INDEPENDENCE DRIVE

Red Hot Chili Peppers know how to deal with adversity. The band has been around for twenty-eight years, and have dealt with everything from lineup changes to drug addictions and deaths. But despite all of this, they have still won seven GRAMMY Awards, sold over 70 million albums worldwide and have been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Earlier this year they overcame the odds once again, releasing their tenth studio album I’m With You; their first without iconic guitar hero John Frusciante since 1995's One Hot Minute. Despite their roller coaster ride of a career, the band’s sound has always been rooted in the same basic principles: Flea‘s funky slap bass lines, melodic guitar soloing and Anthony Kiedis‘ unique hybrid of singing and rapping. Now we have found an up-and-coming, young band that embodies those same principles with their own unique spin: Independence Drive.


OurStage's Independence Drive


Red Hot Chili Peppers















Like Red Hot Chili Peppers, the members of Independence Drive are incredibly gifted musicians. Their song “I Don’t Wanna Stay” is a great demonstration of their abilities. In fact, the song bares some similarities to Red Hot Chili Peppers’ song “Emit Remmus.” Both songs begin with a funky and melodic bass line that provides the foundation for the rest of the song. Both tracks also feature long, held out electric guitar notes to contrast the rhythmic nature of the bass parts in each song. It’s an interesting technique that both bands use frequently: the bass as the main melodic instrument instead of the guitar. “Pipe Dreams” is another song that shares some stylistic similarities to the sound of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Beginning with a strong rhythmic opening, this song relies more on some great guitar riffs rather than the bass part. The band uses some interesting guitar effects to achieve a unique tone in this song, sounding a little bit similar to some of the effects used on Red Hot Chili Peppers’ hit song “Dani California.” The highlight of the song is the guitar solo though, where guitarist/singer Ian Althouse gets to show off his chops with some impressive playing.



However, Independence Drive creates their own unique sound in two ways. The first is through their use of reggae influence in their music. You can hear the influence most obviously in their song “The Winding Road.” The song begins with a guitar riff that repeatedly accents the offbeats, setting up the reggae feel for the rest of the song. While much of the song retains a chilled out vibe, the band haven’t forgotten their rock roots, and the ending gets pretty heavy with some distorted guitar chords. The band ventures further into the world music realm with “Conquistador,” a song heavily influenced by Spanish music. The other thing that makes Independence Drive unique is their vocal style. While Red Hot Chili Peppers mix rapping with singing, Independence Drive use a more traditional style of singing. Although you can hear this approach on all of their songs, “Hey, Baby” best shows Althouse’s strengths as a singer. He has great range and can hit the high notes, but he also has a playful energy in his voice that makes the song really fun.

Independence Drive has the ability to combine influences from around the world to create their own unique sound. Let’s hope they have longevity too. - OurStage

July 30, 2011
•Members: Kevin Krum, Ian Althouse, and Ryan Mangle

•Style of music: Alternative Rock / Funk / Reggae

•Where based: Montgomery Country

•When formed: Back in 2000

•How band came together: Best friends who played travel soccer, picked up instruments and started cranking out originals.

•Our music in four words: Groove Soul Energy Explosion


•Influences: Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Police, Marley, U2, 311, Sublime, Muse

•You'll enjoy us if you like…all of the above

•Our best original song: Drive, it has all the elements of a great song and it builds from start to finish but never lets up. It's all about positivity.

•Our best cover song: "Roxanne" by the Police. Audiences don't usually see bands our age covering older songs like that so it sticks with them.

•Our latest CD: a 5 song EP we recorded at Star City Recording Studios in Bethlehem. It will be out and pressed soon!

•Our audience: Anyone who is willing to listen to something other than top 40 and enjoys hearing different styles of rock melt together.

•Biggest gig: So far, it was probably the North Star battle of the bands in Philly, but Opple Topple festival is coming up and we have a great feeling about that.

•Our best moment: Playing on Radio 104.5 at 5pm on a Friday with all of Philly listening. It was a very proud moment and something we'll never forget.

•Favorite venue to play: We love playing the Pig Pen in Allentown, great stage, sound and bar.

•Dream venue: Slane Castle in Ireland. It's absolutely a stunning backdrop with rolling hills and space for hundreds of thousands of people. It's just plain heavenly.

•Funny moment: We were playing a battle of the bands at Shippensburg University and Kevin was late for the gig. Finally right before we had to go on, we see him screaming up with his VW Jetta and with this machine gun clicking sound going off. The kid gets out of his car and literally Hulk smashes the hood in front of us. We obviously wanted to laugh, but we held back in fear of murder! I think the drummer and I shared a chuckle before we composed ourselves and helped him with his things. We ended up winning though, so a good time was had by all $500 later.

•Worst onstage screwup: I wouldn't call it a screwup, but Kevin couldn't hold his bladder after a super long set of encores at The Funhouse, tried to run to the bathroom and hosed his pants! We all cried laughing. He's shameless!

•We hate when audiences…Don't show any emotion to what we're doing up there, I mean at least clap, we're putting ourselves out there for YOUR ENJOYMENT! Or requesting metal....

•Goal: To get signed, as a way to spread our music to every where in the world and afford us the opportunities of traveling and uniting people one night at a time in the name of great music!

•Where you'll find us next: 8 p.m. Aug. 6, Tim & Jules Record Release Party, The Pig Pen, Allentown; 10 p.m. Aug. 13, The Wing Man Bar and Grill, East Greenville; 8-10 p.m. Sept. 17, West Chester Music Fest ival, Rams Head Bar and Grill.

•Comments: To download free songs, go to http://www.purevolume.com/independencedrive - The Morning Call