Philadelphia based music maker.

For commissions and licensing or more information, please contact:

glohse@gmail.com

Manc songwriter, making noises... Thanks to everyone who's listened, liked, commented, or reposted my songs!!

"Justin DiFebbo's debut record is an alluring seduction, presenting an aural collision of Brian Wilson's songwriting, Neil Young's vocal vulnerability and Simon and Garfunkel's  simplistic complexity — all pinned against fresh-sounding Fountains of Wayne arrangements and soft-pop production."

So mused one reviewer about his first record, Turn Out the Light, Turn on the Stereo... and he was right.  DiFebbo draws heavily from the styles and feel of songs from previous eras.  Another critic writes "...in some cases, these styles have been left behind because they were so perfectly executed; in others, because they feel shrink-wrapped in another era – but DiFebbo sidesteps those pitfalls by continually incorporating his own unique post-modern quirkiness."

And now DiFebbo is back with his unique blend of lush vintage keyboard driven songs with his upcoming release, Skin and Bones.  The singles ‘Blue Melody’ and ‘Adrift’ combine Good Vibrations organ, Riders on the Storm electric piano, Crimson and Clover tremolo guitars with Floydian atmosphere and textures.  Music lovers of a bygone era are sure to enjoy what Skin and Bones has to offer.
DiFebbo makes his home in the Philadelphia area... a scene that has influenced countless past masters.  Perhaps he came up in the wrong era.  Whether he's writing and recording his own songs, gigging out with the brilliant 60′s-esque AM pop group Summer Fiction, or playing Hammond Organ with his old blues rocking band K-Floor, DiFebbo always seems rooted in some sort of throwback reverie.  
 

Quotes about Justin DiFebbo:

"Despite my appreciation and personal affection for the record, I realize that it may come across a bit sleepy at times to today's sophisticated Nickelback-charged iGeneration. However, anyone with "Harvest ears" certainly will recognize that this seven-song collection is a miniature-size modern masterpiece." - Christopher Long

"...a refreshing collection of Beach Boys/Simon and Garfunkel/Pink Floyd/Beatles-influenced material all woven into a magically unique tapestry that is clearly DiFebbo's." - Ink 19

"Justin DiFebbo steps out to the front of the stage and makes a strong case for the spotlight with the soulful and psychedelic blues-drenched folk-rock, memorable melodies and creative arrangements of his very promising debut solo effort, Turn Out The Light, Turn On The Stereo." - Justin Kreitzer

"This seven-song journey accomplishes something bigger than paying tribute to these largely discarded song styles. It makes their absence from the current musicscape feel like a minor tragedy." - Nick DeRiso

Whether insisted upon or lovingly squelched, “candor” marks the pervasive theme on Be Frank, Furness—the swift successor to last year’s acclaimed The Hale & Hearty LP (produced by Chet Delcampo). This go-round Heyward has captured an even more honest and relaxed vibe with the help of co-producer Ben Riesman (Le Fits, Bart Davenport) and mixing engineer Quentin Stoltzfus (Mazarin/Light Heat, The Walkmen, Lilys, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah). Many of the tracks were rendered to tape with a full band in a cavernous trolley repair depot that was being transformed into a recording studio right under Howkins’ feet—imparting palpable warmth, breadth and unpredictability into the sessions that ultimately became Furness.

While most of the central thematic figures on The Hale & Hearty were too far gone—beautiful but broken, these folks still have a chance and in some cases get a free pass—if for one night only—like the couple in “Sweet Tea Oleander.” It’s a slippery ballad where the “whole night’s a pardon from guilt now departed” and a newly sprung couple sip from a questionable brew just to have “anything to break up this candor.” It's a sweet but toxic mixture of Nathaniel Hawthorne meets Cool Hand Luke.

In the title track, Heyward cleverly casts the famed Philadelphia architect Frank Furness into the role of his butler and demands verity (and clarity) when he poses the question—“how could I get so mashed by a neutral spirit’s glass and not come out straight bitters?” The song portrays a familiar tension between the inner-city and the privileged outskirts where Furness may hold both the keys to reconciliation and your parent’s liquor cabinet—“I should have quit this Main Line mess. They were first world problems, yes. Turned into first world debt.”

Speaking of family, Heyward takes his name from his five-times grandfather Thomas Heyward (dubbed “The Singing Signer”), founding father and signer of the Declaration of Independence. On “Brite Kites,” Howkins takes his fascination with family history and familial connections in a new direction, setting to music a poem written by his mother. Layers of history combine to speak through one voice as perspectives collide and push thoughts from long ago into the present.

Heyward first garnered attention in the early 2000s as the lead guitarist for The Trouble With Sweeney, with releases that included the widely praised I Know You Destroy and Fishtown Briefcase—both records landed on Rollingstone.com's Editor's Top Picks of the Year.

Howkins is also a founding member of The Silver Ages, the critically acclaimed choral group featuring singers from a wide array of Philadelphia-based bands, including David Hartley (Nightlands, The War on Drugs, BC Camplight), Charlie Hall (Jens Lekman, The War on Drugs, The Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society), Brandon Beaver (Buried Beds, Nightlands), Zach Miller (Dr. Dog) and Dan Matz (Windsor for the Derby, Birdwatcher). 

Though dark themes creep in as many of the songs' characters struggle and face the hardships of life, ultimately the album is defined by Heyward's embrace of the playful and celebratory. With melodies that pull you in (such as the buoyant album opener, “Nogales”) and lyrics that evoke feelings and situations both specific and universal ("Then ran your first love Billy / All of ours really," Heyward sings in the Stacker Lee-infused “Praline Country”).

Followers of Robbie Bennett