Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Ripple Music Announces Sponsorship and Grand Prize Recording Contract for TBFM Factor 2012

 
Ripple Music, home of the "Best retro-rock and metal on the planet" is thrilled to announce it's sponsorship of TBFM Factor 2012 - the biggest "on-air" battle of the bands ever!
TBFM Factor 2012 is presented by internet radio station Total Biker FM, home of hard-driving rock n' roll. This is the second time the station has presented this competition. With so much talent out there TBFM wanted to help promote the top bands and hopefully give them the boost up the ladder that they deserve by setting up a fan voted competition.
In 2010, the station was not fully prepared for what turned out to be an amazing competition with over 4 million hits during the final week which crashed the servers TWICE! The competition was such a great success, they decided to bring it back in 2012, bigger, better and more prepared!
The competition is set over 15 weekly knockout weeks. Music from 10 bands each week will get airplay on the Sunday Show on Total Biker FM and then fans get to vote for one week on which band deserves a place in the final. After 15 weeks, a final place is given to a wildcard, which will be the highest voted for runner up from all the knockout stages.
On week 16 the epic final takes place. All 16 bands get featured on air on a special 4 hour show and then all week during all regular shows while fans vote again for the best band of the competition. The winning band will receive some great prizes including the top prize of an exclusive one album record deal with American label Ripple Music.
This is one lucky band's opportunity to join with Ripple Music and become a label-mate of such roaring artists as Mos Generator, Trucker Diablo, Stone Axe, Iron Claw, Grifter, Poobah, JPT Scare Band and Fen.

More prizes are on offer for the finalists ranging from musical equipment to website memberships to free record mastering. Registration closes on 31st March, 2012 and the competition gets under way on June 10th, 2012 with the grand final in September.
More information on the bands taking part, how to register, prizes and sponsors can be found at www.tbfmfactor.com

150 bands take part over 16 weeks… only one winner!

And a Ripple record contract is the Grand Prize!
Important dates are as follows:Registration closes 31st March 2012
Qualifying Bands Line-Up announced 13th May 2012
Competition starts 10th June 2012 for 15 weeks
The final will be on 23rd September 2012
Winner announced 30th September 2012



www.ripple-music.com


For further information, please contact:

John Rancik
Ripple Music
ripplemusic9@aol.com

Friday, February 24, 2012

POOBAH's Jim Gustafson Signs Endorsement Deals with Morley, EbTech, and Dr. Frets!


 
Some call him The Wizard of Psyche. Some call him Mr. Destroyer. Some just call him Jim Gustafson, the guy with endorsement deals from Morley Pedals, EbTech, and Dr. Fret’s Guitar Products! The Poobah lead man has been swearing by these products for a number of years and expresses a loyalty to a product that helps continue to make him sound killer!

“When it’s time to rock, it’s nice to know that I have dependable people and products in my corner,” states Poobah guitarist/vocalist Jim Gustafson. “Having gear crap out on you while performing in front of a packed house is a drag, so it’s nice to have someone I can rely on.”

When he’s not on stage tearing through numbers from the award-winning Poobah album, Let Me In, Jim Gustafson can be seen hob-nobbing with the likes of Billy Cox (Jimi Hendrix), Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, and even Joyce DeWitt (Three’s Company). The recent engagement that had Billy Cox and Jim Gustafson meet up isn’t the first time that these two 70’s rock icons have crossed paths. In fact, Billy Cox produced the very first Gustafson album, which led to Gustafson opening for Cox's band, Nitro Function in Nashville!

If you’d like to hob-nob with the Poobah great, well . . . you can! Check out Poobah live at the following locations in early Spring!

Mar. 3rd – Outpost – Marrietta, OH - 8:00pm
Mar. 9th – Pete’s – Sutton, WV - 8:00pm
Mar. 10th – Pete’s – Sutton, WV - 8:00pm
Mar. 16th – Spielers Club – Proctor, WV - 8:00pm
Mar. 31st – Birdies Rec – Sebring, OH - 8:00pm
Apr. 7th – Lemon Grove – Youngstown, OH - 9:00pm

www.poobahband.com

Here’s what the press has to say about Let Me In:

"You could go broke and mad trying to locate – and endure – every "great lost album" cherished by fanboys from the homegrown-pressing underground of the late Sixties and Seventies. The 1972 debut by the Ohio trio Poobah is one of the few that was – and still is, as hard Seventies boogie goes – great.”  --  David Fricke, Rolling Stone Magazine, Fricke's Picks: Top 2010 Reissues from Under the Radar
 
"An unmissable slice of newly-refurbished rock history. Poobah were extraordinarily sharp and effective as a unit, peeling off semi-improvised jams that crackled with vitality and a healthy dose of mischief. This reclaimed curio gleams like a diamond." -- Classic Rock Magazine 

"A psychedelic, proto-metal masterpiece!  Gustafson’s sun-baked, bluesy playing is shockingly terse, especially for this kind of music. As long and convoluted as some of these songs are, he doesn’t waste notes, tossing off one brief, incisive riff after another with a heavy lidded leer.  The whole thing ranks with Flower Marching Band, the original Iron Maiden and Sir Lord Baltimore as one of the classics of early metal." -- Lucid Culture


 
Jim Gustafson with Billy Cox                       Jim Gustafson with Joyce DeWitt

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Trucker Diablo's "Drink Beer, Destroy" Debuts on ROCK BAND™ for XBox





 
Ripple Music is proud to announce that the rising hard-rock band from Northern Ireland, Trucker Diablo, in addition to being scheduled to appear at Hammerfest next month, have just made their debut on the hit game ROCK BAND™ for XBox.
 
The band's epic party song "Drink Beer, Destroy" has been available for download and game play through the ROCK BAND™ Network Store. Fans have already been posting videos and photos of their attempts to master the high-energy Trucker Diablo track. You can check out a shot at the high-score courtesy of Vargtime on YouTube at this location. One fan went as far as to re-create the band members as ROCK BAND™ avatars and posted it on Facebook. Images can be seen here . . . Trucker Diablo

Ripple Music, the home of authentic, retro rock and metal, signed Northern Ireland’s most explosive rock n’ roll importafter hearing how the band blew away the crowds at 2011’s Download Festival where they also made fast friends with Def Leppard's, Joe Elliot, Thin Lizzy's Ricky Warwick and none other than Dee Snider.

Since then, there's been no looking back for Trucker Diablo or Ripple Music as the band's debut The Devil Rhythm has been garnering widespread accolades and lead off single/video "Drink Beer, Destroy" has been getting steady play on BBC Radio 1, Kerrang Radio and Kerrang TV. The Devil Rhythm has been converting rock fans the world over with it's cohesive, unified, high energy rock tracks, slick and polished indelivery, but served up raw and forceful. "Drink Beer, Destroy" has proven to be an instant classic that has fans raisingtheir fists and singing along to the anthemic chorus. And it doesn't stop there. "Juggernaut" features a guest appearance by vocalist, Ricky Warwick, the acclaimed voice of The Almighty and now Thin Lizzy. "Stand Up And Fight" is another song from the album that sounds as though it should be played before an arena-sized stadium crowd. The song "Voodoo" is a blues-rock number with a good groove. "Big Truck" is yet another example that TRUCKER DIABLO can compete with the best when it comes to hard rock, combining a massive chorus with chugging guitars.
 
And in case you haven't had the opportunity to experience the Big Truck live, Trucker Diablo has announced a series of UK dates centered around Hammerfest that will see the band heading from Ireland over to England and beyond. Tour dates are below.
 
Lock up your daughters and hide your wives, cause when the big Truck rolls into town, high -octane rock mayhem will be sure to follow!
 
The Devil Rhythm is now available at the Ripple Music Store and world-widethrough Clearspot International in Europe and Code 7 Distribution in the UK on February 6th, 2012.
 
 
RIPPLE MUSIC

Also available at Amazon.com


 
Tom Harte - Guitar, Vocals
Simon Haddock - Guitar, Vocals
Glenn Harrison - Bass
Terry Crawford - Drums
 
 
 



www.ripple-music.com

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Great interview with Rising Star, Trucker Diablo from Culture Northern Ireland. Org

Who/what/where/when/why are Trucker Diablo?
We are Tom Harte on guitar and vocals, Simon Haddock on guitar and backing vocals, Glenn Harrison on bass guitar and Terry Crawford on drums. We are a Northern Irish hard rock band from the Craigavon area: Moira/Lurgan/Portadown. We started the band at the start of 2008. And why? When you have been playing music most of your life, it is hard to stop...

What does your name mean?
The name is a trucker handle. When truckers contact each other on the road, they use a handle. Something like Trucker: Diablo over and out.
Your song 'Drink Beer, Destroy' was recently picked up by Kerrang! Radio and TV in the UK and MTV Headbangers Ball in Australia, and is now available on the computer game Rock Band. How did that happen?

We contacted a couple of authoring houses for the game. One of them, Alt Strum Pro, loved the song 'Drink Beer, Destroy' (watch the video, produced by Redcap Productions, above), so we decided to partner with them.
After that the song still had to go through testing and an approval process before it could be released onto the game. Thankfully we didn't hit any bumps along the way, so now it is out there for everyone to play. When we heard the news, we were over the moon. It is an amazing achievement for us.





Was it a point in your career when you thought, 'Right, now we've made it'?
Nope. We haven’t got there yet. We have achieved some amazing things, though, things that other bands dream of, like playing the Download Festival. We are really grateful for that, but we are still working hard towards the day when we can say 'we've made it'. Until then though, we’ll keep on trucking.


Do any of you play Rock Band?
I'm more of a Guitar Hero man myself, but now that we're on Rock Band I'll definitely give it a go.
What's the one song you would most like to beat on the game that isn't your own?
Actually, I suck at these kind of games, so it would need to be something easy. 'Holy Diver' by Dio would be good.
If you had to be a video game character, which would you be?

Eddie Riggs – a roadie, modelled on Jack Black, transported into a fantasy world based on heavy metal album covers – from BrĂ¼tal Legend. He rocks.

Do you have any tips for fans who are gearing up for a go at your song on Rock Band?
They should play together at parties to maximize skills. Oh, and they should go and tell everyone they know about it. That way we can get millions of downloads and I can say that 'We’ve made it'.

So, now that you have cracked the world of musical gaming, what's your next big goal?
We just want to increase the band's profile as much as we can over the next few months. We love playing, especially live, and we want to be able to do it full-time. This year we are really pushing to do a big tour. So I hope we get to do that. If we do, then see ya out there!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Stone Axe/Mos Generator Main Man Signs Endorsement Deal With Lace Music Products



   
As the early days of 2012 rolled on by, Tony Reed, guitarist for both the heavy hitting, stoner-fied trio, Mos Generator, and the classic rock preservationists, Stone Axe, signed an endorsement deal with Lace Music Products. The good Mr. Reed now joins the likes of Scott “Wino” Weinrich (St. Vitus/Shrinebuilder), Matt Pike (Sleep/High On Fire), David Sullivan (Red Fang), Scott Kelly (Neurosis/Shrinebuilder), Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple/Rainbow), Eric Clapton, and a host of others who use the California-based companies pick-ups.

When asked what is was that he liked about the Lace pickups, Tony Reed had this to say, "With the Lace Hemi I can get a full range of tones just running direct into my amp. From a brilliant glassy clean to a very thick and aggressive heavy distorted tone and all I want in between."

Follow the link to watch a short video of Tony Reed demonstrating the Lace Hemi pick-up:
Tony Reed/Lace Demo

Tony Reed’s sound can be heard on numerous recorded projects, most recently, the Mos Generator 10th Anniversary Edition LP/CD, Stone Axe II – Deluxe Edition, and Stone Axe: Captured Live! Roadburn Festival 2011. Stone Axe can also be seen on the road through the UK and Europe in April!
 


www.ripple-music.com