About this user
Desperate Measures is the songwriting, recording and performing partnership formed by brothers Bill Sunkel and Rob Sunkel. Bill and Rob are veteran members of the New York rock, jazz and blues community, having cut their teeth with groups like Pariah, The Eyes, The Kingsbridge Armoury, Rich Mars and The Martians, and Plan B. Over the years, they've opened for artists as varied as Michael Bolton and Lou Christie, in legendary New York City venues like The Ritz, The Bitter End, Privates and Traxx. They've written and worked with legendary musicians and producers like Felix Cavaliere (The Rascals), Carter Cathcart (New Heavenly Blue, Two Generations of Brubeck, Rupert Holmes and The Laughing Dogs), Drew Zingg (Steely Dan, Smokey Joe's Café), the late Joel "Bishop" O'Brien (Carole King, James Taylor), Joey Stann (Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes) and Huey McDonald (Bon Jovi).
The DM sound melds a variety of eclectic influences from Steely Dan to The Beatles to The Beach Boys to Elvis Costello to Burt Bacharach. Memorable melodies, inventive instrumental arrangements and killer harmony vocals provide the foundation for the brothers' powerful and soulful lead voices. Long-time friend and collaborator Tony Spatarella is responsible for the lion's share of DM's signature guitar solos. Lyrics are uncommonly thought provoking and intelligent, leading some critics to wonder whether DM may simply be too smart for today's mainstream music business.
In August 2003, the brothers released their first CD available to the public on CD Baby, Two Can Play (www.cdbaby.com/desperatem). In its first month of release, Two Can Play reached Number 18 in sales on CD Baby, and garnered great listener reviews. It was back to the future for DM with the darker and more personal songs that comprised their True Confessions CD (www.cdbaby.com/desperatem2), recorded in 2001 but not released until April 2006. DM's third effort, Speaking in Tongues (www.cdbaby.com/desperatem3), which climbed as high as Number 20 in sales on CD Baby, features a collection of twelve new tracks the brothers believe are their finest and most important works to date. Check out the brilliant fatalism of "Everything Breaks" and "Fate Gets Her Way," the sharp-clawed irony of "Glossolalia," the Carl Sagan-inspired "Demon-Haunted World," and the quirky humor of "Desiree" and "Big Bad Brother," to name just a few.
