Neon Thrills was a NYC rock band founded in 2001 by Joe Stamer (guitar/vocals) and Bernie Davis (drums), with Jon Sabol (keyboards). Mark Rinzel joined in 2003 (bass/vocals). Neon Thrills' album "Sweet Cactus" was released in July 2004 featuring songwriting contributions by Stamer and Rinzel. The album showcased the band's signature blend of hard rock with catchy pop, gritty and soaring vocal harmonies with unabashed blazing guitars. Themes of heartbreak and celebration, rife with self-loathing and booze-soaked hope, came to define Neon Thrills' heart-on-the-sleeve lyricism. The band performed in the NYC Metro area at such clubs as The Mercury Lounge, Pianos and former Ludlow St. institution The Luna Lounge.

Conceived and recorded on the industrial railyard fringes of Hoboken, New Jersey, Placed by the Gideons features 10 new hard-charging songs connected by one smoldering thread. The opening track (The Interstate) is a towering narrative that introduces two young and desperate characters on the run, seeking salvation on the road while struggling to make peace with a complicated past. Thus begins a fugitive odyssey through dead-end towns (Peekskill) and into the great american west (Stolen Tags, Breaker Breaker), where the two meet their ultimate fate. Lighter themes like breakups, summertime, and youthful defiance also feature in these characters’ travels via catchy powerpop songs (Two Kinds of People, Some Summer) that balance out the album’s weightier material.

Released on DIVE Records in June 2010, Placed by the Gideons is the sophomore LP from Wormburner. Their debut album, A Hero’s Welcome (2006), was produced by David Lowery, frontman for Cracker and Camper van Beethoven. A 12-song tirade melding smart lyrics with driving guitars and vintage Moog synthesizers, A Hero’s Welcome drew stellar reviews and earned Wormburner an enviable schedule of East Coast shows that established their reputation as one of New York City’s most bombastic live bands.

All content herein is completely, entirely, utterly and solely present to showcase my occasionally not-dreadful attempts to smush the sound of one or more people singing over the sound of one or more different people playing music. All vocals and backing tracks used remain copyrighted to the original recording artists. Download my little arrangements if they amuse you; tell your friends about them if they amuse you greatly. And if you think some of the combinations are a little off-the-wall... then good, perhaps I can get away with all this by pointing people at the various laws regarding parody. Here's hoping. Now let's play some music!

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