Roots of Rebellion

Artist Information

Biography

New Jersey’s heritage as a place for emerging rock bands has been important to the development of Roots of Rebellion, a five member New Jersey-grown band. Formed in 2001, the music of Roots of Rebellion has been characterized as “melodic hard rock”, utilizing a variety of instruments and rhythms to create a distinctively unique sound within the rock genre.

In 2004, the band released their debut CD, "The Looking Glass" which sold more than 1000 copies at live shows and through such outlets as CD Baby, Amazon.com, and Tower Records.com. In addition, the band’s music has been digitally sold through online distributors such as iTunes.com, Magnatune.com, Amazon.com and CDBaby.com. The Looking Glass received radio play on several college, commercial and internet radio stations. Five of the eight songs on the CD were honored by GarageBand.com as “Track of the Day”, based upon popular support from online reviewers.

In September 2004, the band was invited to play Locobazooka, a major outdoor New England rock festival attended by 25,000 fans and which featured such national bands as Shinedown, Nonpoint, Damage Plan, Crossfade, Tesla and Saliva.
In 2005, Roots of Rebellion played such legendary venues as The Stone Pony, CBGB (twice) and Starland Ballroom (twice). In a statewide “Battle of the Bands” featuring 200 of the metro area’s best emerging bands, Roots of Rebellion finished second in the competition. For the second year in a row, the band was nominated for the Asbury Music Awards in the Best Young Band category. In addition to traditional gigs, the band has played and organized several benefit shows for Katrina and Tsunami victims, and a former high school classmate injured in an accident.

In early 2006 the band released its second CD,
"Surfacing", featuring "Declaration" and "So Far Away". The band continues to play various live dates at clubs in the NY/NJ metro area. The band has opened for progressive rock veterans Kings X at Starland Ballroom as well as energetic Powerman 5000. College audiences are important to the band as members are represented at Seton Hall University, Montclair State University, William Paterson University and Lehigh University.

Roots of Rebellion features John Penola on lead vocals, Tyler Bissell on guitars, Rob Struck on bass, Kurt Wubbenhorst on drums and backing vocals, and Matt Cimiluca on keyboards and guitar.

Instrumentation

John Penola, lead vocals
Kurt Wubbenhorst, drums, vocals
Rob Struck, bass
Matt Cimiluca, keyboards, guitar

Discography

The Looking Glass, released February 2004.
Surfacing, released March 2006

Official Website

http://www.rootsofrebellion.com

Audio

• Declaration
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• Just Like Before
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• I Am
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• Messenger
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• Weather
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• So Far Away
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Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Roots of Rebellion Emerges [+ Show ]
  

  If bands like Tool and Nine Inch Nails get your blood pumping, then the melodic hard rock sound of ...If bands like Tool and Nine Inch Nails get your blood pumping, then
  the melodic hard rock sound of Roots of Rebellion is right up your
  alley. Not only is this five member group Jersey-grown, but their
  single, "Declaration", is track 2 on Steppin' Out's More Music Volume
  6 CD coming out in mid-August!
  
  Along with releasing two albums, The Looking Glass and Surfacing,
  Roots of Rebellion have been busy entertaining crowds at such venues
  as The Stone Pony, CBGB, and Starland Ballroom. They have also been
  nominated for the Asbury Music Awards in the Best Young Band category
  two years in a row. Impressive, huh?

• International Review (in French) [+ Show ]
  

  Roots of rebellion est un groupe de hard-rock. Il est composé de quatre personnes, John Penola au...Roots of rebellion est un groupe de hard-rock.
  
  Il est composé de quatre personnes, John Penola aux claviers et au chant, Tyler Bissel à la guitare, Rob Struck à la basse et Kurt Wubbenhorst à la batterie (qui fait aussi office de choriste).
  
  Originaires de Kinnelon, aux Etats-Unis (New Jersey), "Roots of Rebellion" ont acquis une solide réputation sur les scènes rock des USA.
  
  Leur premier album, "Looking Glass", est nourri de l’expérience qu’ils ont acqui au fil de leurs spectacles et concerts. Leur style musical est décrit comme du "hard-rock mélodique", car ils associent des riffs de guitare bien rock aux compositions aux claviers de John Penola. Maîtrisant ses oeuvres, il associe harmonieusement sa voix aux musiques savemment élaborées.
  
  Celà génère un genre à part, en marge des productions actuelles mais pourtant très plaisant (l’association des genres n’est pas toujours négative, certains groupes comme "Linkin Park" l’ont démontrés).
  
  On reste quand même principalement dans un environnement musical bien rock, Tyler Bissel fait preuve d’une grande dextérité dans le maniement de la guitare, ses riffs ne sont pas dénués d’intelligence (même si je préfère ceux d’Hybris, plus percutants), Kurt Wubbenhorst se déchaîne dans chacun des morceaux et Rob Struck suit bien. Les influences sont diverses,pour sûr le groupe est amateur (au sens noble du terme) de grandes références comme "Metallica" ou les "Red Hot".
  
  L’alchimie fonctionne bien, mon seul regret est que leur premier album, "Looking Glass", ne contient que huit chansons, mais je ne boude pas mon plaisir et j’attendrais avec impatience le second album.
  
  Pour cette sélection, j’ai choisi de vous faire écouter "Shift", histoire de vous plonger directement dans l’univers musical de "Roots of Rebellion". Prévenez vos voisins, mettez le son à fond et laisser vous envahir quelques minutes par ce "bon gros son" (et si vous aimez, n’hésitez pas à découvrir les autres morceaux de l’album, je vous le conseille).
  tbernard

• "Amnesia" Track of the Day 7/12/04 [+ Show ]
  

  Congratulations! As a result of some very enthusiastic reviews from GarageBand.com members "Amnesia"...Congratulations! As a result of some very enthusiastic reviews from GarageBand.com members "Amnesia" will be Track of the Day at GarageBand.com. For 24 hours on Monday, the 12th of July 2004 (PST) "Amnesia" will be featured on GarageBand.com's Hard Rock front page.

• "Shift" Track of the Day 7/20/04 [+ Show ]
  

  Congratulations! As a result of some very enthusiastic reviews from GarageBand.com members "Shift" ...Congratulations! As a result of some very enthusiastic reviews from GarageBand.com members "Shift" will be Track of the Day at GarageBand.com. For 24 hours on Tuesday, the 20th of July, 2004 (PST)"Shift" will be featured on GarageBand.com's Hard Rock page.

• "Pure" Track of the Day 7/22/04 [+ Show ]
  

  Congratulations. As a result of some very enthusiastic reviews from GarageBand.com members, "Pure" ...Congratulations. As a result of some very enthusiastic reviews from GarageBand.com members, "Pure" will be Track of the Day at GarageBand.com. For 24 hours on Thursday, the 22nd of July, 2004 (PST)"Pure" will be featured on GarageBand.com's Hard Rock front page.

• "Legend" Track of the Day 7/26/04 [+ Show ]
  

  Congratulations! As a result of some very enthusiastic reviews from GarageBand.com members "Legend"...Congratulations! As a result of some very enthusiastic reviews from GarageBand.com members "Legend" will be Track of the Day at GarageBand.com on 7/26/04 (PST). "Legend" will be featured on GarageBand.com's Hard Rock front page.

• "A Way to Stay Awake" Track of the Day 7/29/04 [+ Show ]
  

  Congratulations! As a result of some very enthusiastic reviews from GarageBand.com members, "A Way ...Congratulations! As a result of some very enthusiastic reviews from GarageBand.com members, "A Way to Stay Awake" will be Track of the Day at GarageBand.com For 24 hours on Thursday, the 29th of July, 2004 (PST) "A Way to Stay Awake" will be featured on GarageBand.com's Hard Rock front page.

• "Surfacing Track of the Day 10/30/06
  

  "Surfacing" Track of the Day 10/30/06

• "Less than Home" Track of the Day 10/13/06
  

  "Less than Home" is GarageBand's Track of the Day for 10/13/06

• "Just Like Before" Track of the Day 9/21/06
  

  "Just Like Before" is GarageBand.com's Track of the Day on 9/21/06

Setlist

Declaration
Just Like Before
I Am
Weather
The Order
So Far Away
Surfacing
Dane Cook's Chin
Crossing Over
Messenger

Basic Requirements

Calendar