It Came From ReverbNation #1

From April 4th to June 4th The Ripple Effect ran a campaign on the excellent online music website ReverbNation (www.reverbnation.com).  This campaign allowed any artist or band registered with ReverbNation to submit their music to The Ripple Effect for possible review on the site and airplay on The Ripple Effect radio shows.  When all was said and done we had received 4,799 submissions!  Incredible!  The purpose of this column is to highlight those artists and bands whose musical submissions I accepted as being worthy of consideration.  While these are not reviews per se, I’m going to provide a brief rundown of what to expect from each artist/band, a sample when available, and a link to check out more on their corresponding ReverbNation page.

Evans Blue – This is an alternative rock band from Saint Louis, Missouri.  The song they submitted caught my ear based on the strong production.  Also the vocals were often sung in a manner that mimicked reggae artists in regards to how the words flowed into each other.  If you like listening to ‘cutting edge’ rock music radio stations I suggest checking these guys out.

ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/evansblue
Song Sample – “ThisTime It’s Different”






Aboi Doyle – This gentleman is from London.  His music is a combination of pop and R&B that relies on synthetic beats to propel the music forward.  I found his voice to be very ear pleasing and would recommend anybody into electro pop check him out.

ReverbNation Page - http://www.reverbnation.com/aboi5
Song Sample – “Pls Don’t Go”






SPECYPHI – Coming at you from Cincinnati, Ohio is this four piece hard rock band.  Their sound in my opinion can best be described as post-grunge, modern hard rock with a heaping helping of Pantera thrown in for good measure.  Their music sports a meaty guitar tone, and a suitably in your face bass presence.  Those looking for a pummeling might dig this.

ReverbNation Page - http://www.reverbnation.com/specyphi
Song Sample – “From Your Lipps”




Marina V – A pop singer/songwriter from Los Angeles, California.  I found her voice to be rather striking.  Quite flexible too based on the fact that it jumped from sounding elegant and full to somewhat childlike several times throughout the song.  The song she submitted had an electronic drumbeat, but a couple of others featured all organic instrumentation.  Worth a look I’d say.

ReverbNation Page - http://www.reverbnation.com/marinav
Song Sample - “Run”






The Last Good Year – I love the opening line to their bio.  “Four guys, no gimmicks, just rock.”  Rockin’ is what it’s all about right?  Hailing from Indianapolis, Indiana this band does just that.  They rock!  And they do so in a manner heavily influenced by the classic rock bands of the 1970s.  TLGY currently has a song entitled “Steady Road” featured on ESPN.  It’s being released on Itunes July 31st.  Check it out.

ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/lastgoodyear
Song Sample – “You More Than Me”





--Penfold