music into the Catholic church he served at in Southern California. Attending a Passion Conference (geared around the teachings and testimonies of young adults) in 2005, he was inspired by headlining CCM greats David Crowder and Chris Tomlin—and left with what he felt was a true calling by God to begin devoting his passion to writing and recording Christian music. Encouraged by his then girlfriend/now wife, he went to a friend’s home studio in Arizona and wrote and recorded a simple four track EP—two of whose songs ultimately evolved into “Extraordinary” and “Remember Me,” key tracks from the My Everything.
Between that time and his ultimate breakthrough, Pasquale learned a few lessons about patience and humility. “I really thought these early tunes were so great that I was going to get signed to a major deal, but I actually met with a lot of indifference,” he says. “I had a lot of growing to do. A lot of life happened during that time. I got married, had a child, my prayer life changed and I realized, as all Christians should at some point, that it wasn’t just about me. The key to writing good songs was not worrying about trying to write for a record label or the radio—to just write about what was happening in my life. These melodies started happening and I began writing lyrics profusely. Sometimes I’d go into the chapel with a guitar that was given to me by a late family friend and that I had refurbished. It was almost as if that instrument were anointed because so many incredible songs came out of my playing it.”
Speaking further about his evolution from secular pop musician to a Christian artist who sees his music as a part of his life’s ministry, Pasquale adds, “My younger days were those of a punk rock bassist looking for life’s biggest party. As I’ve gotten older, I have found the biggest party is something much bigger than me. I thank God for the gifts I have been given, and hope that with the release of My Everything, my music will make more people than ever dance, sing and want to praise God.”