Walter Bush: Bass, Vocals, and Guitar Kristian Habenicht: Lead Guitar JJ Jenkins: Lead Vocals, Keyboards, and Guitar Chris LaRocca: Lead Guitar and Vocals George Petersen: Lead Vocals, Drums, and Guitar
___
ARIEL performs El Dorado Gold at the Knitting Factory-LA
___
ARIEL performs Crank Up the Victrola at the Knitting Factory-LA
___
ARIEL performs Franklin, Jackson and Grant at the Knitting Factory-LA
The latest album by ARIEL is done and in the stores. Sure Thing, You Bet! features 16 exciting new songs by ARIEL. The band's third studio album, STYB spotlights the songwriting talents of JJ Jenkins and George Petersen with blistering guitar pyrotechnics by fellow ARIEL members Chris LaRocca, Kristian Habenicht and Walter Bush. The CD opens with the jumpin' "Are You Ready to Rock?" a question that's soon answered in the affirmative by the tracks that follow. From the searing prog-rock instrumental "Wrequiem" to the thoroughly tongue-in-cheek screamer "They Won't Play Us in LA," ARIEL mines the fertile landscape of rock styles, from blues ("Franklin, Jackson and Grant"), Latin ("Bordertown"), psychedelic ("Church of the Cosmic Cookie") and folk ("The Message Song") to power ballad ("I Can't Bear This Cross No More"), swamp rock ("El Dorado Gold"), biker rock ("Halfway to Harris"), jazz-tinged ("Zombies"), and Beatlesque ("How Now" and "Climbing") to the good, old-fashioned rock-rock of "The Fine Art of Proselytization." Most notable, perhaps, is STYB's first single pull, "Crank Up the Victrola," a straightforward rocker with a memorable hook that's prefaced by a vintage advertisement featuring famed Metropolitan Opera announcer Milton J. Cross extolling the virtues of Victor Record Company's 1925 Orthophonic recording process. Sure Thing, You Bet! is more than simply this album's title. It's ARIEL's wager that you'll want to play this album again and again. Even from your first listen, STYB has the comfortable feel of classic rock songs you've always loved. Or to quote the venerable Milton J. Cross, "Let your own ears be the judge!"
Sure Thing, You Bet! is available from these fine retailers:
ARIEL formed when George Petersen and JJ Jenkins, who after playing in
top-40 bands, decided they needed an outlet for their prolific original
songwriting. ARIEL soon became a Northern California live music
staple, playing venues from intimate clubs to large festivals. "In
Mendocino" (ARIEL's first single release) received massive West Coast
airplay and brought the band some national attention. On the strength of
this popular single and the band's solid reputation as a live act, ARIEL has
been lucky enough to have been featured in large concerts supporting
luminaries such as Santana, Eddie Money, Starship and John Lee Hooker.
ARIEL's debut GREETINGS FROM ARIEL! album featured the singles "Stuck in
Traffic" and "An American Girl." GREETINGS was followed by INTERNATIONAL
WORLD. Recorded in multiple languages, it’s title track--a rock anthem to
world peace--has been heard in various forms in nearly every country in the
world. The album also yielded the haunting hit "Poem for Cassandra." ARIEL's
EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT album documented the band's occasional acoustic
coffeehouse shows.
Please check out these happenin’ broadcasters playing cuts from ARIEL’s “Sure Thing, You Bet!”
..
