American guitars through British amps, old drum sets, and electric pianos come together to create something both classic and fresh, raucous yet intimate, simultaneously melodic and rockin'.

13 MP3 Songs
ROCK: 60's Rock, ROCK: Americana



Details:
The Vinyltones are a new band with an old-sounding name. They are longtime friends playing with a fresh sense of urgency. They are everything you'll ever need in a rock 'n' roll band-dirty guitars, tasty melodies, ballsy drums, and even a little electric piano, all delivered to your ears with a sweaty abandon honed from years of musical brotherhood.

It's been over ten years since Craig Dockery, Bryan Billhimer, and Shaun Schaefer (vocals/guitar/keys, guitar, drums) first played together in a low-slung basement practice space, pumping out Hendrix, Dylan and Zeppelin covers with their high school bandmates. Times changed, the band drifted apart, but their rock 'n' roll passion never quite went away. That flicker of passion, along with some late night conversations, the passage of several years and a few raw demos, sparked something new and fresh. Craig relocated back to Cincinnati from the East Coast, Columbus bass player Mike Hartless was recruited, and soon the boys were back doing what they should have been doing all along: saving the world through rock'n'roll, or at least having a damn good time trying.

And so the Vinyltones were formed. It's been less than a year, but the band has seen a lot of action. They were the first act signed by producer Matt "Emosia" Senatore's (Blessid Union of Souls) indie label Tru Artists Entertainment, which led to a two-song publishing deal with PureTone Music, the publishing company started by A&R veteran Pete Ganbarg (Santana, Run-DMC). The Vinyltones' song "Hope to Remember" has recently been one of the most-played songs on XM Radio's Unsigned Band Channel. And, they release their debut album "Memoirs of a Songbook" on May 17. Not a bad year's work.

But what it really comes down to is the music. And the music is worth waiting for. It's loved by teenagers and great-aunts; it's meant for blue-collar carpenters and white-collar office drones; it's written about grandmothers and brothers and long-distance love. The sound is Americana-Anglophile-power-garage-pop, or something like that. It's whatever happens when people who have long communicated to each other in a medium beyond words take the stage, and do what they do best. It's rock 'n' roll.