Artist description Burlington, Vermont is the last place one would expect to find a melodic, hard rock band. But sure enough, amongst the hundreds of Phish clones and disco cover bands, stands Rain Cheque. “We’re sort of the outlier,” notes drummer Richie Rivera. “Stacking us up against the other local bands is like looking at one of those aptitude tests that show a basketball, a baseball, a football, and a house and ask you which one doesn’t belong. Well, we’re the house.” And with their self-produced demo, Beauty Before Change, Rain Cheque are poising themselves to stand out from an even bigger crowd. Together less than a year after meeting while attending the University of Vermont , Rain Cheque have forged a melodic, yet guitar-driven sound that draws on influences as diverse as The Cranberries, Motley Crue, and Dream Theater. Not surprisingly, Beauty Before Change runs the musical gamut. From the progressive metal tendencies of “Crackdown” and “Cage” to the hard rock of “Forever In A Day” and “Should Have Been Roses;” from the pure pop perfection of "Serenade” and “Crying For You” to the atmospheric “Better Days Ahead,” Rain Cheque seems to be limited only by how far they are willing to push themselves. Notes chief lyricist Richie, “You can hear each one of us trying to pull the music in different directions and just when you think it’s all going to come crashing down, we manage to land on our feet. Don’t ask me how we do it.” Musical dexterity aside, Rain Cheque differentiates itself from the masses in another respect: the smooth vocal delivery of Megan Early. Having a classically trained female vocalist pushes the bands natural melodic leanings to the next level, giving the band’s harder sound an unexpected, but refreshing dimension. “Megan brings a certain sensitivity to the songs that we couldn’t have gotten otherwise,” observes bassist Scott Rim-Hewitt . “She really brings the lyrics to the forefront.” Megan admits that she was initially unsure how her voice would fit in a rock & roll band, but says that “the quality of the material laid all my worries to rest.” The nucleus of the band came into existence when Richie heard Chuck playing guitar virtuoso Eric Johnson’s hit “Cliffs Of Dover” note-for-note in his dorm room. Immediately, there was a connection: “I remember walking out of there thinking, ‘That’s going to be my guitar player.” They recruited a bassist and the three formed the nucleus of a band called Nine Miles. The trio added a singer and played only two gigs before Merlo left for graduate school and the singer was let go. Stepping in was Rim-Hewitt, who Richie had known since they were freshmen. The final piece of the puzzle was Megan, who came into the fold at the suggestion of Scott, a fellow Music Education Major. Now, after a quick name change, all the pieces are finally in place for Rain Cheque to share the fruits of their labors with the rest of the world. College rock never sounded this good!

Music Style melodic hard rock

Musical Influences Police, Poison, Rush, Eric Johnson, Dream Theater

Similar Artists Rush, Cranberries

Group Members Megan Earley-vocals Charles Fredericks- guitars, guitar synth Scott Rimm-Hewitt- bass Richie Rivera- drums

Instruments Guitar, guitar synth, drums, bass, vocals

Albums Beauty Before Change

Location Burlington, Vermont - USA

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