Tag: The Grip Weeds

The Grip Weeds and The Cherry Drops

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The Grip Weeds

The Grip Weeds “Trip Around the Sun”

The Grip Weeds are easily one of the most successful power pop bands from New Jersey, featuring Rick Reil ( rhythm guitar), Kurt Reil (drummer, vocals) and his wife, Kristin Pinell Reil (lead guitar). Add to the mix, Dave DeSantis (bass) and you’ve got the complete package. The band doubles down on its musical influences from ’60s psyche-pop, hard rock,  jangle and folk on this “Trip Around The Sun.”

Starting with the shimmering melody on “Vibrations” recalls 2013’s positive vibes from “Speed of Life.” It then goes to the slow-building gem “I Like Her,” and the folk-rock strums of “After Sunrise” with steel pedal accents. Psyche-pop has always been a specialty of The Grip Weeds repertoire and the groovy “Mr. Nervous” and Byrdsian “Truth Behind The Lie” stands with the band’s best work. Reil’s anthemic skills continue on the gems “Times I Wasted” and “She Tries” with its sweet harmonies and angular riffs. Overall no duds and nothing feels forced either. This is a band cruising along on a magic ride and it earns a top ten nomination for best of 2018. Highly Recommended.

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The Cherry Drops

The Cherry Drops “Good to the Last Drop”

On the third album from the retro-loving The Cherry Drops (Vern Shank, Josh Cobb, Jamie Markowski, and Jimmy Mason) they are joined by an array of guest stars. Ron Dante of The Archies, Dennis Tufano of The Buckinghams, Mark Dawson of The Grass Roots, Steve Boone of The Lovin’ Spoonful and the late Gary DeCarlo of Steam.

The opening “Cherry Drops Theme” features pitch-perfect Beach Boys-styled harmonies. “One More Try” is a bouncy theme that hits all the right optimistic buttons, with layered harmonies, guitars and booming percussion. “Tiger Feet” is another toe-tapper, similar to The Bay City Rollers that deserves its own custom dance moves. The band’s harmonies peak on “Feels Like Summer Love,” and “Rockin’ At The Hard Rock” with a genuine nostalgic glow and superior musicianship that really impressed me.

It’s fine that the guest stars play their respective “hits,” but a few songs do suffer from a little too much saccharine, like the Ron Dante (The Archies) led “Happynessville.” Thankfully the superior production lifts the cover material and helps make the music sound timeless. Highly Recommended.

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The Grip Weeds “How I Won The War”

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The Grip Weeds

The Grip Weeds “How I Won The War”

Going way back to the roots, the Grip Weeds were named after John Lennon’s character Private Gripweed from the 1967 film How I Won The War. Using the movie’s anti-war theme as a starting point, they signed with Jem Recordings and put out a masterful concept album, thanks in large part to lead singer/drummer Kurt Reil , his wife guitarist Kristen Pinell, his brother Rick Reil and bassist Dave DeSantis. The band doubles down on the rich psychedelic prog sound that started with Strange Change Machine.

The prog-pysche rock starts with the colorful title track, a combination of explosive melody lines with a drum-reverb drenched guitar chorus. A mix of The Byrds, Yes and Cream all wrapped up in one. “Rise Up” is a rougher garage approach, Kurt’s aggressive lead vocal is contrasted by the bands smooth harmonies.

Although there is a lot to go through (17 monster tracks) the jangling hooks are all over “Life Saver” and the dream-like “Other Side Of Your Heart.” You’ll get more familiar Grip Weeds buzzing guitar sound with “Force of Nature,” and Kristin get to sing lead on the mid-tempo “Over and Over.” We also have a nice tribute to the band’s first signed label “Rainbow Quartz.” The band also throws in a few instrumentals to pad things out, but we do close with a great cover of The Beatles’ “The Inner Light.” I always look forward to the Grip Weeds music and this album is pure shock and awe. Highly Recommended.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhyaFZez1Us

The Grip Weeds and Andy Reed + Brandon Schott

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The Grip Weeds “Inner Grooves”
So you already know and love The Grip Weeds, and they are working on a new album as you read this. But Kurt Reil isn’t about to let your stockings empty this season, so he’s compiled a group of “Rare and Under-released Tracks” for you in Inner Grooves. As one of the best classic Byrdsian rock bands ever, its impossible to find even “throw-away” tracks, so that makes this an essential listen. Starting with the power pop perfection of “Rainy Day #1&2” it moves to the Merseyside flavored “Nothing Lasts,” an outtake from Strange Change Machine.

“She Don’t Care About Time” is a faithful Gene Clark cover (frankly, they could cover his entire discography perfectly.) “Sight Unseen” boasts some nice clean harmonies and fuzzy guitar solos. And if you wanted the long version of “Sun Ra Ga,” here is all 11+ minutes of that sprawling psychedelic jam. Thoughtfully mastered, it doesn’t feel like a collection of odd singles, but a cohesive album that was rescued from the cutting room floor.


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American Underdog & Brandon Schott “The AB EP”
Brandon Schott and Andy Reed (An American Underdog) team up to release 2 songs each off of their respective forthcoming records. This tandem throws us 4 excellent singles and it’s a brilliant idea.

As competitive musicians they bring their “A” game starting with Schott’s “Henry” its a similar style to his last album 13 Satellites. Then Reed’s American Underdog “The Show Goes On” has a yearning romantic quality. This also helps both musicians promote themselves and helps build anticipation for those new albums. Yes, this is a big tease… but a good one that fans will appreciate.

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