Green Mountain Rebels
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Green Mountain Rebels

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"Band of the week: Green Mountain Rebels"

The Green Mountain Rebels are not a bluegrass band, despite their Americana-like name. They play classic rock, with a preference for Bruce Springsteen and music from the Jersey Shore, even though the band members are in their 20s.

Their parents introduced it to them. ''We grew up listening to it,'' says lead guitarist Ray Stopa. The band also does current material by groups such as the Killers and the Goo Goo Dolls, generally sung by rhythm guitarist Andrew Sellitti. There is some R&B in their sets as well, by artists including Wilson Pickett and the Isley Brothers. They also do a few originals and song parodies.

Lead singer Kris Fried interned for ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien,'' giving him a sense of showmanship and presumably inspiring his songwriting humor. Fried sometimes takes his wireless mike, walks into the audience and encourages sing-alongs of familiar material.

Stopa gives another reason they like older songs. ''We are pretty happy, and we don't like depressing music. So many bands today write about depressing things,'' he says.



The group, made up of friends from Salisbury High School, has been together about 10 years. Way back then they called themselves Cutting Edge and did not play much in public. Now, they're all college graduates and have been gigging about once a month, calling themselves GMR. The membership is the same except for a change in bassists some years ago.

''We're good friends,'' says Stopa. ''We fight a lot, but later on we'll be drinking at the bar together.''

Dave Howell

- The Morning Call (12/20/08)


Discography

Still working on that hot first release.

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Bio

The Green Mountain Rebels, GMR for short, are an old fashion rock n’ roll band hailing from Allentown, Pennsylvania. All members now in their mid-twenties, came together while attending high school and have never looked back. From the beginning, GMR's mission was to bring true rock n' roll music back to youth today. For inspiration the Rebel's turned to one of the greatest live acts in rock n' roll history, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. GMR wants to give its audience what Bruce gives to his fans, basically a feeling of belonging and friendship. The audience is usually just as involved in the show as the band, GMR is undoubtedly a must see live act. At any GMR show you are guaranteed to see hand clapping, sing-a-longs, and the band's lead singer coming down in to the audience to get them involved. GMR writes and records their own music, typically performing 4-5 of these original songs at each show. However, the bulk of the songs are popular rock covers from the 60’s through today, appealing to all age groups.
Spending time down the Jersey Shore has influenced the band greatly, bringing to their music little pieces of popular shore bands like Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and Gary "US" Bonds. Lead singer, Kris Fried has even performed with some of these Jersey Shore legends such as Mark Pender and Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg from Late Night with Conan O'Brian and Southside Johnny.
Over the past few years GMR has played at local establishments such as Bennigans , Crocodile Rock, Club Mixx, Rascal’s Food and Fun, The Sterling Hotel, and the brand new Pig Pen Sports Bar in Allentown. GMR is slowly but surely building a following in the Lehigh Valley thanks to their efficient use of the internet and local connections to get the word out about their performances.
The Green Mountain Rebels have an understanding of their audience and with live shows including electrifying guitar solos, crowd involvement, stage antics, and charisma, what more could you ask for?