Acme Rock Group was formed in 1996 by guitarist-singer-songwriter-producer Erik Rex in Philadelphia after his rock group The Brilliant Suns had disbanded.
Acme\'s debut CD Star combines elements of early influential British guitar-based rock and roll bands like the Beatles, the Kinks, and the Who. Acme Rock Group has gotten many flattering comparisons to monster psyche-pop / guitar pop groups like Apples In Stereo, Rain Parade, The Lilys, The Orgone Box, Jellyfish, Brian Jonestown Massacre, and Big Star. Even Heroes-era Bowie, Buddy Holly, and The Everly Brothers have figured into their sound comparisons.
Some of the unique features of Acme\'s sound are the variety of instruments used, expansive use of melody and harmony, progressive technological experimentation, and a growing inclusion of classical flourishes in the arrangements. Some of the new recordings follow in the style of Star while others open the door to completely different projects (soon to be named). The vision for ARG provides for the release of only three albums as in three acts.
Acme Rock Group\'s name was coined in an effort to meld an anti-advertising ethic with the need to advertise the group and the Star CD. The original push included slogans which fully reflected the absurdity of releasing such a specialized CD into a world already overflowing with new music releases. \"Another CD for a Saturated Market\" was the ad campaign slogan.
Acme Rock Group has recorded 16 tasty pop songs in a high-fidelity environment and released 10 of them to the general public for their listening pleasure. The unreleased tracks will see the light of day, but weren\'t fully realized at the time Star was mixed and mastered. Some of those tracks may appear on the new album or EP.
Acme isn\'t a retro band, though they\'ve made a distinctive retro album. Star was recorded under the premise that this freshman recording effort could have been released in 1967 to directly compete with some of the greatest rock and roll acts of the mid-60\'s, another concept album if you will. All instruments, recording technologies, social constraints, etc. of that era were integrated into the production. That approach allowed Acme to capture a feel of the 60s that few bands have been able to match without sounding contrived.
Sonically, the CD sounds as good as anything which came out at that time. On different occasions it\'s been likened to the Sgt. Pepper, Revolver, and Rubber Soul.
In October 1997, Acme, present then only in the collective unconscious, performed live on WXPN and its affiliate stations. This was the group\'s second performance. By March 1998, the group was named by the Philadelphia Weekly as the \"Best New Band In Philadelphia\". Since Star\'s 2001 release the word in the music world has been very encouraging as well and it\'s likely that the new tour will take the group abroad.
The group\'s name was conceived over a game of pool in Sugar Moms, a bar in Old City Philadelphia. Melissa Auf der Mar giggled when she heard the group\'s name (Ric Ocasek had apparently passed her a copy of the original demo). Oasis asked for the demo but sadly they never got it. They were looking for opening acts during their first US tour. The new Acme album will feature an early, unreleased song titled \'Mountains\' which in 1994 which spoofed the then-fresh Oasis sound. It includes trite \'tree\' imagery lifted from a poem hastily scribed on a box years before. To Acme\'s credit and originality, the Oasis sound was never pursued. There were some funny moments on tour in North Carolina with Robbie Rist (Oliver from the Brady Bunch). The boys in Acme enjoyed an overnight stay in Sting\'s house overlooking Central Park as his son Joe\'s (Fiction Plane) guests. This after Joe and his posse rode out a snowstorm overnight in Philly.
Since the CD\'s release, Acme has received favorable press and kind correspondence from all over the world. Star features appearances by Steve Missal (Billy Idol Band), Gordon Townsend (ELO II, Parthenon Huxley, and The Orchestra), Andy Kravitz (Sting, Cypress Hill, Billy Joel, Joan Osborne, Schoolly D (the godfather of gangster rap), and Grammy Award-winner Ted Greenburg. Also featured is National Hammer Dulcimer Finalist, John Lionarons and many others who were equally important to the album\'s sound.
Recording took place outside of Philadelphia at Fat City Studios which is loaded with well-maintained vintage analog gear, modern digital capabilities, and two highly competent engineers, Paul Hammond and Paul Sinclair, both of whom assisted with production. Eight of the songs are Rex compositions while two more are excellent interpretations of songs written by Peter Townsend and Lennon-McCartney.
The new album\'s release was postponed as Erik Rex recuperated from serious injuries sustained in a NYC elevator crash
Recent credits include a new Acme Rock Group single (Never Forever) on Not Lame Records\' International Pop Overthrow Vol. 7. Also, collaborations with Kurt Heasley (Lilys) have yielded fruitful results, some of which were released overseas last year. Expect two new albums to appear in 2009.
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