Harris Grade

One of the highlights from each and every stop of Warped Tour is seeing the best of local talent on the Ernie Ball stage. One such band playing at a rather early hour was Harris Grade, presenting a lively set of rock and roll for those just arriving to the Fairplex. Performing songs from their recently released CD entitled Lipstick Politics, the band raged through a terrific set of tunes. One of the best songs performed was Dirty – a super catchy tune that should really gain the guys a good deal of attention. Other noteworthy selections included Wildfire, The City By Night, and Hold On To Your Life. Possessing a talent for good tunes and a lively stage show, it will be exciting to see what the future holds in store for this promising new band. The Harris Grade lineup consists of Caleb Healey and Alex Von Hollen on guitars, Robyn August on vocals, Jason Friday on bass, and Greg Fulleman on drums. Be sure to see Harris Grade when they play in the area and always support the local music scene. You can be sure that Warped Tour does! - Highwire Daze Magazine

Date: August 25th, 2010
Artist: Harris Grade
Album: Lipstick Politics
Label: LA local!
Rating upon first listen: 4 of 5 stars
Sounds similar: Taking Back Sunday, The Acadmey Is…, Brand New
Best 3 songs: Wildfire, Sign of the Times, Already Gone

Comments: I know these guys through my friend Caitlyn and had the pleasure of seeing them for the first time at the Key Club recently. While watching them, a guy next to me turned and asked me the name of the band. After I told him, he turned he head and sagely nodded his head, which I took to be a good sign for the band. Energetic, with two guitars utilizing the octave chord layered over a distorted rhythm guitar. They have a few characteristics similar to Brand New, playing with half time break downs, stripping down to guitar and vocals to then bring back up to some screamo. All being well, we’ll probably end up playing with them at some point around the rock circuit of LA. - An Album A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

It’s time for a spotlight article on a local band I’ve seen a few times in the past couple months. It’s always good to see bands do things themselves, without a label, and Los Angeles-based band Harris Grade is one of those bands. They self-released their first full-length album, Lipstick Politics, back in April. I saw them at the Troubadour for the CD release and picked up a copy for myself, as their blistering set caught my interest.
While the live show is arguably the band’s strongest aspect, the songs on Lipstick Politics aren’t too shabby themselves. Front man Robyn August has a strong voice that carries the upbeat songs well, such as Wildfire and Lipstick Politics (Dirty), which contains the album’s most potent guitar riffs, courtesy of axemen Caleb Healey and Alex Von Hollen.
This record sounds like it was taken out of the early 2000’s and transported to the present day. That’s a good thing in my opinion, as I have a special fondness for bands of that era. Harris Grade captures much of the same energy and catchiness as a good percentage of bands back then seemed to have.
After the aggressive opening to the disc, Call Me Crazy slows things down a bit, with Robyn breathily singing over some acoustic strumming. On tracks like this and Angeles he demonstrates his ability to really sing, and does so pretty well. I think they opened the Troubadour set with this song, with Alex & Caleb sitting on stools, VH1 Storytellers-style.
If there’s a gripe I have with the album is how short many of the songs are; the 1-2-3 punch of Dear Failure, Wildfire, and Lipstick Politics (Dirty) are all under three minutes. I wish they would have been a bit more fleshed out here and there, but that’s not really a big deal.
Sign of the Times is uptempo burner with some nice buzzy guitars, but it’s all over too soon.
Angeles is another acoustic tune, with Robyn lamenting how money and privilege are seen as more important than the things that really matter. A string section kicks in towards the end, and it adds a nice element to the song.
Bassist Jason Friday and drummer Greg Fulleman provide a steady rhythm throughout the album, and live they’re even more powerful. Each band member goes off in concert, running around the stage with an energy and sense of enthusiasm that I used to see bands like Story of the Year employ on various Warped Tour stages.
I can recommend Lipstick Politics to anyone who was a fan of bands of the early 2000’s and beyond, such as the aforementioned Story of the Year, Senses Fail, the Used, Anberlin, and Saosin.
I can also recommend that you check out iTunes for the song Hold On For Your Life, as it was on their previous EP but is not included on this album. It’s a gem.
And if you like anything you hear from Harris Grade, don’t sleep on catching them live, as it’s a lot of fun. - Behind the Hype