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Radio Moscow's album peaked at #76 on CMJ
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Radio Moscow signing records at the Alive headquarters
Radio Moscow played some live sessions down in Chicago about a month ago for HeaYa and now they are online, available for download : Hearya sessions Parker Grigg'â hands are like meat-hooks and they swallow the neck of the guitar. His hands move effortlessly, driving a heavy blues sound that seems odd for someone so young (he's 23 I think). As the session continued, Radio Moscow were firing on all cylinders and we just soaked it in. At one point, after kicking out "Whatever Happened", Parker asked if he could try out some new material. Shirk's response? "You can play all day for all I care." Parker is the centerpiece of the band, but by no means is Radio Moscow a one man act. Shirk compared them to Jimi Hendrix & The Experience. Now before anybody freaks out, we are not comparing Parker Griggs to Jimi Hendrix, but the overall approach is fairly similar. Todd and Zach do a phenomenal job laying down the rhythm and then get out of the way, letting Parker do his thing. And his thing is nothing short of amazing. Parker Griggs is one of the best young guitarists out there today, if not the best. He's a prodigy. As he matures and his songwriting chops get refined, there is no limit on what he and his band can do in the future. Next time they are in your town, go see them. - HearYa.com Crustier than a
bad case of psoriasis and greaser than a chicken fried steak,
the Ames, Iowa threesome Radio Moscow put the power back in power
trio. They ride a wave of wah wah guitar infused, dirty-ass psych-powered
blues rock in which one can smell the aroma of Old Granddad's
and non filtered cigarette smoke. Radio Moscow is caked with
an aura of rustic roadhouse grime and reverb that delivers a
swirling cacophony of an induced kaleidoscopic mirage. - Modern Fix This is blues rock
as it was meant to be played, not as it was watered down by the
hairspray-conscious acts of the 80s. The production, courtesy
of the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, is deliberately raw and the
album has a decidedly live energy. However, unlike a lot of lo-fi
recordings, this one is masterfully done. - Bob Lange/Rock
and roll and meandering nonsense Guitarist/vocalist
Parker Griggs is the oldest member of the band, and he is 23.
You would definitely have been able to guess they were young
by seeing them (Griggs, bassist Zach Anderson, and drummer Paul
Marrone), but you never would have by hearing them. Guys barely
old enough to drink don't even know who Cream and Blue Cheer
are, right, let alone how to play like them. - Illinois Entertainer Awesome
record-fun and slutty and cool, I'm
in favor of it all the way. - Matt Cibula / Pop
Matters Be it in the extended solos, inventive basslines or mellow yet soulful vocal, this stuff doesn't so much imitate the Brit power trio but recall it with its own updated spin. Make mine psych blues with a wah wah twist-Bluesheads will lap it up. Guitar psych fans too. - I-94 Bar Wah wah pedal Hendrix
guitars greet you upon the needle drop. Radio Moscow is a throwback
of retro garage blues fury. You gotta love wailing guitar solos
too, or forget it. Most of RM's music is 60s freakout jams. Whether
it's more on the noodlier Cream side of things or the caveman
stomp of The Sonics, Radio Moscow plays a blistering update on
classic acid 60s guitar rock. "Timebomb" has all the
above, and slows things down to a blues guitar half-time that
Robbie Krieger would dig. And when Parker Griggs (who plays all
instruments but bass) starts cranking it out, he's a guitar wizard.
It's a very authentic sound, nothing gives it away that Radio
Moscow are from 2007 not 1967. - Culture
Bunker Radio Moscow is
the best kind of time machine. With a driving bass line and a
wicked guitar lick, these Iowa boys take you back to a time when
rock music was defined not by complication or pretension, but
by talent and daring. These boys don't ape Jimmy Hendrix; rather,
they learn from his example and push the limits of blues rock
like there's no tomorrow (...) All that is to say, Radio Moscow
are the baddest motherfuckers making rock and roll in Iowa. Maybe
even the whole of the Iowa tri-state area. Maybe even the country.
Hell, they're the rockingest band in the world. Or at least that's
how they make you feel. And that's what legends are made of.
I predict great things for Radio Moscow. They may be out of time,
but they're doing their best to make us all remember real rock
and roll. - Headexploder
I'd hesitate to
call Radio Moscow a group, as it appears to be the work of one
Parker Griggs, who performs everything but bass and slide guitar
on the album (those parts were handled by Luke McDuff and The
Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, respectively). The 21-year old has
a keen grasp on what makes a rock song classic, as the ten tracks
on Radio Moscow's debut glide effortlessly through the late '60's/early
'70's era of psychedelic blues. For fans of that style, Radio
Moscow offers a feast worthy of gorging. "Frustrating Sound"
slinks by with a boozy confidence, the instrumental "Like
Skillet" is the bastard child of Peter Green-era Fleetwood
Mac and the Allman Brothers, and "Fuse" whomps like
Blue Cheer's life depends on it. And that's just a sampling of
the goodness within. Like Parchman Farm and Orange Sunshine,
Radio Moscow doesn't really fit in a modern context. The band
exists out of time. And like those two bands, Radio Moscow also
manages to take a well worn style and make it its own. An astonishingly
good debut. Recommended. - StonerRock.com It's easy to draw
the Black Keys comparisons, or as others have done, trace their
lineage to Cream, or the Jimi Hendrix Experience, but the way
Griggs handles that guitar transcends those comparisons. He's
not confined to the blues, but rather, uses it is a launching
pad for all sorts or sonic explorations. Do yourself a favor.
Put down that video game controller, and instead of pretending
to play Sabbath and Deep Purple, turn up your stereo and bask
in the power of mighty guitar work Griggs supplies on these tunes.
- Contra Costa Times The interplay between
Griggs and his new drummer from Missouri, Paul Marrone, was brilliant.
Bassist Zach Anderson appeared to be the typical Bill Wyman/John
Entwistle bassist: subdued physically, but kicking your ass with
every move of his fingers. The three of them seem to be playing
on instruments from the early 70s; perhaps blessed by the likes
of Freddie King, Ginger Baker and Noel Redding; then wrapped
up and placed in a steel vault, not to be opened until 2007. The licks that Griggs
were playing came from somewhere else. I spoke to him after the
show, not a good place for an interview, and I really desire
to understand where his talent comes from. He's either a natural,
or he's someone who enjoys sitting in his room eight hours a
day and flying through scales after scales until they're second
nature. Either way let's thank the guitar gods for the likes
of Parker Griggs. - Review of the San Francisco show from Free Radio SF There's another
story to Radio Moscow, and that's the emergence of a new guitar
hero -- Parker Griggs. Man, if that riff rifling six-string could
talk, it would surely say, "Look out rockers, there's a
new sheriff in town." Just consider the four minute guitar
odyssey of "Frustrating Sound." McDuff supplies the
low rumbling bass line, and Griggs supplies a hefty dose of the
blues. Then, just as you have him pegged as a Black Keys prodigy,
the dude absolutely goes off into rockabilly, punk, and thrash
in one solo. Therein lies the power of Radio Moscow's debut.
It's easy to draw the Black Keys comparisons, or as others have
done, trace their lineage to Cream, or the Jimi Hendrix Experience,
but the way Griggs handles that guitar transcends those comparisons.
He's not confined to the blues, but rather, uses it is a launching
pad for all sorts or sonic explorations. Do yourself a favor.
Put down that video game controller, and instead of pretending
to play Sabbath and Deep Purple, turn up your stereo and bask
in the power of mighty guitar work Griggs supplies on these tunes:
"Lucky Dutch," "Mistreating Queen," "Whatever
Happened," and "Fuse." - I
Rock Cleveland Masterminded by 22-year old multi-talent
Parker Griggs, it's surprising that this record is a product
of someone born in an era of neon bracelets and Duran Duran;
instead, Griggs summons up the soul of Hendrix and licks of Cream-era
Clapton. From the swagger of "Luckydutch," followed
by the backwater blues of "Lickskillet," to the psychedelic
haze of "Ordovician Fauna," the kid can't be accused
of not doing his homework. And while the precocious wunderkind
can often leave the authenticity police in a flutter, Griggs
successfully pulls it off leaving no doubt that this prodigy
is playing for real. - Adam Simpkins / The
Nerve SPIN Artist
of the Day on Spin.com : marrying the bluesy psychedelic
fervor of Cream with the big, precise fretwork of Jimi Hendrix,
Radio Moscow relish in distortion and grittiness. Prevalent are
themes of heartache, heartbreak, and drug intake, sometimes accompanied
by instrumental forays into tumbleweeding country ("Lickskillet")
and East Indian-influenced soundscapes ("Ordovician Fauna").
You'll be
doing yourself a world of good by picking this record up. If
you don't believe me, or you're just too hip to listen to something
that isn't yawn inspiring or about bugs, be my guest and sample
a few sparkling-acid-blues-covered tracks. & Who said rock
n' roll was dead? - Coffee
and Cassettes Hendrix's body may
be rotting six feet under, but his soul lives on through Radio
Moscow front man and multi instrumentalist Parker Griggs. - By-Tor
& The Snow Dog On their self-titled
debut, Radio Moscow infused trippy rock with heartfelt blues
and created a sound of unadulterated instrumental taunts. Although
their music has structure, it seems so impulsive and that's the
beauty of Radio Moscow. It doesn't really matter if there is
a paved path because their destination can be reached without
a map. - Music
Snitch Ames, Iowa based
Radio Moscow has allowed me to rediscover the guilty pleasure
that is blues-rock. (...) Whether chugging along with something
like "Frustrating Sound" or wailing away on the Stevie-Ray-esque
instrumental "Lickskillet" or the very Hendrix-like
"Whatever Happened", this debut by Radio Moscow reminds
you of why you enjoyed this type of music in the first place.
If you ever wanted to discover or re-discover some great, swampy
blues-rock and roll from a band that aren't receiving social
security you might just want to check out Radio Moscow. A nice
blast from the past played today. Cool stuff. The
Rock'n'roll Report A fine piece
of retro rock that will warm the hearts of all stoned music freaks
who think that lava lamps and blacklight posters is the coolest
stuff ever invented. - Lowcut With a nod to previous
purveyors of garage blues, Radio Moscow has elements of MC5,
Blue Cheer and Cream in their songs. At the ripe age of 22, Griggs
rips solos like there's no tomorrow and some tunes even feature
multiple solo work. The band is a trio but their sound is full
and loud, not unlike another trio, the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
- The Area Scene Mod as mod
can be, and psychedelic too. Radio Moscow has the swing, man,
they got the mojo. - Muzic Parker Griggs is
the driving force in the band. On their debut he handles the
songwriting/vocals/drummer and most importantly the guitar. In
a time where a current guitarist can't make a top 100 guitar
solos of all time list, Griggs couldn't have come along at a
better time. His ability is unquestioned. He has a distinct sound.
Alive describe it as "fuzzed out psychedelic guitar."
I describe him as phenomenal. His playing is far from linear
as there are constant tempo changes and experimentation that
give his playing a sense of impulsiveness that keeps you wanting
more. - HearYa Radio
Moscow on Fuel TV The Black Keys love
their '70s classic rock, and they know what it smells like. Member
Dan Auerbach helps Ames, Iowa, psychedelic blues-rockers Radio
Moscow tap into their love of Jimi Hendrix and the Allman Brothers
on this debut effort, which also delves into country and East
Indian sounds. Songs include: "Lickskillet," "Ordovician
Fauna" and "Luckydutch." - MTV
news
Review of the album
art on the East
Bay Express blog | Parker's interview for
Tinnitus (Germany) They start
off by introducing themselves with a rock 'n roll Hendrix-esque
vibe. It's fun and such, but I don't think you'll play this particular
song quite often. Frustrating sound, their second track on the
album, opens with a bass as fat 'n greasy as a mexican cab-driver.
They are known to surprise us with a sudden change of pace now
and then and this one is probably their signature song, when
it comes to changing the tempo. The following song tries to bring
back the spirit of Jimi Hendrix and eerie enough, I think they
actually succeeded. Luckydutch shreds all boundaries between
blues and rock to pieces. Lickslit, another instrumental, is
bayou meets pshycadelic rock, a mixture that seems to work really
well. Mistreating Queen and Whatever happened are much alike,
same pounding drum beat and shrieking guitar violence. Next in
line is Timebomb, a darker sound, here he reminds me a bit of
Wolfmother, the guitar almost sings along to the song. Deep blue
see is a BB King anthem of some sort, with a classical sticky
blues rhythem. The next oriental excerpt is called Ordovician
Fauna, a mentally disturbing vibe rings through your head after
listening to this reminding you to not do drugs, or is it the
other way around? Fuse, again another instrumental powerhouse,
concludes this psychadelic journey, suddenly giving me meaning
to the statement "Blues Explosion". - Hotel 84 Parker Griggs
is the powerhouse of Radio Moscow. You really have to see him
play to appreciate how good he is. His style of psychedelic blues
is reminiscent of Jimmy Hendrix. video here The "Introduction"
simply gets the job in motion, wetting the lips for the white
boy slink and shuffle of "Frustrating Sound." It's
low key but sinewy, driven and laid back simultaneously, smoke-filled
and mushroom stomping, especially when the jazzy parts get unmuzzled.
This is fairly "classic" or "trad" to the
extreme, with little or no ironic overdubs or self-consciousness.
The Hendrix persona sneaks out, a little bleached and Anglo,
on "Luckydutch," when the boys try and wax and worm
their way through basic psyche blues territory, and the lyrical
dictum "baby I wish I could forget you" does seem a
bit hammy, but at least its universal too. The acoustic-fed "Lickskillet,"
replete with a homegrown ratty front porch atmosphere, segues
into a rock-up nugget that tastes like bourbon and chicken wings.
Disappearing girls show back up on "Whatever Happened,"
and again, they don't seem to treat the boys right or keep them
tight. "Tomebomb" ticks off the problems with relationships
as the drums and guitars skirt each other before falling into
a smackdown chorus. The woman may evil, but then again, she got
that magnetism that won't let any mortal man be. The incense
and sitar East Indian vibe of "Ordovician Fauna" completes
the cycle of classic rock tropes, though in lo-fi form, like
a cassette interlude during an off-the-cuff moment. Not to worry,
the Sabbath soundscape adventures forth on "Fuse" in
telepathic waves care of Birmingham, England, where the factories
ate two bits of Tommy Iommi's fingers, but this actually comes
from corn-fed pancake land Iowa. Go figure. Grow your hair out,
man. - Left
Of The Dial Psychedelic Blues
is probably up there with up with prog rock in terms of genres
people are embarrassed to admit they listen to. Neither are particularly
hip and new records are hard to come by in both categories. The
prospect of Cream's recent reunion would have excited many, even
though the end results were a little disappointing. Anyone wanting
a good fix of psychedelic rock should console themselves with
this debut by Iowa-based Radio Moscow. Crank up 'Luckydutch'
or 'Timebomb' and transport yourself back to a time when Messrs
Clapton, Baker and Bruce were the three most important musicians
on the planet. The dynamic duo of Parker Griggs and Luke McDuff
have come up with a CD which takes the best of Cream, Jimi Hendrix
and Led Zeppelin and repackages them for a 21st century audience.
Most of the tunes on this CD are of the cranked up to 11 variety.
'Lickskillet' has a lovely, soft Blues respite at the start before
the thunderous rock kicks in. 'Whatever Happened' could easily
have been a Led Zep B-side with Parker Griggs giving a scorching
performance on the guitar and vocals. 'Deep Blue Sea' is more
straight Blues, with funky back porch drums and acoustic slide
guitar. Producer Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys) has given the
CD a raw, greasy feel and he avoids the pitfalls of this genre
by keeping each track to around four and a half minutes long.
Anyone hoping for a two hour drum solo will be disappointed.
The rest of us will probably breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy
the music instead. - Jamie Hailstone / Blues Matters (UK)
HearYa's
answer to Pitchfork's review of Radio Moscow Tampa show review on Ninebullets.net The Fake : review
of Radio Moscow (Switzerland) | German review -
the
Ox | Gonzai review
(France) The Midwest has
birthed any number of blues rock outfits, most recently, the
psychedelic-minded Radio Moscow, which takes its cue from the
heavy power trios of the late 1960s with giant riffs, fuzzy bass
and robust, stomping tempos (...) the album is a heady mix of
powerhouse instrumentals, rootsy acoustic blues numbers and lo-fi
garage romps, sometimes marked by wah-wah or slide guitar or
even sitar. - Kinda
Blues Radio Moscow's debut
cd is electric guitar fueled blues rock that can find a groove
and ride it so hard it'll scar your speakers. Think Wolfmother
meets The Black Keys, and you'll probably have the worst analogy
in the history of music reviews, but I'm gonna use the fucker.
For real though, this is a cd that forces you to stomp your feet
and play air guitar from the second the opening bass solo of
"Frustrating Sound" starts. - Nine
Bullets They are a huge,
loud guitar orgy just waiting for you to give them an ear. And
Tampa did. In all the shows I've seen at New World I have never
seen a band play an encore and Radio Moscow was not planning
on playing one either but the crowd demanded it. I ain't exaggerating
either. - Sticks of Fire live
review Ames, Iowa isn't
exactly known as a hotbed of psychedelic blues. And yet, from
that very burg comes Radio Moscow, a trio who are quite deftly
carrying the torch left by the likes of Cream, Jimi Hendrix and
everybody in the late '60s who viewed wah-wahs, fuzz boxes and
crazily overdriven tube amps as essential components of rock
guitar. To be sure, that area has been well mined over the past
four decades, and more often than not, it sounds tired and played
out. Not so with Radio Moscow. - Douglas Jordan / StAugustine.com Scorching guitars
straight out of Hendrix's grab bag produced by the Black Keys'
Dan Auerbach, this is a must for fans of gnarly guitar shredding
rooted in the blues. - Paul Saitowitz / PE
Com Basically what this
band sounds like to me is Black Keys style riffs and singing,
Comets on Fire psych freakouts, and then plenty of homage to
the old psych-blues bands of yesteryear: Cream, Hendrix, Yardbirds,
etc. It's an amazing record and is guaranteed to make you rock
out. - A
Tune A Day Radio Moscow are
Parker Griggs (guitar, drums, vocals, percussion), Luke McDuff
(bass), Zach Anderson (bass) - creating a concoction of psychedelic
garage rock with complicated melodic, spinning riffs to please
even the most dedicated rock 'n roll maestro's! - Velvet
Grooves Radio Moscow is
a syncretic concoction of Blue Cheer, Hendrix, Sabbath, Cream,
and The Edgar Brougton Band but at the Kremlin core of the Russian
Nesting Doll is a neoteric aberration that patiently waits to
jugulate. Look onward to the past and summon up the memories of the future.
Radio Moscow lay beneath the mushroom cloud blowing smoke rings
of Psychedelic abundance. - Sugarbuzzmagazine Greek review on Rocking | French review on Blakswan | Hard
Rock Cafe (Spanish) | Review on a Dutch site These blues-rock
revisionists, hailing from Ames, Iowa got The Black Keys' guitarist
Dan Auerbach in to produce this monstrously good album, which
takes its cues from the freeform instrumental workouts of Cream
and Jimi Hendrix and the powerhouse riffage of Black Sabbath.
Guitarist and vocalist Parker Griggs is at the centre of all
the action here, with some incendiary wah-wah guitar solos the
like of which you just don't get to hear nowadays, flipping between
straightforward pentatonic and blues scales to more adventurous
modal phrases without relying too heavily on effects to bolster
his skills. It's not all full steam ahead though, tracks like
'Lickskillet' and 'Deep Blue Sea' feature rootsy acoustic blues
playing with some beautifully crisp slide guitar and the echo
chamber psych of 'Ordovician Fauna' suggests a developing experimental
element to the band's already formidable sound. - Boomkat (UK) Guitarist/drummer
(a hybrid you don't see every day!) Parker Griggs knows his way
around the strings and isn't shy about taking a solo or two,
and together with bassist Luke McDuff he lays down a solid, pounding
beat. These aren't the exploratory workouts of Phish or Dave
Matthews -- they're lightshow illuminated Fillmore-style jams
that shred like The Who live at Leeds. The band's blues is spiced
with '60s garage (like something you might have heard from the
Shadows of Knight if they'd recorded something longer than 3
minutes), and the Eastern-tinged "Ordovician Fauna"
sounds like something the Electric Prunes might have turned out. There's enough tempo and textural
variety (including downbeat instrumental experiments and steel-string
acoustic guitars mixed against howling electric slide) to keep
things moving, but it's the insistent rhythms and Griggs' meaty,
high-flying guitar solos that provide the transportation. - Eli
Messinger / Amazon.com How often does one
get to review a psychedelic blues rock band from Iowa? Not very
damn often but this trio sure did everything in their power to
make this one count. There,s plenty of fuzzed out garage and
blues guitar workouts to keep you busy for hours just closing
your eyes and nodding your head like you're in some kind of hypnotic
trance. Think of an album that's one half Allman Brothers and
one half Amboy Dukes and you might be in the ballpark. - Richard
Oliver / Ear Candy A simmering mojo
mixture of magic mushrooms, the soul of Jimi Hendrix, and hallucinatory
daisy-chain vibrations filtered through a crawfish net full of
bayou muck, alligator claws, and buzzing dragonfly wings. The
jams be kickin' like a motherfucker on this disc, so soak it
up, brothers and sisters, with a tab of microdot and a hookah
full of primo weed. Ah, what a scintillating trip! - Moser /
Under The Volcano Radio Moscow's self-titled
album is a rocker's dream album intermixed with some rarities
that one wouldn't generally find on a predominately rock album.
- Celebrity
Cafe Highlights include
"Lucky Dutch," which contains a beefy riff that's reminiscent
of Ram Jam's "Black Betty," "Lickskillet"
begins as an acoustic blues ditty, before transforming into an
Allman Brothers-esque dual guitar fest (complete with slide guitar),
while both "Mistreating Queen" and "Whatever Happened"
are muscular riff rock a la the Jeff Beck Group. - Greg Prato
/ All
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