Deltone alumnus releases first EP

After having gone through Deltones training and a reality TV show competition, university alumnus Jared Weintraub will release his first EP album on Saturday.

Weintraub, who graduated in 2011 and lives in Westchester County, NY, said his music is similar to artists like Bob Dylan and John Lennon. He said the genre is a cross between indie, pop and folk. 

The album, “Full Band EP,” will be available to download through online music providers and the physical CD will be sold in stores. He said the five tracks on the CD are his original lyrics and have a laidback sound. 

“I write anything from typical love songs to basic commentary on how we have been brought up and how our generation has been raised and how we act,” Weintraub said. “There are songs about life in general and all the things we take for granted.” 

He said he has been singing since childhood. When he was 12, the singer-songwriter realized he could sing without any instruments in the background. Then, he started to teach himself how to play guitar.  

“I used to sing in my living room whenever my parents had friends over and put on little shows for them with my sister,” he said.

Some of his musical inspirations include Adele, Ray LaMontagne, the Beatles and his uncle, Art “Ski” Halperin, who is producing the album. 

Halperin, who owns a recording studio in upstate New York, said he worked on the album with Weintraub for two months this summer. 

“We would play live with the band and record the basic tracks,” he said “Then he [Weintraub] would come in and sing all his parts and we would sing in harmony.” 

Weintraub is used to working with other singers because he was in the Deltones, a university a cappella group, for three years.

“I got to be with other amazing singers and learn from them,” he said. “I worked on becoming a better signer and singing with other people that I thought were just incredible.”

Weintraub said when he is not singing, he works for his family’s company that specializes in promotional products like T-shirts, hats and key chains. 

He said as a Deltone he adopted a strict work ethic. He learned from other members of the group and gained experience singing in front of an audience. The Deltones were like Weintraub’s family, he said, and gave him honest feedback about his singing.

Junior and current Deltone Walter Pendleton said he is proud of Weintraub and thinks he deserves success from his album.

“Jared was definitely one of the leaders in the group,” Pendleton said. “He would always be really focused and he was a great person to have with us.”

Senior Deltone Alex Bliziotis went to Los Angeles with Weintraub to compete in the NBC reality television show “The Sing-Off.” He said Weintraub helped the group make it to TV. After producers saw the Deltones’ audition tape, they researched the singer and wanted him on the show.

“We sent an audition tape to NBC’s producers,” Bliziotis said. “They saw one of his videos on YouTube and the producer really, really liked it, and so he contacted Jared and it went from there.”