Vegas with Randolph’s music has been called “ebullient, unabashed power pop”, “thinking man's party music,” and “blissful pop songwriting at its finest” and their music has been compared to Fastball, Sloan, and Fountains of Wayne. Now, with the 2011 release of their newest CD “Above The Blue”, VWR has just returned with what Mike Lidskin calls "Sheer Powerpop Perfection"!
At the nucleus of VWR is the songwriting partnership of John Ratts and Eric Kern. Starting in high school in their mid-western hometown, the duo has penned hundreds of songs, many of which have received radio airplay, use in TV and video, compilation CD's, covers by several artists, and awards (2010 "Song of the Year" Twirlie award, a 2010 “Modern Rock Recording of the Year” Wammie, listings among the Top 100 CD’s of 2009 by Absolute Powerpop.com and others, and 8 other award nominations between '08 and ‘11 by the Washington Area Music Association). The band includes a number of accomplished and highly creative musicians: Dan Aylestock on bass, David Purol and Brock Harris on guitars, and most recently Danny Aylestock on Drums.
VWR’s self-titled debut CD was released in 2008 and followed quickly by the 2009 EP “Side Trip”, a collection of new singles and novelty songs. In August 2011 their second full length CD, the critically acclaimed “Above The Blue” was released, and was immediately followed by a multitude of interviews and performances including DC’s Hard Rock Café and the International Pop Overthrow Festival in NYC.
The band is planning a series of video releases in support of “Above The Blue” in the upcoming months, as well as a couple early 2012 single releases, and will be commencing work on their third full length CD shortly.
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