Music
Press
August 2008
David Pennington
“We had to clean up in order to play rock and roll,” vocalist Vince Patterman tells me about his Wisconsin-grown band, Gription. “I had to end the booze and speed in order to be a rock star.” The irony isn’t lost on me either.
After being completely blown away by their performance at the Colorado People’s Fair, I had to know exactly why I didn’t know anything about Gription. But when I met up with this rock quartet I knew that this was the band the Colorado music scene needed in order to be complete.
Gription recently moved to Colorado from their home state of Wisconsin, leaving behind a Gription-ite army of hundreds, while looking for their next opportunity to expand their musical reach. In their five-year history the band has experienced a spectrum of fortunes and failures, including debilitating drug habits, and a house fire that destroyed everything the quartet owned. Their Behind the Music type story seems too fantastic to believe, until you listen to their music and can’t help but relate.
When I meet the band, we end up hanging out in their van to listen to the raw cut of their new full-length album they recently recorded at Blasting Room. They wont let me have a copy, with good reason (and I would rather not have my computer hacked) so I soak up every vibration through their ghetto rigged speaker system. They tell me that what I’m hearing is the freshest recording of the songs their fans have been listening to for years. Still, as dated as they claim these songs are, they are the breath of fresh air modern rock desperately needs.
The band doesn’t have an image they adhere to. They don’t bother with stage costuming or quirky themes but they seem to travel everywhere in a uniform of Converse All Stars and torn denim. But when your band produces bass-lines that rattle your fillings and the guitarist is able to develop guitar solos that absolutely smoke, it doesn’t much matter what is on your back. Rightfully so, materialism is lost on this band.
“Don’t ask for a bigger Big Mac, ask for a better Big Mac,” Vince tells me as he finishes his fourth Sam Adams (a macrobrew by technicality) of the evening. The band’s philosophy is simple: What you are given isn’t always what you want - “Demand something better.”
Vince and his guitarist brother Tommy go on to explain their frustration with the emptiness that most modern rock has. “You’re supposed to be singing lyrics, not words,” Tommy explains, and it’s true: Bands either have image and style or no depth, or they rely on lyrics so deep that they are worthless to an audience with anything less than an MFA. Gription knew this frustration was shared after their Wisconsin following multiplied. Their message is one that they were compelled to share with as many as possible.
Now, with a new record in hand, Gription is out to show Colorado what they are made of. Take a listen at MySpace and hear what I mean.
- Colorado Music Buzz
Discography
Old Habits Die Hard - 2007
Last in Line - 2008
Photos
Bio
Originating from Wisconsin, now in Colorado, Gription offers up their latest CD. Last in Line is proudly produced and mastered by Blasting Room Studios. Headed by Bill Stevenson - the same musical master who’s enticing, rhythmic beats are the backbone of big bands such as Black Flag, Descendents, Lemonheads, and Only Crime, and Jason Livermore – ‘the man’ credited for his recent work with NOFX and Rise Against. It’s a unique house-blend of artist and production that’s spiced with new rock elements, notes of free thought and mind, featuring a twist of fist-raising tunes. Enjoyed by many and pairs well with several types of food.
Gription’s mission is to ignite a new music nation. To introduce new rock sounds - stemmed from legendary roots. Music that’s been professionally tailored for the currently anticipating and awaiting public ear; because, today’s pop music scene has become mediocre, boring – and dangerously all-encompassing. No more should music fans be coerced into one direction, one wave of thought. Gription proposes: Think outside of the box, search around the box… take the box home with you – fill it with questions and feed it the truth. America’s generalized press, policy, and plastic pop media attempts to label, restrain, and assimilate you. They answer back: with requests for open-thought formation and auditory stimulation.
Since their inception, Gription has performed at many established venues, played for national music acts, and earned local support and recognition. As a band they are reliably consistent, genuinely passionate, comically energetic, and wildly imaginative. They have gained the skill, and confidence, to rock any, and all, audiences. Gription gives every show nothing less than their all, bringing rock excitement wherever they go.
The musical movement began in June 2003. Gription kicked-off in a Wisconsin riverfront community bursting with local attraction. Their music instantly captured the spirits of many die-hard rock music fans. The lyrics are thought-provoking, invigorating, and fun. The harmonies and beats are stimulating, resonating, and toe-tapping. The performances? Captivating. Gription’s fan base developed naturally and swiftly, and is now commonly referred to as the “Gription Army”. They were highlighted on 93X (93.7 FM) in Minnesota and recently on 95 GMO (95.9 FM) in Wisconsin. Gription was also publicized by local press in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008.
Gription arrived in Colorado in 2006 to bring you original music with a welcoming intensity. They have rocked at many established venues along the Front Range including, but not limited to, The Fox Theater in Boulder and the Soiled Dove in Denver. “Music is more than just a part of our lives. It has become engrained into our soul as the only true form of expression we can find.” (Vince)
Driven by their vision, Old Habits Die Hard was shortly released in 2007 – a record production created entirely by Gription. It caught the local ear and their original tune “Draft Dodger” was featured on Colorado’s 99.9 The Point FM during the “Locals Only” show. 94X (104.3 FM) named them Artist of the Week. Gription’s songs have also been played on 93.3 KTCL Modern Rock in Denver and 99.5 The Mountain FM.
2007 also marked the partnership of Gription and Syntropic Music, LLC. – an indie record label based in Boulder, Colorado. Thanks to the dedicated work from Blasting Room Studios and Gription, in conjunction with Syntropic Music, LLC., we are proudly releasing this year’s musical sensation for the listening nation – Six Cylinder Crush. Six Cylinder Crush is Gription’s hottest single off their newest cd Last in Line.
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