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Thursday, 25 March 2010

Chase Hamblin * The Gills

Chase Hamblin - (Houston, TX) "Chase Hamblin's debut EP, A Fine Time, is steeped in 60s/70s trippy pop. The title track is a tour-de-force, melodic in a Beatlesque way but with enough twists and turns and bells and whistles to reward multiple listens." -Absolute Powerpop "Anyone crafting such inventive yet melodious pop music has got to be incredibly passionate ... for power pop fans, let me just say that Hamblin is the real deal." -Kevin Mathews, Power Of Pop "[A Fine Time] touches on the golden era of rock and roll where multi-instrumental layers in well crafted songs reign supreme." -Shelby Hohl, Free Press Houston "Chase Hamblin's A Fine Time EP somehow bridges the gap between the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and the late orchestral work of Elliott Smith ... sounding like George Martin or Jon Brion themselves were behind the boards." -Craig Hlavaty, Rocks Off Houston "The five-song disc, A Fine Time, is layer upon layer of pure, ‘60s sunshine pop with a darkness that reveals itself slowly. " -Sara Cress, 29-95.com "In a word, Chase Hamblin's five-song A Fine Time is fab. Its heavy post-Sgt. Pepper's vibe extends from the pristine production and sweeping melodies to Hamblin's Lennonesque vocals and flowery lyrics. " -Chris Gray, Houston Press "...a collection of songs that play on the 60s British invasion with a modern twist ... with only five songs, Hamblin raises the expectations of how local music can sound. " -David A. Cobb, Houston Calling

The Gills- (Pensacola, FL) Hailing from Pensacola, Fl. The Gills are an eclectic, soulful, and energetic 5-piece indie rock band consisting of high school friends, siblings and survivors of life-threatening illnesses. In 2003, songwriter/singer/guitarist Jesse Wheeler was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia and fusarium. After undergoing countless procedures, and operations, including chemotherapy, Wheeler was on his way down "the mountain", ending his 3-year battle. During that time, he chose music as a form of therapy and picked up a guitar and Beatles songbook, and soon began writing songs of his own. Since then Wheeler has been steadily writing and recording music, tallying over 80 original, fully-completed songs to his repertoire. Through years of trial and error with other musicians, Wheeler formed The Gills in late 2007, with Nathan Dillaha (also a cancer survivor), bringing a soulful, bluesy edge to Wheeler's catchy, whimsical, and heart-felt songs. Adding an impressive rhythm section to the band are brothers Matthew (drums) and Andrew (bass) Prince, who incorporate energetic and heavy undertones to the mix. Pianist/multi-instrumentalist Allan Castleberry completes The Gills with ambient and ethereal backdrops, as well as, beautifully layered countermelodies. The final result is a band that has grasped manufacturing songs that cross musical genres and generation gaps.

 

Last Update Sunday 21 February, 2010