The Grip Weeds

"We like to mix it up in Jersey and The Grip Weeds are a great example. A touch of John Lennon (and an appropriation of his character's name in "How I Won The War"), a bit of The Byrds, a dash of The Kinks, pinch of The Who, and a dallop of more muscular Zombies and you get something quite original actually. And quite cool." -Little Steven Describing The Grip Weeds’ music unavoidably starts with the obvious labels: “Psychedelic,” “60’s and 70’s Influenced,” “Lush, Close Harmonies,” “ Catchy ...

"We like to mix it up in Jersey and The Grip Weeds are a great example. A touch of John Lennon (and an appropriation of his character's name in "How I Won The War"), a bit of The Byrds, a dash of The Kinks, pinch of The Who, and a dallop of more muscular Zombies and you get something quite original actually. And quite cool." -Little Steven Describing The Grip Weeds’ music unavoidably starts with the obvious labels: “Psychedelic,” “60’s and 70’s Influenced,” “Lush, Close Harmonies,” “ Catchy Pop Songs”.  Yet, The Grip Weeds manage to take those very elements, and turn them in to a sound that attracts both retro pop fans, and sophisticated modern rock audiences. The center of The Grip Weeds are brothers Rick and Kurt Reil, Grip Weeds-in training all their lives, learning their craft together since their childhood in Central New Jersey.  Rick’s Telecaster power chords and chiming 12 string guitar are the heart and soul of the group, Kurt’s Keith Moon inspired drums provide the engine.  Lead guitarist Kristin Pinell is a player with the skill to stand her ground among the great guitarists who’ve influenced her.  Shades of Page, Clapton, May, and Harrison all color her barking, aggressive leads.  Bassist Michael Kelly is the anchor of the band, bringing stability and thunder to their sound. Their four full-length albums, three for the Rainbow Quartz label, have brought them fans and critical acclaim from New Brunswick to Liverpool.  Songs from their most recent CD, Giant On The Beach (Rainbow Quartz). found their way on to network television dramas and promotional spots. The band remains a favorite on satellite radio, and the weekly syndicated “Psychedelic Rock” radio show Little Steven’s Underground Garage, Pioneers of home recording studios, from the days long before you could just install a plug-in on your laptop, The Grip Weeds have produced all of their albums at their own House Of Vibes studio.  The House Of Vibes has evolved in to the studio of choice not only for The Grip Weeds, but for some of the top up and coming New Jersey bands.  Most recently, The House Of Vibes hosted the studio return of The Smithereens for a series of albums engineered and co-produced by Kurt. Fresh from the relative calm of the recent reissue of their debut CD, House Of Vibes:  Revisited (Ground Up Records) and the Little Steven sponsored “best-of” Infinite Soul (Wicked Cool), The Grip Weeds are ready to burst out yet again.  Sessions for album number five, the double disc Strange Change Machine, have reached the final stages, pointing to an early 2010 release.