We’re a band called If Not For Dreaming. The core band members are Pasquale (Pat) Russo and Amity Wahl on the recently released CD, with Jay Jerz on drums and Angie Mariano on bass added for our upcoming CD and live performances.

We’re from the New Haven, Connecticut, area.

Pat creates the instrumental parts, then Amity finishes the songs with lyrics and vocals. Our sound is a mix of alternative, indie and pop rock that focuses on layered guitars and melodies.

The first song we worked on was “Wood and Stone” in August 2008. Our first CD was released about a year after that.

While we’re all seasoned performers, we haven’t actually played a show together yet. We’re currently in rehearsal for our live show with plans to start playing out this coming summer.

First and foremost, we play what we like. Everything we’ve done, we’ve made because we love how it sounds. We get a sense of personal fulfillment when we listen to one of our songs and think, “That’s exactly what we wanted that to sound like.” So as we move from song to song, in addition to creating something that others want to listen to, we continue to gain a sense of pride in our own musical achievements.

We definitely hope to connect with people on an emotional level through the music. Whether with words or harmonies or a beautiful guitar line, our songs are very much driven by emotions that are conveyed through all aspects of our songs. We do what we love, and we hope that people are drawn to what we do because of that fact.

Mostly any band or artist with a strong, unique female vocal presence. Tori Amos, Bjork, Aimee Mann, Goldfrapp, Cocteau Twins, Lush and The Sundays, for starters. That list could continue for a long time… We have our favorite male artists, too. Glen Phillips, As Tall As Lions, Death Cab For Cutie and more.

Pat is the type of person who’s compelled to work out ideas as soon as he gets them. Since he does all the mixing and producing himself, sometimes those little unfinished details will eat away at his thoughts until he gets to sit down and fix them.

That’s the exciting part: We have so much to look forward to! We’ve been contacted about performing on a local talk show, we’re shooting our first music video for our single “Look for the Bloom” in March, we have a new song that is being considered for a movie soundtrack, we have new songs that we’re ready to record for our next release and, of course, we’re working toward playing out live starting this summer. It’s going to be a big year for us!