The Grip Weeds

Last updated
The Grip Weeds
Origin Highland Park, New Jersey, United States
Genres Power pop, psychedelic rock
Years active1988–present
Labels Jem Recordings, Ground Up Records, Twang! Records, Rainbow Quartz Records, Wicked Cool Records, Buy Or Die Compact Discs
MembersRick Reil
Kurt Reil
Kristin Pinell
Dave DeSantis
Website gripweeds.com

The Grip Weeds are an American rock band from Highland Park, New Jersey.

Contents

History

The Grip Weeds were formed in 1988 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, by brothers Rick Reil (guitar) and Kurt Reil (drums). The band is named after the fictional character “Musketeer Gripweed”, played by John Lennon in Richard Lester’s 1967 motion picture How I Won The War. [1] The Reil brothers are joined by guitarist Kristin Pinell, a veteran of New York City's The Rooks. [2] and bassist Dave DeSantis, who joined the band in 2012.

Their music is often classified in the power pop, psychedelic rock and garage rock categories. Influences include The Beatles, The Who, Big Star, Buffalo Springfield, The Yardbirds, The Smithereens, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, and others. [3]

The Grip Weeds began their recording career with the 1992 three-song independent release See You Through on their own Ground Up Records label, followed by the single “She Brings The Rain b/w Strange Bird” for the German Twang! label. Their 1994 full-length album debut House Of Vibes, was the first to be recorded in their own fully equipped home studio, also known as “The House Of Vibes”. Known for its laid back atmosphere and a collection of vintage sound equipment and instruments, it has also been put to use by many other recording artists including The Smithereens, Jim Babjak’s Buzzed Meg, Najma Akhtar and Gary Lucas, The Swingin' Neckbreakers, The Anderson Council and more. [4] A second album, for Buy Or Die Compact Discs, The Sound Is In You, followed in 1998. The band signed with Rainbow Quartz Records for their 2001 release Summer Of A Thousand Years, and followed it up with Giant On The Beach in 2004. “Little Steven” Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool label released the compilation CD Infinite Soul: The Best Of The Grip Weeds in 2008, and Van Zandt has been a vocal supporter of the band. [3] Rainbow Quartz released the double CD and double vinyl LP Strange Change Machine in June 2010. 2012 saw the release on Ground Up Records of a live album, Speed of Live (In Concert: In New Jersey) along with a companion DVD release, Live Vibes featuring a "live in the studio" performance taped at The House Of Vibes. Ground Up Records followed the live releases with the 2013 rarities collection, Inner Grooves (Rare And Under-Released Tracks). After signing with Jem Recordings, the band released their sixth studio album How I Won The War on April 7, 2015. A 2015 concert at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center in New York City was filmed and recorded, and released on December 2, 2016, as a limited edition DVD titled Force Of Nature Live In NYC. A companion CD, Force Of Nature Live Via Satellite was released simultaneously, consisting of a 2016 live studio performance recorded for Sirius/XM’s The Loft satellite radio show. [5] On October 19, 2018, Jem Records released The Grip Weeds' seventh album, Trip Around The Sun on compact disc, vinyl LP and download formats. 2020 and 2021 saw the band contributing tracks to the tribute albums Jem Records Celebrates John Lennon, and Jem Records Celebrates Brian Wilson. October of 2021 saw the Jem Records release of DiG, an album of cover songs recorded during the 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. DiG was released on vinyl LP and download formats, and in 1 CD and 2 CD versions. An additional accompanying CD A Deeper DiG was released on the band's own Ground Up Records label.

Throughout their career, The Grip Weeds have performed at venues across the United States, and internationally, including the South By Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas, The Cavern Club in Liverpool, England, and several tours of Europe, among others.

Members

Current Lineup
Former Members

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Smithereens</span> American rock band

The Smithereens is an American rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio, Jim Babjak, Mike Mesaros, and Dennis Diken. This original lineup continued until 2006, when Mesaros left the band and Severo Jornacion took over on bass guitar until Mesaros' return in 2016. After DiNizio died in 2017, the band continued performing live shows as a trio with various guest vocalists.

<i>11</i> (The Smithereens album) 1989 studio album by The Smithereens

11 is the third studio album by American rock band The Smithereens, released on October 24, 1989, by Capitol Records. It includes the Billboard Top 40 single "A Girl Like You". The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in June 1990.

<i>Green Thoughts</i> 1988 studio album by the Smithereens

Green Thoughts is the second studio album by the Smithereens, released March 22, 1988 by Enigma/Capitol Records. The single, "Only a Memory", reached No. 92 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Album Rock Tracks chart in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frost*</span> English rock band

Frost* are an English neo-progressive rock supergroup, formed in 2004 by Jem Godfrey and members of Arena, Kino, and IQ. Frost* released their first studio album, Milliontown, in 2006, before splitting up. In 2008, Godfrey reformed Frost*, adding Darwin's Radio vocalist and guitarist, Declan Burke, to the lineup, and released their second album, Experiments in Mass Appeal. The band disbanded again in 2011, to reunite later in September, after a brief hiatus.

<i>A Date with The Smithereens</i> 1994 studio album by The Smithereens

A Date with the Smithereens is the fifth album by the New Jersey rock band The Smithereens, released in 1994. It is seen as a stylistically consistent with the melodic pop sensibilities of their earliest albums, along with the more rock-driven sound and production of their most commercially successful releases.

<i>Meet The Smithereens!</i> 2007 studio album by The Smithereens

Meet The Smithereens! is the seventh studio album by Carteret, New Jersey-based rock band The Smithereens, released in stores on January 16, 2007. The album features the band covering The Beatles' 1964 American album, Meet the Beatles!.

<i>God Save The Smithereens</i> 1999 studio album by The Smithereens

God Save The Smithereens is the sixth studio album by The Smithereens, released on 19 October 1999 on Velvel/Koch Records. Produced by Don Fleming, it was originally intended to be a concept album based on the idea of the world ending as soon as the year 2000 started. It was the last studio album to feature bassist Mike Mesaros, who left the band in 2006, but returned ten years later for occasional live dates. "She's Got a Way" was released as a promo single.

<i>Especially for You</i> (The Smithereens album) 1986 studio album by The Smithereens

Especially for You is the first full-length album from New Jersey-based rock band The Smithereens, released in July 1986 by Enigma Records.

<i>Live in Concert! Greatest Hits and More</i> 2008 live album by The Smithereens

Live in Concert! Greatest Hits and More is a live album by New Jersey rock band The Smithereens, released in 2008 by Koch Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Howes</span> Musical artist

Kenny Howes is an American musician primarily in the power pop genre.

<i>Blow Up</i> (The Smithereens album) 1991 studio album by The Smithereens

Blow Up is the fourth full-length studio album by the Smithereens, released in September 1991 by Capitol Records. The album charted at #120 in the U.S. in October 1991. The album's second single, "Too Much Passion", became the group's second top-40 single, peaking at #37. Top of the Pops was released as the first single of the album.

<i>2011</i> (album) 2011 studio album by The Smithereens

2011 is the eleventh studio album by American rock band The Smithereens, released on April 5, 2011 by eOne Music.

<i>Christmas with The Smithereens</i> 2007 studio album by The Smithereens

Christmas with The Smithereens is the eighth studio album by The Smithereens, released 9 October 2007 by Koch Records. The album features the band covering nine Christmas-themed songs along with three originals.

<i>B-Sides The Beatles</i> 2008 studio album by The Smithereens

B-Sides The Beatles is the ninth studio album by The Smithereens, released September 2, 2008 on Koch Records. The album features the band covering Beatles B-sides released in America in 1964 and early 1965.

<i>Attack of the Smithereens</i> 1995 compilation album by The Smithereens

Attack of the Smithereens is a rarities compilation album by The Smithereens, released in 1995 by Capitol Records. It contains a number of B-sides and rare tracks as well as previously unreleased demos and live recordings.

<i>Live</i> (The Smithereens EP) 1988 EP (live) by The Smithereens

Live is a live EP by the Smithereens, released in 1988 by Restless Records. It was the first release in the Restless Performance Series, which was initiated in January 1988, releasing CD-only live recordings. The EP contains six songs from a show recorded in October 1986 for MTV's "Live from The Ritz" concert series.

<i>From Jersey It Came! The Smithereens Anthology</i> 2004 compilation album by The Smithereens

From Jersey It Came! The Smithereens Anthology is a two-disc, career-spanning compilation album by the Smithereens, released in 2004. It features most of the band's singles, as well as album and EP tracks, non-album B-sides and a handful of rarities.

<i>Pat DiNizio</i> (album) 2007 studio album by Pat DiNizio

Pat DiNizio is the third solo album by Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens, released in 2007 by East West Records. Following two solo albums that showed DiNizio moving away from the sound and style of The Smithereens to explore new musical directions, Pat DiNizio sees him return to 1960s-style pop with a big guitar sound. The album features Smithereens members Jim Babjak and Severo "The Thrilla" Jornacion on guitar and bass respectively, as well as Kurt Reil of The Grip Weeds on drums, who also handles production duties.

<i>Pat DiNizio/Buddy Holly</i> 2009 studio album by Pat DiNizio

Pat DiNizio/Buddy Holly is the fourth solo album by Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens, released in 2009 by Koch Records. The album features DiNizio interpreting eleven songs from the Buddy Holly songbook. The string arrangements, performed by the Encore Chamber String Quartet, were created by Charles Calello, famed for his work with The Four Seasons, Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen and Laura Nyro. The album also features 1960s teen idol Bobby Vee on vocals and production by long-time Smithereens collaborator Kurt Reil of The Grip Weeds. The album's liner notes include an essay by noted Buddy Holly authority Bill Griggs along with reminiscences by Bobby Vee.

<i>Covers</i> (The Smithereens) 2018 compilation album by The Smithereens

Covers is a compilation album by The Smithereens, released in May 2018 by Sunset Blvd Records. It was originally released as a digital download on iTunes in May 2014. The album features 22 cover songs recorded by the band between 1980 and 2008. Most of the songs have previously been released as b-sides or on tribute albums and soundtracks.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.