Artist description Solstice is a lyrically-driven modern rock power trio.

Music Style Modern Rock

Musical Influences A wide variety of pop, rock, and progressive artists.

Similar Artists Live - REM - Rush

Artist History Solstice was formed in 1995 and consistently played throughout North Carolina until 1999. The members are now persuing new directions: Joe Abramson perfoms with ROMEO DELITE, and Eric Oakley has begun the TEMPLE OF MAN project. Visit both bands on MP3.com!

Group Members Tejas Patel, drums and percussion.Joe Abramson, bass guitar and backing vocals.Eric Oakley, guitars and vocals.

Instruments Guitar/Bass Guitar/Drums & Percussion

Albums Solstice (EP)/Jan 1999

Press Reviews The ancient druids held that the winter and summer Solstices, the shortest and longest days in the calendar, as the most important days of the year. On these two days, the sun would cast perfectly straight shadows from the monoliths of Stonehenge, realigning the people with the heavens they worshipped.In this vein, the Chapel Hill-based Solstice seeks to align itself alongside other pop-rock greats like REM and Rush. Singer and guitarist Eric Oakley, bassist and background vocalist Joe Abramson and drummer Tejas Patel combine into a formidable trio, churning out rich, melodic rock. While the tunes remain catchy and singable, the music reveals a wealth of emotion with lyrics that probe the spectrum of the human experience.“I want people to be overcome with one emotion or another,” Oakley explains with a seriousness only matched by his music. “They can love us, they can hate us, they can get up and dance or throw things at us. I don’t care, just as long as they respond.”Solstice, formed over three years ago, has gone through a reincarnation of sorts. After rotating through a cast of nine different musicians, the band finally settled on the present ensemble, which has played together since September. Now only Oakley remains as a link to the band’s past. The band cut a CD, its self-titled debut, in December, writing and producing all eight tracks.Playing clubs like Chapel Hill’s Cat’s Cradle, Lizard & Snake Café, Skylight Exchange, The Cave and Silent Sam’s as well as Charlotte’s Oakhurst Pub, Solstice has gained a following in the famous indie scene of Chapel Hill. The band has also shot into the top 25 MP3 website list, which reveals the popularity of the band’s downloads.Tunes like “Starry-Eyed Dog” show off Solstice at its melodic best: Oakley’s warm, full tenor soars with intelligent lyrics over a lush rock arrangement, innovative in the fashion of John Lennon. The band prides itself on its ability to take traditional themes, lost love, sorrow, happiness, folklore and mysticism, and fuse them into tuneful, cerebral, and experimental songs.“You don’t make any progress with music unless you’re willing to move ahead,” Oakley says, relaying the band’s emphasis on songcraft.-Erin Wynia, The Daily Tarheel

Location Chapel Hill, North Carolina - USA

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