Artist description Heavy tunes with groove and great hooks. GRUDGE comes from the great Northwest. Billings, MT was the biirthplace for this foursome that has since moved forward in the underground scene. Their pure intensity has brought the attention of thousands to their live shows. This is a band that you are going to hear a lot more about!!

Music Style Metal

Musical Influences Stuck Mojo, Pantera

Similar Artists Pantera, Faith No More

Artist History Growing up in Billings MT and surrounding areas was never the easiest life, but it did harden this quartet into what they are today and what they will carry from it forever, GRUDGE. Singer Gerrick Phillips, guitarist Richard Candelaria, bassist Brian Coleman and drummer Marco Castro had played in every band that had been in the city since they were 13 years old. Finally hooking up with each other proved to be the best solution. Phillips and Candelaria's songwriting collaborations gave GRUDGE a sound that struck a chord with fans, earning the band a response that was huge, even for Billings, MT. The music on their debut album, Forgiveness, is defined by the rough times they've experienced in their five years together. While some listeners may think "Hate Me" explores the mind of a serial killer, Phillips says it was really inspired by how he felt about GRUDGE at the time he wrote it. "It's about the sickest tune I have written this side of legal," he admits. "At that point in our careers, we had been trying so hard, and the world was just coming down on us, which messed with us mentally." Recalling how it was written after a "bad photo shoot," Candelaria adds the song captures the band's feelings for their hometown. Phillips calls "Panaphobic," "the rebirth of GRUDGE." He explains: "It was the first song we came back to write after a while apart. It showed that we had finally made it out of the dark past. That's what the song is about. Our rebirth. I believe in the magic that the four of us make together, so I wrote about it, and it was our first song that was truly inspiring. It tells about being afraid of everything, but then that there is always good somewhere in the bad. It took a while, but I finally found that good." In 1996 GRUDGE started out on the road only six months after the current lineup was formed. Most of the band was just under the legal drinking age at the time. The sheer rawness of GRUDGE landed them a spot in one of the summer's heaviest music festivals, The Milwaukee Metalfest. GRUDGE matured with their live show on the road and headed out on another self booked club tour of the western U.S. It was results from this tour that gave them a set at the Foundations Forum Showcase in Hollywood, CA. GRUDGE kept on and on, moving about the country in a beat-up blue van and a plywood trailer, taking on every bar and club that would have them. Lack of touring funds, and a broken down van gave the band a much-needed rest. But they soon made their next move. With $500, Phillips packed up his truck and relocated to New York. Phillips started his own website design firm and worked out of an office across the hall, "from this crazy British fellow," who turned out to be 7N Music president Paul Williams. Once Phillips was established in New York, GRUDGE began writing and performing shows every couple of months in Billings. He took a break from the computer business while GRUDGE recorded Forgiveness with producer Brendan Lavery at Time Capsule Studios in Denver. "When I came back to New York and was deciding what to do next, I found out that the British fellow did more than just sell compilation CDs. We sat down together and he didn't know that I was so deeply involved in music and our relationship was born. All that time we had worked separate businesses across the hall from one another." GRUDGE then picked up where they had left off. Their contact in New York proved to be the break that the band needed to get back into the game. GRUDGE had not missed a beat as response was quite large for their hometown return. They played better than ever as each had matured musically. They spent the majority of 1999, writing, recording and playing locally in Billings MT and surrounding areas, using this as a "testing ground" for the new material and the new GRUDGE. The "new" GRUDGE can be heard in the title track of Forgiveness. Phillips says it's about, "Coming out of the dark where we used to be and asking for forgiveness. This is what the whole album represents. We got this out of us and now we can move on to better things. Lyrically, 'Forgiveness' continues the theme of 'Panaphobic' with remembering how shitty things were, and that we would have sold our souls just to be able to have a song on the radio. We really lived like animals, but fortunately woke up to better things. And besides, this song has a kickass beat to it." GRUDGE is the band, who still finds their way through the smoke and onto the stage. They have carried the flag for heavy music, alongside others, and have never abandoned their raw nature. Forgiveness begins the story of GRUDGE, which the band will tell you, has finally begun to come out. GRUDGE, true to their music, and their emotion. Ignoring trends and taking musical classification head-on, they continue to write from the head and from the heart.

Group Members G Phillips - VocalsRich Candelaria - GuitarMArco Castro - DrumsBrian Coleman - Bass

Albums Forgiveness

Press Reviews http://www.grudge2000.com/press.asp

Location Billings, MT - USA

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