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members of the Grip Weeds have proudly worn the badges of professionalism
and perfectionism since the group’s inception. Fortunately, they have
the autonomy to utilize these traits, as they produce themselves and
record at their home studio, the House of Vibes. When you combine
all this with the immense amount of talent and drive they have (drummer
Kurt Reil and guitarist Kristin Pinell are arguably the best in the
business on their respective instruments, not to mention the greatest
husband and wife team since anyone), it’s no surprise that they continually
produce topnotch material. the group’s latest, Summer of a Thousand
Years, is no exception, as the Grip Weeds take 60’s influences
like the Jefferson Airplane, Kaleidoscope and other American psychedelia
bands and sprinkle it with some British touches. their thick, angular
harmonies, along with Reil’s decidedly Moon-esque drumming, give the
music a strong, gutsy foundation. Songs like “Save My Life”, “She
Surrounds Me”, “Don’t Look Over Your Shoulder” and “Love’s Lost on
You” turn the knobs up to “high” on both the octane and melody gauges.
Ballads like the romantic “Future Move" the recounting of emotions
Reil experienced when he first met Pinell) and the dreamy “Window”
will bring you gently to nirvana. The band throws a few tasty curves
your way with a nice slice of hippie rock called "Changed" and an
equally cool slice of raga rock called “Life and Love, times to Come”,
and Pinell’s lone lead vocal on the Middle-Eastern influenced “Melancholia”
will have you longing for more leads from her. Summer of a Thousand
Years is one of the best albums you’ll hear this year, from one of
the most capable and dedicated bands you’ll hear in your lifetime.
-David Bash
The Grip Weeds discuss the songs from Summer of
a Thousand Years.
Save My Life
Rick: This is a song about people who need help or guidance in desperate
situations. Our answer is to look inside yourself. Kurt: Love those
electric 12-strings! A “Rick” classic (both Rickenbacker and Rick
Reil!).
She Surrounds Me
Kurt: The trademark Grip Weeds sound on this one: heavy but melodic
with harmony vocals. Rick plays the guitar backwards through the
magic of analog tape!
Rick: I like riff songs like “Paperback Writer” or “Pleasant Valley
Sunday" and this song is an attempt at one of those. In some of
the verses you can hear “gregorian chant” harmonies.
Rainy Day #3
Kurt: It’s called #3 for good reason- besides being a slight nod
to Dylan, we cut this one 3 times before we were satisfied. This
is the folk-rock version, with acoustic guitars, harmonicas and
3-part harmonies; it was inspired by backing up the legendary Beau
Brummels (along with Smithereens Jim Babjak and Dennis Diken) at
a show in NYC last year.
Kristin: The upbeat summery feel we finally achieved was worth the
struggle. Sometimes arrangements come easy, but sometimes you have
to kick things around for awhile.
Don’t Look Over Your Shoulder
Mike: This song was developed during the recording sessions for
the album. Rick had a basic framework but we all just did
our own thing. It’s been said that it has a Led Zeppelin-esque feel
to it. You be the judge!
Is it Showing
Kurt: We kind of had to grow into this song as a band- it took us
years to get it right, but I think we finally nailed it here. It’s
a pretty good example of how we sound- Rick jangling on 12-string,
Kristin ripping on lead guitar, Mike grooving on the lead bass lines,
and me sort of train-wrecking my way through on drums! Four-part
harmonies on this one top it all off...
Future Move
Kristin: Kurt wrote this one for me so when we had our rock &
roll wedding last year, all the guests received a copy. We just
had a couple from Australia email us and ask if they could play
it at their wedding.
Window
Kristin: I co-wrote this one with Kurt. A lot of the lyrics were
“free written” in one of those late night reflective moments. We
were going for melodic guitar textures in the style of “Ten Years
Gone” or “Let It Grow”. We were also listening to a lot of Harrison’s
“All Things Must Pass” during the recording sessions.
Love's Lost on You
Kurt: Menacing but melodic, about someone who just doesn’t get what
it’s all about. I can think of a few jerks who fit this description,
still at large...
Changed
Kristin: There’s this dueling guitar solo with myself at the end
of the first part that is like an inner battle of angst into absolute
release and resolve. I also got to dust off the electric sitar on
this one.
Life and Love, Times to Come
Kurt: This song is kind of a left-turn into uncharted sonic territory
for the Grip Weeds. The song was written in open C tuning, and came
out as an amalgamation of blues meets indian raga meets celtic music,
but somehow retaining a pop sensibility, I think. Listen for the
sitar, tablas, mandolin, flutes and mellotron. This is the “big
production number”!
Love That Never Ends
Rick: A love song written to and about my wife, describing how we
met and the profound change in my outlook as a result. It also shows
how much we love "folk rock" in this band.
Melancholia
Mike: We all love the Who and why not pick an obscure song of theirs
to do? We originally recorded this for the upcoming CD The New Sell
Out: a tribute to the Who Sell Out. We were so pleased with the
recording that we included it here. Kristin's vocal on this one
is super cool with attitude.
Kristin: My favorite Who song and my state of mind at the time.
Moving Circle
Kurt: It’s a song about the cyclic nature of all things- the ending
is a beginning. Wurlitzer electric piano and Hammond organ by our
friend and “fifth Grip Weed” Andy Burton, along with some amazing
bass lines by Mike. A rare Grip Weeds shuffle-beat song.
Summer of a Thousand Years:
Kristin: A place in time-the whole millennium thing-reflecting on
yourself in the grand scheme of things. It also seemed like a good
title for the CD as .well...
Also, in the same issue:
Rave On...
Random Musings of a (Pop) Nut
by John M. Borack
Another fine effort is the latest by the Grip Weeds,
Summer of a Thousand Years. Playing up the band’s tight harmony
singing and strong composing abilities- while still showcasing the
peerless drumming of Kurt Reil and the psych-dipped guitar runs
of Kristin Pinell- Summer shows how a band can mature without turning
stale.
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