It's a busy Friday evening at the newly refurbished resident bar on the University of Queensland campus; The Second Degree (formerly the Red Room). A long haired front-man dressed in a purple velvet jacket, reminiscent of an early nineties 'Prince' costume approaches the microphone on stage, unnoticed by the room of 20 somethings. In this uncomfortably busy venue it's going to take something truly amazing to make the crowd put their dummy's back in their mouths and hush up. Brisbane band 'The Ride' are just the entity to achieve this feat.
The haunting vocals of singer Aidan Bishop pierce the venue, punctuated by a soul shaking bass line and bursts of unexpected keyboard by James Lord. There is a shift in the emotion of the venue and the atmosphere becomes thick with appreciation for the musicians. A young man standing next to me remarks to a friend, “Well I wasn't expecting this,” as a response to the opening number just as the unfamiliar song mutates brilliantly into the beat from Beverly Hills Cop, much to the crowd's pleasure. Colloquially known 'sleaze master' Liam Brizee pumped-up an aural onslaught with his lead guitar. There was also a guest appearance from reality television heart throb Billy Bishop from Make Me a Supermodel on bass guitar who also complimented James Peeters' breathtaking and non-stop drumming assault with some tasty percussion moments; a superb performance which demonstrated a distinct affection between the band members.
The Ride have the capacity to make you lose yourself in their music which can only be described as an intense fusion of soul and funk with an unmistakable hip hop influence. The whole sound pounds you in the gut and forces you to move or throw your head back in ecstasy. The sound's distinct flavours mix with touches of jazz inducing dance music characterized by syncopated rhythm and a heavy, pant wetting bass line.
Aidan Bishop fronts the band with a style I've never witnessed before. Describing his voice as inimitable would be a gross understatement. Diabolical and outrageously powerful juxtaposed with moments of complete fragility and consummate evanescence force the audience to literally ride through a diverse collection of emotive responses. It's refreshing to see a band with such sincerity and charisma, which makes it all the more irritating that they are not yet a bigger name. But as the last chords of 'Don't' are played out and an elated (A.) Bishop carelessly thrashes his mop of hair dangerously close to every hard instrument on the small stage, it becomes apparent that surely it's only a matter of time before the EP Taste and more live shows like this transport them to bigger things.
A beautiful, low-key yet somehow intense predominantly instrumental song brought the evening to an end, leaving us in no doubt that, no matter how big they become, The Ride will never lose the ability to hold an adoring audience in the palm of their hands. Whether it be the undeniable appeal of their music alone or blistering on stage performances, it's impossible not to admire the band's intensity. The show formed an education in a hybrid sub-genre of musical styles, and a celebration for everyone present. On the strength of this showing, word of mouth should see the band's star ascend even higher. Enjoy The Ride while you can.
Alix Newton
Any queries please contact,
The Ride Manager
Brendan Richardson (0412 055 372)
Hey guys how you going? Congrats on doing so well in the JJJ unearthed. We have just drop two instrumentals from our upcoming album. There ls a revamped version of our track Sunset and a new one called Blossom Haze. We have had great feedback on Blossom Haze. Love to know what you think? Keep up the great work. Cheers Shaun
We've got a few in the works at the moment, just waiting for them to be mixed, so hopefully we'll have them up and running in the next week or so! And if you guys are keen to gig around August/September we are starting to put together a few shows, as our drummer is away for all of July. Anyways, see you heartthrobs soon!
Hey guys how ya going? Inviting you to taste a section of our upcoming album with a track named 'Found'. On this track we have liberal sprinklings of Geoff Bradley and Pete Raidel (Goose) on trumpet and sax respectively, the dish finished with Tony Minnieconn's patented vocal awesomesauce. Mmmmmmm, that's good music!
Please let us know what you think?
The track will be up for the month of May so get your fill until our anticipated album release towards years end. Cheers Guys. Shaun M
Hey fellahs! We should be on around 10:30-10:45 if its anything like last time, although we'll let you know for sure when we find out! Would be awesome to see you guys there!
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It's a busy Friday evening at the newly refurbished resident bar on the University of Queensland campus; The Second Degree (formerly the Red Room). A long haired front-man dressed in a purple velvet jacket, reminiscent of an early nineties 'Prince' costume approaches the microphone on stage, unnoticed by the room of 20 somethings. In this uncomfortably busy venue it's going to take something truly amazing to make the crowd put their dummy's back in their mouths and hush up. Brisbane band 'The Ride' are just the entity to achieve this feat.
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