The River Phoenix

Hatched on the salty, rocky island of Bornholm in the far dusky corners of the Baltic Sea, alternative rock-group The River Phoenix incorporate the full-on emotional levels of haunting, massive guitars tenderly fused with a thick rhythm-section that usher in songs that burst with vitality, originality and inferred mastery. Loud, overwrought yet rampant and unbroken.   

The River Phoenix have been around since the late 90’s, however various industry hustles (the band managed to sign with EMI in 2005 only to be fired 2 months later – when the first massive firings were looming on the majors) kept the quintet from that long sought-after debut album. Industry run-arounds and the usual bull was the agenda for the five kids for a number of years.
Numerous recording sessions, demos and outtakes were arranged for a long list of A&R’s – resulting in no final ink on paper, but what butchered so many bands before them only thickened The River Phoenix further.
The band never quite hit the sound they wanted, until they met with renowned producer Pelle Gunnerfeldt (The Hives, International Noise Conspiracy, Last Days of April a.o.) in 2006.
When lead-singer Kris Finne flew to Stockholm in the spring of 2006 to meet with Pelle, the producer had only heard a few songs from the band on badly recorded demos, but the pure quality and stickyness of the songs instantly made him a believer. Pelle and Kris talked music, styles, sounds, guitars (and probably touched the topic of women shortly...) and the next time they met the rest of the band came along.

One of the first songs recorded at Studio Gröndahl was the track ”5 Wheel Drive” – a track that defines the entitity that is The River Phoenix today, their struggle with the music industry and their defiant persistance to keep the engine running and following their own path.
”5 Wheel Drive” is a testament to this and the track is kept as the original one-take recorded on their first meeting in Stockholm and it laid the foundation for the alliance between the band and the producer.

The full debut album – to be released in late 2007 – was recorded in southern Sweden’s Mission Hall studios. Gunnerfeldt’s vision and understanding of direction and sound for the band is second to none and the works on the album will – once again – stir some industry heads and cries of joy from the determined and loyal fanbase that TRP have been building through years of steady live activities.

My Space: www.myspace.com/theriverphoenixband