Artist description For the most part, if someone told you about a group of suburban youths with a hip hop band, it would be the punch line to a joke. However, if you add a smooth rhythm, a heart pounding beat, and lyricism that would tempt P-Diddy himself to bite the style, you’ve got the Cobalt Party Revolution. Dubbing themselves CPR, they’ve proven their place in hip-hop society without selling into the mainstream belief that all hip hop has to be hardcore battles, rather they bring it back to the old school when hip hop was about fun and battling. Apparently they are not alone in this thinking. Their track “Keep your Receipt”, a song about returning to the golden age of hip hop, managed to break digital download records with its impressive 1,550,000 downloads from their Kazaa server and continues to rise.

Music Style Alternative Hiphop

Musical Influences de la soul,chuck d,beastie boys, old school, jurassic five, james brown

Similar Artists beastie boys,de la soul,weezer,beck,Brassy,bloodhound gang,len,NWA,kid rock,backstreet boys,

Artist History Forming in early 1999, founding members MC FIRE, (a.k.a. Dan Rose), and CASH TILL, (a.k.a. Ryan Tilly), began mixing dance anthems together in Tilly’s makeshift studio in the bedroom of his home in Fair Haven, Michigan. Tilly and Rose, who were long time friends, and at-the-time both members of the hardcore-punk band I-DEFY (medea records), decided to see what it would sound like if they tried rapping over one of the beats they’ve created. After throwing in bass, guitars, synthesizers and an irresistible hook, they stumbled upon what would become their first song, “Mind Expanding”, (later reworked to become “Who’d Have Guessed?”). Both were heavily influenced by early 90’s hip hop (de la soul, public enemy) as well as modern indie bands (at the drive-in, the faint) so a fresh sound was created. However, it wasn’t until Rose took a demo tape to co-worker Brian Smith, (a.k.a. MC ACTION), that the Cobalt Party Revolution would be born. “Since the very beginning we have wanted people to look at us and scratch their heads, or bob them, whatever comes first”. Action came up with wordplay on Cobalt, referring to the color blue, usually meaning sad or a somber state, and Party Revolution; which together is a contradiction of what the words truly mean, and the contradiction fitted them well. “The name portrays our music in way. It’s something that shouldn’t be there, but it is. Suburbanites shouldn’t write indie hip-hop-garage-rock whatever, but we do, that’s what makes it interesting”. CPR had little problem getting started after the arrival of MC Action; but really took things seriously with the arrival of Kidd Ickarus (a.k.a. Dave Willard). Kidd Ickarus took the band to a new level with his punk rock ethics and unusual wordplay. (Did we mention his 12’’ high Mohawk?). “The chemistry between us was so productive that we knew we had something to work with here.” The interesting part of CPR was the absence of boundaries they held on the creation of their music. Traditional instruments such as guitar and bass, were of course present, however so were more unconventional musical resources, such as, tambourines, talking horse heads, a bird calling book, and oddly enough; zippers. CPR would play anything except the kitchen sink on their songs, (and if they could get a good sound out of it, they probably wouldn’t hesitate to use that as well). Also proving their lack of boundaries was the bands “whatever comes out in the studio, comes out on record” approach to recording tracks. “We record the song as it is being written”; which lets the listener in on a more exciting, spontaneous version of the song. The excitement CPR has when they’re recording the track is amplified through the stereo 100% more than even their music. Diversity in the band also adds to CPR’s music and eclectic personality. Cash Till is the straight-edger of the group; never touching alcohol or drugs in his lifetime. Not surprising, he is also the spokesman for the group, (he is actually the one providing all of the quotes you see throughout the article). Kidd Ickarus is the fun-lovin’, punk rock type, whom studies law and isn’t afraid of hittin’ the sauce while MC Action prefers to keep to himself, and relax amidst a smoke-filled room. Nearing the end of ’98 CPR, after being together for only six months, CPR released a ten-song demo tape entitled, “…too bad to care”. The band handed out 200 copies of the tape to just about anyone who would take it, and the tape was met with much appraise. As the band was creating a buzz through “too bad to care”, they started gearing up for live shows, much to the pleasure of CPR’s newly found fan base. “Playing in front of an audience, to me, is what it’s all about. In front of an audience is where you actually get to portray your character, and if you’ve ever seen us perform, you’ll realize what I’m talking about.” Tilly transferred his wacky style to CPR by involving a number of props, in between song skits, and many wardrobe changes during shows. CPR’s wild on-stage antics landed them gigs all over Michigan and Canada. In one instance Tilly recalls, CPR traveled 40 hours by school bus to play a festival in Manitoba, Canada. “Twenty nine musicians, eighteen seats, and forty hours, yeah, you don't have to be a mathematician to see that comfort doesn't fall anywhere into that equation." But a benefit show for the homeless at Call the Office during the summer of 2002 in London, Ontario proved to be their best show to date. “Over 300 people showed up in this tiny little club to check out the show and donate money for the homeless, plus it gave us the chance to debut some long-awaited new material.” Back In 2000, as CPR was consistently gaining a larger fan base, thanks to their live performances and internet-sites featuring tracks from their first release. The song “Hip Hop Don’t Stop”, in the first week of being on MP3.com, had been downloaded well over 400 times, and peaked at number four in the Old School rap charts. The result of their Internet success and drilling live performances prompted the release of their first CD release, “Slave to the Groove”. The highly anticipated release stormed the local streets and Internet achieving rave reviews from all who listened to it. “The biggest compliment was when someone told me “Slave to the Groove” was the modern day equivalent to De la Soul’s classic “Three feet high and rising.” When the album was released, Tilly was working in a record store and was remarked by the diversity of their listening audience. “People of all shapes, sizes, races, and ages were stopping in to pick up a copy. Older people would actually give me positive feedback about our music; it’s very touching to know that the people you least expect get something out of what you have done.” The album even sparked two nominations at the 2002 Just Plain Folks Music Awards for BEST RAP SONG “hiphop don’t stop” and BEST RAP ALBUM “Slave to the Groove”. Slave to the Groove" ended up ranking 3rd in the BEST RAP ALBUM category, while "Hiphop Don't Stop" ranked 5th in the BEST RAP SONG category beating out thousands of participants. CPR’s release of “Slave to the Groove” not only marked the widespread CPR mania, (already selling hundreds of copies), but also introduced the fans to newcomer to the CPR crew Kidd Ickarus, whom finished the aforementioned album after MC Fire had left the group to concentrate on his firefighter career. “Ickarus has breathed new life into the band; he’s got the motivation that will be essential to our growth.” In early 2003 they remixed, remastered, and re-released “Slave to the Groove”, adding new artwork and new songs and new life to the classic album. Currently the group is in the studio, putting effort into the very anticipated follow up album. But still manage to promote their previous release. The song, 'Hip Hop Don't Stop' was featured in the Pontiac Vibe Summer Soundoff Radio Ad that hit major markets in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, St. Louis, Seattle, New York, and Philadelphia throughout the summer of 2002. Not only getting major airplay from that but CPR has been chosen by Kazaa and Cornerband .com to be a part of the 30-best bands promotion in which Kazaa users have Cobalt Party Revolution mp3s readily available to download at all times, exposing the band to millions of digital music lovers. Their band surpassed all other bands on the program by leaps and bounds. Over TWO MILLION users worldwide downloaded their songs from the Kazaa server and that isn’t including the times the song has been shared with other users. The proclaimed hit song, “Keep your Receipt”, alone scored over 1,200,000 downloads. And while that’s been introducing the band to the digital music world, Keep your Receipt hit over 50 college radio stations throughout the country during the fall of 2003 under the tutelage of renowned marketing guru, Dr. Gene Foley. The song is featured on compilation ON THE VERGE:14 best bands you’ve never heard of (with 20,000 copies pressed) that has been distributed to the colleges. In more Recent news, The Cobalt Party Revolution were selected to play the Detroit Stage of the the 2003 Vans Warped Tour stop at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, MI. Also, playing that evening on various stages were Rancid, Dropkick Murphys, Glassjaw, The Used, Pennywise, Less Than Jake, Face to Face, and many more. The festival attracts thousands of fans each year, and will undoubtedly attract more fans to the non-stop groove of the Cobalt Party Revolution. Probably the most amazing fact of this story is that the band is 100% Do.It.Yourself. From the creation of the songs to the recording of the album to radio stints, the Cobalt Party Revolution did everything themselves. No Managers, Just hard work. Yeah, all this is great, but where can someone actually pick this thing up?. Hundreds of copies of Slave to the Groove have been picked up by fans at shows but more commonly over the internet. The album can currently be purchased at CDSTREET.com, CDBABY.com or you can download a variety of CPR songs at Kazaa, mp3.com or iuma.com, as well. As for CPR, you can also expect to catch shows all over as the word begins to spread. As long as they have an audience and a studio, the CPR will continue to master the mic and maintain their place as pioneers of Garage-rock-hiphop.

Group Members CASH TILL - Ryan Tilly KIDD ICKARUS - Dave Willard MC ACTION - Brian Smith

Instruments bass,drums,guitar,vocals,turntables,tamborines,synthesizers,

Albums 'Slave to the Groove'

Press Reviews Read 'em at: http://www.cobaltpartyrevolution.com/word.htm

Location Fair Haven, Mi - USA

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