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

Chat with Stone Axe Live on Ripple Radio Before they Storm the Shores of Europe and the UK with New Tour and Deluxe CD/DVD Package

Classic rock preservationists Stone Axe have officially announced that they’re hitting the road through the UK, parts of Europe, and wrapping up the tour with a night at the illustrious Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Holland! And before they hit the road, this is your chance to chat live on the air and in the Ripple chatroom with Stone Axe mainman, Tony Reed.

Tune into Ripple Radio (Live with Tony Reed), sign into the chatroom and chat directly with Tony Reed.  He'll join us on air Wednesday, March 23rd at 8:30pm (PST) and is welcoming the fans to fire off those nagging questions. Hit him with your queries about Stone Axe, Mos Generator, Wino, or any aspect of obscure '70's rock.  Type 'em in the chatroom and have 'em answered on the air. Doesn't get much better than that!

Then, starting on April 8th in Oxford, England and running through April 16th, Stone Axe will embark on their third tour to foreign soil with the aim of converting new ears to their sonic-brand of classic rock.  Better yet, this time they’ll be doing it in support of their first CD/DVD package. Scheduled for release on April 5th and in time for the tour, Stone Axe has put together a Deluxe Edition of their self-titled debut album. The CD portion of the package features eight bonus live tracks, while the DVD portion features more than 70 minutes of videos, interviews, and live footage! Released through Ripple Music, Stone Axe – Expanded Edition CD/DVD pre-order's are now available on the label's web site. www.ripple-music.com

Tour Dates:

8th April -The Wheatsheaf, Oxford (with Stubb, Trippy Wicked, Desert Storm)
9th April- The Unicorn, Camden, London, UK (with Stubb, Trippy Wicked, Grifter)
10th April- The Earl, Sheffield, UK (with Stubb, Trippy Wicked, Groan)
11th April- The Captains Rest, Glasgow (with Stubb, Trippy Wicked, Low Sonic Drift)
12th April- Asylum 2, Birmingham (with Stubb, Trippy Wicked, Alunah)
14th April- The Vortex, Siegen, Germany (with Stubb)
15th April- MTC, Cologne, Germany (with Stubb+more)
16th April- Roadburn Festival, Tilburg, Holland

Stone Axe has also contributed a song to the Heavy Ripples double vinyl 7” compilation that will also feature three other acts that have put their own unique spin on the sounds from a by-gone 70’s era, showing that rock n’ roll hasn’t died, but simply has gotten better! The compilation record will include tracks from the UK blues-based bike rockers Grifter, Brooklyn-based stoner-fied punks Mighty High, and New England’s southern-rock-tinged Sun Gods In Exile (on loan from incomparable Small Stone Records). The record will be officially released on April 19th to a world-wide audience!