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.
Wooster – All right, all right. This five piece band from Santa Cruz, CA caught my ear thanks to their slow simmering song submission. The vocals are heavily influenced by reggae, and they sound perfect against this musical backdrop. Another song I listened to is quite a bit faster and reminds me of a track by Maroon 5. Similar artists include The Black Keys, Foster The People, and Mason Jennings. If you’re looking for something mixing rock, reggae, funk, and blues this is your band.
ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/wooster
Song Sample – Live In Sebastopol
Pete Special – Okay waveriders. When I read that someone played with Levon Helm and “The Band” you have my attention. This gentleman and his two musical cohorts out of Chicago, IL play some mean blues with prominent strains of classic R&B and Southern soul. The first comparisons that jumped to mind vocally were Dr. John and Michael McDonald. Very impressive!
ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/petespecial
Song Sample – “Mississippi”
Maquina Mono (The Monkey Machine) – Blasting out of New York, NY comes this seven member Latin rock group. Their song submission is bursting with signature Latin rhythms, an active horn section, and exceedingly catchy vocals sung in Spanish. “Music to listen to & dance all night” they say in their bio. I couldn’t agree more. Similar artists include Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and Mana.
ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/maquinamono
Song Sample – “Dejame”
Red Emery – Question. Who’s in the mood for a dirty, sleazy, down-tempo Portishead/Garbage sounding song? Me too! I listened to the incredibly refreshing submission sent in by this five member band out of Montreal, Canada multiple times. Ultra groovy music, and the female vocals are downright sinful. If you have any liking for trip hop and groups like Massive Attack this band is for you.
ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/redemery
Song Sample – “Kept In A Cage (Sample)”
Junior Toots – I’ve said it before waveriders. Reggae is not a genre of music I can be considered knowledgeable about. I do know what I like however. Junior Toots, the son of Toots Hibbert of Toots & The Maytals, fronts this five piece band out of Berkeley, CA that takes the sonic blueprint of reggae and adds some ska, roots rock, and dancehall elements to the mix. It sounds fantastic! Hear for yourselves!
ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/juniortoots
Song Sample – “Puss & Dog”
Squeaker – Man, if this is what all pop rock sounds like in Adelaide, Australia then I need to hear more! Considering what I’m used to this song submission would fall squarely into the heavy alternative rock category. This female vocalist sounds superb, and I really like the electronic/industrial elements throughout the song. Reminds me of Nine Inch Nails. Along with NIN other similar artists listed on their bio page are Garbage, Pat Benetar, and Evanescence. Click on the link waveriders.
ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/squeaker
Song Sample – “You’re A Star”
--Penfold
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