The Mighty Grasshoppers

Have you been looking for a new power-pop band to add to your collection of bands like the Plimsouls, Shoes, Pezband, Badfinger, Sick Rose, etc.? Well, here you go! Led by the almost-annoyingly talented Tony Fate (BellRays, Black Widows), the Grasshoppers run through a batch of extremely well-written tunes that are clever and interesting as well as incredibly catchy.

But Tony isn't the only talent here! Chris LeRoy wrote a number of the songs, as well as handling most of the lead vocals (Tony does a rare lead vocal appearance on "Caravan", which only makes you wonder why he doesn't sing more often!) along with second guitar and keyboards. The rhythm section of Art Schindele and Tim Loughlin (drums & bass, respectively) are very adept at adding to and propelling the numbers without distracting from them.

Lots of influences raise their heads here, from C&W ("I Wouldn't Follow"), to surf (some of Tony's cuts are reminiscent of Black Widows constructs), garage, and more, but all blend together for a cohesive sound. This is not raucous, or even punk-pop - this is true power-pop, as it was done in the 70's. Real songs, real playing, real good! It's from Vital Gesture - how can you go wrong?!