— In the fickle music industry, there's usually little room for inspiration.
But sometimes tenacity and talent wins the day.
Despite the fact Central Pennsylvania-based rockers Rise Phoenix Rise have no
attachment to a major label, they are receiving radio play from stations across
the country. Their single, "Walk Away," has been picked up by radio in
Tennessee, Alabama, California, Michigan and other states.
In fact, so many stations have hopped aboard the Rise Phoenix Rise bandwagon,
"Walk Away" has found itself just outside of the top 100 on the nation's active
rock charts.
That's no small feat for an independent, do-it-yourself group.
So how have they been able to accomplish the seemingly impossible? According to
drummer and band manager Rob Hampton, they've simply put themselves out there.
He literally sent hundreds of press kits to radio stations around the country in
the hope a few would dig what they heard. And when he knew a station had RPR's
song in hand, Rob, another band member or a radio promotions professional they
hired would call to follow up.
"Did you get the song? Did you hear it? Did you like it? Are you going to play
it? Can our fans request it?"
Five questions. A 30-second phone conversation. That's all it took. If a station
said no, they just moved on to the next.
"What we found is a lot of stations would test it out, give it a spin or two,
and if they got requests they would think about adding it to regular rotation,"
Rob said.
Stations in Detroit, Palm Beach, Fla., Savannah, Ga., Kingsport, Tenn., and
Auburn, Ala., have all added "Walk Away" to their lists, pushing it up the
active rock charts and building buzz for Rise Phoenix Rise.
Now the boys in RPR are poised to make waves on the East Coast music scene and
maybe beyond.
Of course, if their music wasn't top notch they wouldn't have had a chance of
accomplishing such an indie rock radio coup. "Walk Away" is jam packed with
soaring, crunchy guitars, ear-candied vocal harmonies and lock-tight rhythms.
But for Rob, it's all about putting his time and resources where his music is.
"You have to put your heart and soul into this if you're going to make it," he
said. "If you don't, there are a hundred other bands that will. I'm always at my
computer, I'm always working on the band."
RPR's success should serve as a lesson to other young and upcoming bands: if you
have the talent, if you have the savvy and work ethic, then you're going to
rise.
Listen to Rise Phoenix Rise at www.myspace.com/rprmusic.
E-mail comments to dgessel@dailyitem.com.
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