RhVibe

Chris Downing is RhVibe - and his 8 tune collection of original pop/rock tunes is a sweet and fresh expression that fills the role as a life's time capsule. The opening track, "Lying with You", is Chris' goodbye song - interesting how he uses the word 'lying' in the title. .maybe it's just us, but the double meaning that may apply to goodbyes and promises could be Chris' subtle poetic revelation. The song smoothly moves with acoustic guitar and accessible vocal and electric guitar parts. Track 2, "Left or Right", has Chris looking for a guide to life - as he feels a need to choose direction. The song is melodic with a pleasing chorus. "Life's Story", the long mp3 here, begins with a grooving acoustic guitar and rim shot. The chorus expresses sadness and loss, 'i don't want to be behind the wheel that puts you in the wall,. .take a step and watch your back, cause now you're on your own, i tried be the best i could, you never told me what went wrong'. The title track, 'Waiting Around', resolves life as Chris leaves, 'i know that you're right, and so i say good night'. And with that, among some instrumental string work, the CD ends. Chris' voice is ultra-pleasing. What might not be there in technical acrobatic ability, is certainly there in appeal and access. He sings like a friend, a brother, a person who means well despite failure and pain. Despite the darker topics, the record never loses its feeling of optimism. Well done. - earBuzz.com

RhVibe: solo act straight from Plymouth

By Kayla Smith

RhVibe,23,(otherwise known as Chris Downing), born and raised in Plymouth, has recently caught the attention of PSU with his melodic performances at the Lucky Dog Tavern and Grill and at Open Mic Nights in the HUB.
Downing has been an aspiring musician for nine years and released his debut EP entitled “Waiting Around” on October 4th of this year. The album was recorded at Mojo Music Studio of Franconia NH.
His debut album is a personal story about the end of his first long-term relationship, and the realization that he had gotten it all wrong. The songs on the album also break some rules as they aren’t arranged or spread out according to sound and key, but how they occur on the CD is the order that they happened within Downing’s “story”.
“ I started playing music for a lack of better things to do and it turned out to be an alternative means for keeping myself out of trouble. It is also an outlet for expression…especially for what I had been dealing with at the time” says Downing.
According to Downing, this first album shows his darker side. “Thank You” is the most angry song on the CD, but at the same time it’s saying “Thank you for doing this to me. It opened my eyes to a bunch of things that I wasn’t I wasn’t aware of at the time.
Once he had enough songs that he felt comfortable recording, releasing the CD ended up being close to a three year process that required careful planning, negotiation, and a disposable income.
He also wanted a full band recorded on the EP, but lacked the band members to do it. Luckily, he had been working with Tony Cimino, the music engineer at Mojo Music Studio and accomplished session drummer who agreed to lend a hand with the eight tracks of “Waiting Around”. Downing went back later to overlay bass and extra guitar tracks to his songs.
“He [Cimino] learned the songs as best he could, we ran through then songs a couple of times, and it was instant how quickly we started to play together. We did three ten hour days of recording….it was pretty intense,” adds Downing.
Producing “Waiting Around” was fairly cost effective. The studio time was affordable as the studio felt it was a part of this project. His friend Scott Jehl did the photography and Downing edited the photos himself. So far, the CD has been well received locally.
However, “Waiting Around” isn’t selling as quickly nationally as Downing would like. He admits that being a musician and a full time student at PSU is difficult. He doesn’t have much time to promote himself and also feels that:” It’s hard in this digital age to get anyone to pay for music…a lot of people don’t understand the need until they meet and know an artist that is trying to make a little money, or just make his money back”.
“Waiting Around” has recently been accepted into iTunes and may be purchased for $0.99 cents per track. The CD is also available on www.earbuzz.com, www.cdbaby.com, and www.awarestore.com . RhVibe is also on My Space, Check Downing out here at www.myspace.com/rhvibe or his website www.rhvibemusic.com
- The Clock: Plymouth State University Student Paper