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When drummer Rob Hampton, formerly of the Poptart Monkeys, recently asked bassist Ronnie Williams to join his new band, Rise Phoenix Rise, it didnâ??t take much convincing. Williams - a NEPA music veteran who has played with acts such as Midnight Rain, Bad Hair Day and Shoot The Moon â?? says all he had to do was hear the voice of lead singer â??Gibsonâ? and a few of the bandâ??s songs and he was ready to sign up for the gig.

â??He said â??I have this phenomenal singer from Tennessee, and I want to put this band together and make it a great project,â?? â? says Williams, calling from Arkansas while on tour with the group. â??When I heard Gibsonâ??s voice, I said â??It doesnâ??t sound like anybody else thatâ??s out there.â?? The original stuff that they had already done also sounded really good, and I thought it had a lot of promise. I didnâ??t even really think twice about it. I just jumped right on it. Itâ??s a great, fun band.â?

Rise Phoenix Rise was formed in December of 2006. In addition to Williams, â??Gibsonâ? and Hampton, the band features â??Jarrodâ? on rhythm guitar and â??Bishopâ? on lead guitar. The group plans to enter the recording studio in April and record its first CD. Some of the tracks, such as â??Boxing Josh,â? â??Dante Maria,â? â??Kenny Says Hoâ? and â??Mr. Creem Jeansâ? are up now up on the groupâ??s MySpace page in demo form.

Williams describes the band as â??modern-rock,â? though the music also carries a punk/pop flare.

â??Bishopâ??s really into old Metallica, metal, and guitar solos,â? he says. â??Heâ??s a rocking guitar player. Robâ??s pretty much into Blink 182 and that type of stuff, and everybody else has different ideas, and they just blend really well together. I think itâ??s going to create a whole new sound.â?