3rd Degree
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3rd Degree

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Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"All Music Guide"

With brilliant harmonies, tight musicianship, and heartfelt pop compositions that would put such millennium heartthrobs as 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys to shame, 3rd Degree come bursting out of the gate with a impressive debut that draws from classic and alternative rock without sounding derivative, contrived, or overproduced. The key to the band's appeal on record is firmly rooted in their strong melodic songs and dramatic arrangements. The orchestral coda in "Worlds Collide" is worthy of the Beatles/Badfinger/Brian Wilson badge of honor. Tracks such as "Don't Walk Away," "The Montreal Song," and "Anyway I" employ subtle and not-so-subtle shifts in dynamics and texture that show off the group's instrumental dexterity. Despite their young age, 3rd Degree sound and play as if they are a veteran ensemble with plenty of hits under their belt. "Any Other Way" and "Maid of Honor" are authentic arena rock anthems in waiting. 3rd Degree show tremendous potential on their first official outing. - Tom Semioli


"AMZ"

I didn't know much --- actually, I didn't know anything - -- about 3rd Degree when I cracked the cello on RADIO 7 and slipped the CD in. I had a couple of ill-conceived, preconceived notions about them, true; I thought they might be a soul group, or something like that, because there was a group called the Three Degrees of that style that had a hit record out before you were probably even born (ask your parents; maybe even your grandparents); I also thought they might be one of those club DJs or something, because of the RADIO 7 moniker. So now you see how my mind works. Or not. What issued forth from my CD player, however, was none of the above. For 3rd Degree, you see, is power pop. Really good power pop

RADIO 7 is an amazingly strong, confident, CD. These guys, all from disparate backgrounds and areas, are now based in Denver, better heretofore known for football and a crappy airport than for their music scene. No matter; with 3rd Degree out on tour all over the diddle-damn place laying down their incredible chops, that is going to change in a hurry.

Power pop seems to run in cycles. Lots of it in the '60s. The Shoes in the late '70s-early '80s. Matthew Sweet, late '80s - early '90s and beyond, God bless him. And now, 3rd Degree. Harmonies (they even do rounds, for chrissakes, on "Maid of Honor"), dynamics, chord changes, and actual songs, with beginnings, middles and endings. There's 11 of 'em, and from "Leave Yourself Behind" to "Anyway I" there's not a bad song in the bunch, not a wasted minute, no superfluous padding to fill out the CD, no filler, no wimpy ballads: just great, great songs. When you put this one on in your car, you won't have to worry about wrecking while you're fumbling for the Skip button. You can also have fun playing Spot the Influence ("The Girl that Ran Away" weaves its way through multiple Beatles song, including "For No One," "Strawberry Fields Forever, " and "She Said She Said"). But 3rd Degree isn't a group of guys with some great songs and no talent. This is a BAND; each member has their thing down right, and RADIO 7 doesn't sound like one of those three-chords-and-a-cloud-of-dust affairs, with each instrument being played from a separate soundproof booth, with no one knowing what the others are doing. The recording on this bad boy is first rate, as well, mixed just right so that even when there is a lot going on it doesn't sound like a jumble.

RADIO 7 sounds great, and it sounds great in the way that makes you just know that you're going to be playing it 20 years from now and it'll sound just as good. 3rd Degree may not break any new musical ground on RADIO 7, but they'll sure make you appreciate, over and over, that well- traveled stretch of musical road they're taking you on. Very highly recommended.





© 2001 AMZ/music-reviewer.com
Robert R. Lewis
- Joe Hartlaub


"Denver Post"

...3rd Degree plays with winning tunefulness and classic rock guitar punch, both of which should carry them far. The bands fire and finnese on stage translate well to the stereo. - Mark Harden


"In Music We Trust"

From glorious harmonies to crunchy modern rock, 3rd Degree transforms themselves instantaneously from a melodic indie-pop band to a force to reckon with on commercial radio, a band that wouldn't be out of place on MTV. They've got the hooks, the aggression, and the production to make it happy. Now all they need is their big break, and they're the next modern rock band to have 14-year-old girls and boys alike screaming their names. - Alex Steininger


"Music Dish"

What began as a brother duo in Brooklyn has now progressed into a full-rocked, 4 man band: J P Johnson, Adam Blake, Jeff Hieatt and Aaron Johnson. They've been making the summer even hotter with a tour reaching from NYC to Indiana, ending in a cd release party on Aug. 18.

JP is the core of the Pop-sicle, wielding a guitar mean and gritty enough to be pitched into the best of current rock clubs. Take 'The Montreal Song,' that keeps its power coming with a hard rock backdrop while still keeping a tune to be whistled across the teeth. Think of Spacehog and then consider an entire cd's worth of 'Birthday' from the Beatles, had they been daring enough. That's what this 11 track disc be.

3rd Degree never gets mushy. Perhaps a little alternative at times, as in the Elvis Costello expounding talk-sing theory of 'Never Ending Head Trip,' with drums and guitar recorded as loud as possible (as is the normal hi-sound for this entire release). The singer (and I assume it's JP, though I have no written proof in front of me - damn all no-booklet promos!) has a very adult, passionate voice for the self-made material that makes them pumped. Catch an embittered cry in the voice that tints the entire track (at Least) like a shade of blue in a loud restaurant.

Already, 3rd Degree has played with Dick Dale, George Thorogood, They Might Be Giants, The Bodeans, The Violent Femmes and more. Only in their teens, these guys are attempting to knock over the music biz while no one's looking, steal the best contracts while the men in Suits are distracted by the loud music. And you know, they just might do it.

The first thing that will grip you is the Sound: the raw energy channeled through expensive production. It is a contradiction in a debut cd from the Young that works! Catch it now, and be blown.

- Ben Ohmart


Discography

Radio 7 (2002)
Very Short Album EP (2003)
New Album Coming June, 2004

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

3rd Degree are a rock band "straight outa" Brooklyn, NY. They are preparing to tour in support of their 3rd not yet titled release.
By melting classic influences like Queen, AC/DC, and Cheap Trick together with the modern sounds of bands like Foo Fighters and STP,
3rd Degree has created its own blend of high energy melodic rock.