One of the most important things you need when you need to decide on when forming a band is what to call the outfit. And when you start the process of deciding on what that name might be, you may look everywhere for inspiration.
One band from New York found what they were looking for in a name form the cinema: The Rochester, New York band of Ace Merrill took their name from a character from the 1986 film “Stand By Me”.
The Rochester, New York band of Ace Merrill is a quartet of musicians that was looking for their own style of music. The band is comprised of Josh Dettman on vocals, Joe Harris on guitar/keyboards/vocals, Emery Rizzo on drums, and Phil Kruger on bass guitar. It is this band of musicians that have combined their musical tastes to form yet another musical hybrid of the rock genre. The quartet has combined the genres of Indie-Rock and Hardcore to create their own style that has since been dubbed “Indie-Core”.
After being together since 2007, the band took their sound and went into the studio to create their first release. The resulting release is called “When The Strangeness Strikes”. “Indie-Core” is a very accurate description of Ace Merrill’s sound. The band part of Ace Merrill, Harris, Rizzo, and Kruger, have created their own style of rock music that sits slightly outside of the normal sound of today’s rock music, which ends up giving their sound that “Indie” badge. Then Dettman adds his aggressive approach as the band’s vocalist that would be at home in a “Hardcore” band.
To say that Harris, Rizzo, and Kruger only play Indie-Rock in the outfit would be incorrect. The band alternates their sound and approach from Indie-Rock to a heavier Hardcore sound when Dettman adds his “hardcore” vocals to the mix. That combination is what makes up the band’s musical style. And it is that style that has been classified as “Indie-Core”.
Ace Merrill’s “Indie-Core” musical style has been recorded and released on the band’s 2008 EP entitled “When The Strangeness Strikes”. “When The Strangeness Strikes” contains five of the band’s songs. “He Could Be A Killer,” the EP’s first song, is the perfect example of the band’s Indie/Hardcore style. The song starts off with the band playing a song that is heavily Indie and when Josh Dettman gives more emotion with his voice, the band increases their energy to match his. The whole EP plays out this way.
If you like Indie-Rock or Hardcore music, then Ace Merrill is a band that has created a CD of music that might interest you. The band has created a rock hybrid that contains a large amount of Indie-Rock. And there’s just enough Hardcore music to satisfy any fan of the genre. The two music styles may not be two styles that you would normally find together, but Ace Merrill makes the two genres work together and their “When The Strangeness Strikes” EP shows you what can happen when you go about trying to create your own style: You may end up with something unique. The band and their unique sound caught the attention of AP Magazine. The magazine ended up naming the band one of their “Bands of the Month”.
To find out more about Ace Merrill and their music, you can find the band on MySpace at www.myspace.com/acemerrill.
Reviewed By Matheson Kamin
