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.
Dieselkopf – Alright let’s get this column started the right way, with some metal! This distortion drenched group out of Gavle, Sweden aims to pull the heartstrings of anyone into the industrial metal sound. Their submission reeked of White Zombie, and it sounded fantastic! The lyrical content about the corruptive force that is money didn’t hurt either. Similar artists besides the aforementioned White Zombie include Pitchshifter, Rammstein, and Ministry. Rock out people!
ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/dieselkopf
Song Sample – Filthy Man http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=v3MiqhSAXwE#!
Elephant Listening Project – This San Francisco, CA quartet played a dirty trick on me. Their submission, along with the two other songs you can listen to on their ReverbNation page, were labled demos. With that label attached I expected to hear something rough around the edges. When each of these songs sounded just as good as anything I’ve bought recently I was rather shocked! Speaking of those three songs, they each offer up some serious melodic rock with nice hooks that will get stuck in your mind whether you like it or not. Oh, did I mention that the band is made up of former members of Montrose, The Coup, The Mo’fessionals, and Chrome Johnson? Well it is.
ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/elephantlisteningproject
Song Sample – Recording Shennanigans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqPTTr86Nig
Chris Aguayo – This gentleman from Coplay, PA plays rock music with progressive flourishes. He plays everything you hear on his recordings, and impressively the songs do not sound disjointed at all. In fact, until I read that he played everything himself I would have sworn it was a full band. Everything flows well and sounds great. Similar artists include Muse, The Beatles, and U2.
ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/chrisaguayo
Song Sample – Lost http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8oY1ZgFcr8
By Far & Beyond – Being a child of the 1980s there are times when I find myself missing the sound of new wave music and synth pop. Lucky for me there are artists like this gentleman from Portsmouth, UK who clearly feel the same way. His submission was piano/synth driven rock at its finest. Other songs I listened to maintained the synth-heavy nature but added other musical influences to the mix such as 90s alt rock. Similar artists include Muse, Depeche Mode, and Anberlin.
ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/byfarbeyond
Song Sample – Cut the Chord http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fLPIRLhSde4#!
The ZARRS – For those of you looking for a current band with that classic rock/pop rock sound this one is for you! This six member band from London, UK sounds great and their music really backs up their claim of being “ultra-accessible”. Similar artists include Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, The Doors, and Kasabian.
ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/thezarrs
Song Sample – Some People http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6aQLIjj5iUo#!
Hartmut Hillman Band – Waveriders, you must check out this guy’s ReverbNation page to see his photo. He looks incredibly intense, as if he wants to dismember the photographer! Once you’ve seen the photo you can understand why I thought I would be listening to some heavy metal. Thus when the music began and I heard this Latin flavored jazz fusion number, my mind took a minute to connect the dots. The bottom line is that this man from Gross-Gerau, DE is one very talented bass player! If you need a fusion infusion in your life, and you know you do, this is where to look! Similar artists include Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, and Marcus Miller.
ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/hartmuthillmannband
Song Sample – Euphomism http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iVd9OFyYN4s
--Penfold
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