It Came From ReverbNation #17: featuring Soap Flossers, Black Sunday Dream, SixL6, David Sheppard Grossman, Kallas, and Big Al and the Heavyweights





From April 4th to June 4th The Ripple Effect ran a campaign on the excellent online music website ReverbNation (www.reverbnation.com).  This campaign allowed any artist or band registered with ReverbNation to submit their music to The Ripple Effect for possible review on the site and airplay on The Ripple Effect radio shows.  When all was said and done we had received 4,799 submissions!  Incredible!  The purpose of this column is to highlight those artists and bands whose musical submissions I accepted as being worthy of consideration.  While these are not reviews per se, I’m going to provide a brief rundown of what to expect from each artist/band, a sample when available, and a link to check out more on their corresponding ReverbNation page.

Soap Flossers – Indie/acoustic pop music from Rockford, IL described as ‘urban folk’.  I found this husband and wife duo’s song submission incredibly ear pleasing.  The peaceful atmosphere produced by the instrumentation and vocals working in harmony with one another is very impressive.  A second song I listened to was rather eerie.  Similar artists include Sherwood Anderson, Cat Stevens, and Eugene Kelly.  Have a listen waveriders.

Song Sample – “Blood” 

Black Sunday Dream – Alright classic heavy metal fans, this one’s for you!  Coming at you from San Lorenzo, CA is this mighty quartet whose song submission reminded me of Dio-era Black Sabbath fronted by Bruce Dickinson.  Basically it sounded really good!  Similar artists include Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Zeppelin, and Guns & Roses.  If you’re a fan of those bands you should check Black Sunday Dream out.

Song Sample – “People Get Ready” 

SixL6 – Do you like heavy blues rock?  Of course you do.  Do you like your heavy blues rock to have a distinct southern charm about it?  I thought so.  This power trio out of Cypress, TX is out to bring ‘bare bones real rock and roll’ back to the forefront of music.  And you know what?  They just might do it based of the song submission I received.  Similar artists include The Black Crowes, Gov’t Mule, and Black Stone Cherry.

ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/sixl6
Song Sample – “Mean Machine (Sample)” 

David Shepard Grossman – When I first began listening to the song submission sent in by this Studio City, CA singer/songwriter I had to double check whether or not I was listening to a James Taylor recording.  That’s a good thing in my book!  I was also impressed with the completely different feel the second song I sampled possessed (full band blues ballad).  Similar artists include James Taylor, Neil Young, Tom Waits, and Paul Simon.  See the link below.

Song Sample – “Darkness”

Kallas – This five man unit from Manitowoc, WI is looking to bring some serious modern rock to your eardrums.  Their song submission locked in my interest fairly quickly thanks to a real meaty guitar tone and powerful vocals.  Similar artists listed on their bio page include Alter Bridge, Theory of a Deadman, and Puddle of Mudd.

ReverbNation Page – http://www.reverbnation.com/kallas
Song Sample – “Dragging Me Down” 

Big Al And The Heavyweights – Well, well.  This is some fantastic sounding blues/Americana if I do say so myself!  An ode to good gumbo is welcome in my neck of the woods any day.  When I learned that one of the founding members of this New Orleans, LA quartet was Warren Haynes (full disclosure--no longer a band member) I became even more interested.  A second song I sampled was built around some wonderful zydeco instrumentation.  Similar artists include BB King, Little Feat, and the Allman Brothers Band.  Hear for yourselves waveriders!

Song Sample – “Take Me Back To New Orleans” 

--Penfold

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