BIOGRAPHY

                                                    MUSICBYPROBLEM INTRODUCTION/BIO

musicbyproblem presents a musical portrait of the collaboration between Len and Caroline Lauro from 1990 to present, beginning with the band Problem. Started in ’91 in New York as a raw punk band, Problem performed most of the underground clubs on the east coast including ABC NO RIO and made appearances at mainstream venues like CBGB’s in NYC and Bedrock on Long Island.

“When frustrations with band members caused us to fire the band right before a show at Nobody’s in Queens we had no choice but to perform the gig as a duo – electric bass and vocals. A surprising encore ensued and during the second set an idea came to us. We would just add a drummer and gig as drums, bass and vocals which we did for some years.”

                                                                              California:

The NY scene was wearing thin by ’94 with long hair cover bands dominating NYC so we packed up and moved to California. By 1997 we had a good working relationship with a drummer named Widget and having done months of gigs together we decided to produce our first CD entitled Children of the Next Century, a collection of songs by Problem at it’s meanest, recorded by Juan Urtega of Trident Studios in Pachenco.

                                                                                 TONITE:

Our musical preferences and writing style were changing. The songs were becoming more melodic and the arrangements more sophisticated, requiring intricate vocal harmonies and a wider array of instruments. Knowing that we needed to perform at a higher level of quality for our next album we sought vocal lessons from an operatically trained teacher, Meghan Welshe. She was reluctant to take us on at first, knowing us as a punk band, but we assured her that we definitely wanted to learn from someone of her caliber. After a year of training we recorded TONITE at Soundport Studios in Berkeley in 2011 under the master guidance of owner Michael Padilla. A collection of 10 songs, melodic, highly harmonized and introducing cellos, organs, synths and grand piano, the production on the TONITE CD was such that we could only mimic it live, good players were becoming out of reach and COVID put a stop to many of our gigs. By 2022 we were happy not to be involved in live performance, bidding farewell to the travel, headaches and late hours. Musical production became centered around the home and a formidable home studio setup. It is under this backdrop that Gods and Goddesses and TINY BUT MIGHTY were conceived.

                                                                  Gods and Goddesses:

is a collection of 10 original songs, some heavily orchestrated, that represent our most refined effort yet. Generally a large hall feel, orchestration includes violins, cellos, trumpet sections, sax ensembles and layered vocals. Sometimes dramatic, sometimes subtle, Gods and Goddesses is part of our musical journey as well as a journey itself.

                                                                  TINY BUT MIGHTY:

Lively, invigorating orchestrated instrumentals with explosive drums, overlaying melodies and large orchestra accompaniment. TINY BUT MIGHTY is a soundscape that thinks it’s a landscape, provoking mental scenes and associated emotions. A lifetime of influences and experiences are wrapped up in this musical package.

                            The future is always unknown, yet we look forward to it anyway.