Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"Riff rockers will love the guitar; will nod along to the rhythm twins. Halfway through, indie rock archeologists will lose the Tanya/Kristin Beantown scene comparisons. Look out Olympia and beyond! The album is always melodic, sometimes hard, sometimes heavy, sometimes jangly, sometimes sexy, maybe even funny. Yeah, it's a little scary with those lyrics sent up by a sharp woman in a black dress... {hypermobile}, let it jump around in your cd player for awhile. You'll like it. It'll be good to you."
- "a music fan from Seattle"
Ripley's new CD Hypermobile is a surprisingly mature and sophisticated first album. It ranges from the seductively off kilter first track (in 6/4) "Treading Water", to the rocking "Wait" or "Hypermobile."
The band is truly a vehicle for Jessie S.K.'s fluid vocal style. Her highly controlled meanderings remind me a bit of Throwing Muses - cramming lots of ideas into songs without loosing track of where it's heading. The simple guitar, strong base lines, and solid drumming are propulsive without being intrusive.
Excellent but simple (this word keeps popping up) production makes this record a pleasure to listen to.
- Ken Winokur, Alloy Orchestra
I like the vox and the way they are recorded; there is a lot of emotion and feeling in the singer's voice. There's also quite a spark when the distorted guitar takes off …There is good musicianship here. - Loren DiGiorgi
Love the funky vocal treatment. sorta scattered and askew, but it always comes home. Mmmm, nice, punchy recording, the drums have a special clarity. Very nice. Good dimension for such a sparse arrangement. Very slick and original piece, bravo! – Llarion
I like the sound of this band; 10,000 Maniacs getting kicked in the pants by Blur - versatile guitarist, raging drummer, on-target bassist, heartbreakingly plaintive singer. I'm intrigued by the sound of this band, and I'd like to hear more from them. - Shaky Tee
- various reviewers (credited below)
Discography
Hypermobile - self-released January 2002
(full-length CD)
Tracks played on the radio (KEXP, KGRG, KSER):
Treading Water
Cursed
Dynamite
Hypermobile
Wait
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The Ripley sound has been well-received both on the air (KEXP 90.3, KGRG 89.9, KSER 80.9) and in local Seattle venues (I-Spy, Sit & Spin, Chop Suey). If you’re looking for comparisons, think of Throwing Muses, PJ Harvey, or the Breeders. However even these are more influences than ‘sounds like’ references. Ripley is too young to fit neatly into any preconceived playlist.
The rhythm section of bassist Dan Harper and drummer Jeff Hahn provide the sonic ether in which Jessie S.K.’s songs unfold, floating effortlessly from full throttle rock to jazz-tinged stylings. This power trio line-up leaves plenty of room for finesse without the self-indulgent solos one finds with typical quartets.
Ripley's self-released debut CD, Hypermobile, produced by Kip Beelman (Sleater-Kinney, Juno), features unusual chord voicings and emotionally charged lyrics that combine to produce compositions that are as danceable as they are disturbing.
Singer/guitarist Jessie S.K. grew up in Somerville, MA, which wasn't quite the cultural mecca it is today. At age 15 she began accompanying her father (film composer John Kusiak) to blues clubs, singing Ray Charles songs to his backup guitar. Jessie continued writing songs throughout college in NY and recording demos in Dad's basement, eventually picking up the guitar herself. Since moving to Seattle in 1997, she’s played around the local circuit with the previous incarnations of Ripley, Trouble On Titan and Milkboy.
Fun Fact: Jessie can tie a cherry stem into a knot using only her tongue.
Drummer Jeff Hahn is also an East Coast refugee, coming to Seattle from Vermont about the same time as Jessie, leaving behind a low-key jazz fusion band, a rock band of six years. He grew up playing Soundgarden and Pearl Jam and the hard rock sound shaped his early style. With Ripley he finds more room than is typical in rock bands, allowing him to mix the jazz and rock rhythms he perfected in Vermont. “I’ve never been in a female-fronted band before. Most of the bands that sit behind a female singer are mellow. I thought it would be cool to have a hard-rocking sound instead. There’s an edgy feel when that meets Jessie’s guitar and then her voice smoothes everything out.”
Fun fact: "Hahn" means "fiesty cock" in some Teutonic language.
Bassist Dan Harper is the only Washington native, growing up in Ellensburg, a small town in the center of the state. In high school he helped form a cover band (with future members of Screaming Trees). He left the desert and moved to Seattle in 1986. Since then he’s worked regularly in Seattle, most notably with the ethereal pop juggernaut: Still Falling. Like Jeff he has some jazz in his background, and appreciates the freedom Ripley presents. "It's not a star vehicle for Jessie. Jeff and I are the power element of the trio while she brings in finesse and melody.”
Fun fact: Dan is venerated as a Guru in various communities in and around Washington State. In some circles, he is also known as 'Hoss'.
Val Serrano is Ripley's booking agent.
stellartalent@aol.com
(206) 498-5597
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