Half-naked men bared almost all on Friday night in a frenzy of guitar & drums.

Stonegrass, a combination of former bands Throat Oyster & Eesifreek, showed off their tattoos and their musical talents and whipped up the Green Room crowd.

The band, a raw-edged musical explosion, had attitude & noise and lovers of a harder rock sound showed their appreciation at the end of their short set.

For City Sounds man Bill Menzies, the band showed quality musicianship, "The drumming & musical talent of the band were brilliant. They were well versed in what they did." he said.

Stonegrass have toured heavily and perform at the highest level so it was imminent that they would produce a second EP to follow up their successful debut.
This unsigned band harvest a mixture of musical talent and passion to produce their music, which can be told easily on this demo.

The four tracks, "Exist", "Sign Up To Everything", "Manic" and "Left Undone" contain a heavy influence of Rock N' Roll. Stonegrass have the talent and knowledge they need to get to the top. Room for improvement is needed with most bands except these guys seem to be ahead of the game already.

Don't be surprised if Stonegrass become a regular on MTV

Tipped as the next big thing as far as local bands are concerned, this is the debut four track CD

First song 'Exist' opens with a steady rock riff and some killer wah work. The band surge of into the opening number and fuck me if it isn't Eddie Vedder on vocals. It has to be admitted it sounds a shed load like Pearl Jam - but when you are being compared to sounding like one of the world's greatest band's it means you are doing something right.

Using a mix of electric and acoustic guitars throughout the CD and some stunning vocals there is a strong rock theme and a lot of energy - especially in the lead from the guitarist on 'Sign Up To Everything'.

It's very straight rock but it's very good and very well written.
Showing a good grasp between the rockier and mellow sections, the fourth song 'Left Undone' is a real lighter waver and the end of the third (Manic) houses a killer hook through the vocals.
The songs are short, sharp and catchy and can be widely appreciated. there has already been speculation about their live shows and you can catch the band playing the rhythms of the world rock stage on Sat the 12th July.
A stunning voice and four very good songs. Expect this band to grow.

Congratulations to Stonegrass who become the very first band to make it to the final. As a whole all three bands played very well and the judges had a hard task deciding which band was to go through. Eventually a decision was made and the outcome being the "Reef/Pearl Jam-with-some-funk-thrown-in" band go through.

The drumming by (Rupert and) Stonegrass really stood out tonight.
Both drummers showing their technical skills and intricate drumming....................

Lastly are the winners Stonegrass. The vocals tonight were spot on, the drumming intense. Clint always seems to amaze me when I see him play purely for what he does, and the face that he pulls. I mean, what other drummer can grin like a psycho all the way through a gig, even after pulling off some hard, manic fills?
Clint can, that's who! And with the great bass player and equally strong guitarist playing their hearts out this band won with an energetic performance. Again, not the most original of bands, but Stonegrass do have a little of themselves there at times. Always powerful, they have now set a strong standard for any of the other bands that go through to the final.

Singer Jamie's captivating vocals move effortlessly between soul, funk and impassioned roaring on this latest EP from the highly-regarded foursome.
Meanwhile, James' busy guitar weaves its magic around the vocals and the tight rhythm section nails everything down with more than sufficient bluster.
Funky rhythms collide with out-and-out rockers, with the odd epic moment tossed in for good measure.
Overall, you can't help but be drawn to their exuberance, borne of accomplished musicianship and an unmistakable love of music.

In a word, class. Play it loud! And then go and see them live.

Stonegrass's debut CD blew me away. With all this punk pop & processed rock about at the moment I was looking for an unusual and refreshing sound, and boy have Stonegrass got that!

When I put the CD in and the drumming & guitar started up on first track "Exist" I wasn't that impressed, and then the voice growled out of the speakers & the music exploded. WOW! I was hooked. The bass had this amazing twanging sound, the guitar made me want to groove on down and the drums had me bouncing all over my very small bedroom. The lead singer is almost rapping on this song.

Next up was "Sign Up To Everything", where the singer showed his full range. This song sounded like country mixed with funk & soul. I can't really pinpoint my favourite thing about this song as each element just blended so well to create a totally mind blowing song.
Third track, "Manic", well where do I start? This is by far my favourite of the four tracks on this CD. I just couldn't sit still while listening to this song. The lyrics are very catchy and I soon found myself singing along. My favourite line from this song has to be "I simulate the dirty ashtrays & suck the stains right out the floor" (note - the full -and correct - lyrics are here) .
I don't know why this line stuck in my head but I just kept finding myself humming it at weird times.
Then there's the bass in this track, I'd never heard anything like this, the guy is a genius, and it has to be the most amazing bass line ever!
Last track, "Left Undone" is a lot slower, with a Guns N' Roses power ballad type guitar solo. With additional backing female vocals you can literally hear the pain and emotion leaking out of this track.
A bittersweet love song about a relationship gone wrong.
This CD will have you bouncing all over the room, and singing along at full volume to every single song. As the lead singer's voice rises & falls, cracks & just explodes with emotion and power, you'll only be able to listen in awe. The bassist and guitarist use their instruments like old pros and make you want to dance like crazy, and as for the drumming, well that just wraps each song in perfection.
Go and check this band out now

It’s quite possible that this Hertfordshire quartet chose their name to deliberately mislead their public. You think they’re a desert rock band in the vein of Kyuss and Fu Manchu don'tcha? There’s certainly that element to what they do, but their latest release, the ‘Rewrite The Words’ EP, lies closer to the good time festival rock of Reef. This, in itself, is not a template that has much to recommend it; wisely though Stonegrass light a fire under proceedings with understated fingerpopped funk, placing them in the ballpark marked 1992 with Stone Temple Pilots in one corner and The Red Hot Chili Peppers in the other.

REVCOUNTER + STONEGRASS + STRIPPER: WATFORD NOV 2003 (live report PAUL).

Richard had just been given the eviction notice from GARCIALANDS due to uncompromising noise nuisance and rage racing behaviour. We decided to celebrate down at The Flag, Watford where we met STONEGRASS.

Like us they were told to arrive at a ridiculously early time, only to find pool tables out in the "stage" area. So being consummate professionals one and all, we proceeded to piss it up. Adding to the confusion was Monkeyboy Promotion's newsflash and regular updates that the gig was double booked for an 18th birthday party.. Rock'n'Roll !
I can't remember much of the evening some band came on with mandolins and eventually went off (thank fuck).. ......................
A kicking live act with Pearl Jam & Chili Pepper influences.
Stonegrass were kicking ass jumping around, beating their chests and stripping down, and then the stripper jumped on.
All hell broke loose as Watford football fans rushed to see the ropiest stripper ever girating to HITCHIN's finest grooves. We were all well impressed at how Stonegrass became a stripper show backing band. I get the feeling that these guys have done this before, they look like they regularly rehearse their show in seedy spunk joints. Incredible stuff and lots of fun, Franky said the stripper was alright as well.
Revcounter went on soon after ...

Right, first things first: this is a first class demo package including a five track EP, a biog, several reviews, future tour info and a CD-ROM including two well thought out band pics - rather than the usual "oh sod it, everyone stand in a line and then photocopy the crap results" efforts we see. The tracks as MP3s and some previous material should the reviewer choose to check out any further songs. Exactly what is likely to find its way to the review deck in most A&R depts.
The music itself isn't quite so immediately ear-catching pitched at the big shorts grungy funk rock Eddie Vedder-meets-Faith No More audience, however; proving that a good package can often induce repeat listens, I returned to Stonegrass for a further dose & was pleasantly surprised to find that this was a band that rewards repeat listens and the songs began to give up their deeper secrets. Indeed it is infact the slightly flat production that misleads on first listens (the drum production in particular is very weak) and a bass heavy graphic setting improves things no end. 7/10.

Here's another demo with the tracks in the wrong order. to wit, this CD - the band's second - starts with the basic funk-rock of "Smash The Scene", which is fine, but it really ought to kick off with the fifth song, "Why You Pray". To rectify that, I'm going to review the CD backwards.

Why You Pray starts with a brilliant Stones-esque riff which recalls Paint It Black but manages to sound nothing like it - a neat trick which says great things about the musicianship and creativity within Stonegrass. Then singer Jamie erupts into a roar that would make the Dirt era Alice In Chains proud. It's a great start to a great song. But, at the same time, it does sound incredibly like Pearl Jam.

Now, that's not neccesarily a bad thing; it didn't do Eddie Vedder & co any harm back in 1991. But will it perform the same magic for Stonegrass? Well, probably not. The more exposure Stonegrass achieve, the more they're going to find themselves burdened with that comparison and it will limit their success. If all they want to do is make great grunge music, they can feel pretty smug because they've already achieved that. If they want to go further then they're going to have to develop their own sound.

Unfortunately, I don't think that sound is elsewhere on ReWrite The Words. There's not a bad song here, but they either sound like Pearl Jam (Jamie could be Eddie Vedder) or they employ straight-ahead funk rock, which is an odd genre, cast somewhere between the Chili Peppers & Reef. Funk rock never fails to confuse me. Hundreds of bands seem to play this stuff, but only outside big cities, and it's absolutely never, ever got anyone signed. Weird.

Stonegrass have got tons of talent and they are close to finding that deal, but first they need to find themselves.