Chris Bloniarz of Wantagh, NY, Featured on Dorm Sessions 10, New CD by Berklee's Student-Run Heavy Rotation Records

Wantagh, NY, native Chris Bloniarz, a member of the group Grey Season, is featured on Dorm Sessions 10, the new release by Berklee’s student-run label. The compilation—a mix of rock, folk, indie pop, singer-songwriter, psychedelic soul, R&B, electronic, and Latin pop by Berklee students and alumni—also features I/O, Kyle Thornton & The Company, Cocoa Jackson Lane, The Rare Occasions, Cordelia & The Buffalo, YEAH Dubz, Amy & The Engine, 3 Sudacas, Fever Charm, and Oh, Malô.

Grey Season performs five­part harmony, blues­rooted guitar solos between wholehearted lyricism, and memorable melodies driven by bouzoukis and banjos. Benny Grotto (Dresden Dolls) and Grammy–winner Justin Guip produced its debut album at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY. The group is composed of Ian Jones (bass, vocals); Berklee alumni Jon Mills (guitar, vocals, Irish bouzouki) and Matt Knelman (guitar, vocals); and students Chris Bloniarz (banjo, piano, mandolin, vocals), and Ben Burns (drums, vocals).

Grey Season was chosen to represent HRR at Berklee’s SXSW Party, March 19 in Austin.

Stream or download Dorm Sessions 10 for free at Soundcloud.com/heavyrotationrecords/.

About the CD:

Heavy Rotation Records is a class that gives Berklee music business/management students experience in running an entertainment company. Under the guidance of faculty advisor Jeff Dorenfeld, former manager of the band Boston, the student staff oversees marketing, sales, web development, media, and A&R. HRR’s A&R group pored through hundreds of submissions to choose the artists for Dorm Sessions 10.

Artists who have appeared on past HRR albums include St. Vincent (as Annie Clark), Gem Club (as Christopher Barnes), HAERTS (as Nini & Ben), Big D & the Kids Table, and members of Passion Pit (as the Peasantry). The label presents events and artists in the Boston area and at some of the music industry’s largest festivals, including Lollapalooza (Chicago, Chile, and Brazil), SXSW in Austin, and CMJ Music Marathon in New York.

Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through the study and practice of contemporary music. For more than 65 years, the college has evolved to reflect the current state of the music industry, leading the way with baccalaureate studies in performance, music business/management, songwriting, music therapy, film scoring, and more. With a focus on global learning, Berklee in Valencia, a new campus in Spain, is hosting the college’s first graduate programs, while Berklee Online serves distance learners worldwide with extension classes and degree-granting programs. The Berklee City Music Network provides after-school programming for underserved teens in 45 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. With a student body representing nearly 100 countries and alumni and faculty that have won more than 325 Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, Berklee is the world’s premier learning lab for the music of today—and tomorrow.