Press/Reviews

Pulse Weekly - 2.2003
By Monica Ortwein, Associate Editor

On February 5, 2003 Pulse Weekly ran a interview with settle members Matt Smith and Nick Rose. The questions were by Monaca Ortwein about settle.

"Who says underage kids can’t rock? All four members of the Easton-based band Settle are younger than the magical age of 21, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t already accomplished musicians. In fact, Matt, Nick, Mike, and Willie (who’s the youngest of the crew at the tender age of 15) have been playing together for about five years, with no signs of stopping."

"Pulse Weekly caught up with Matt, Settle’s frontman and guitarist, and Nick, who also plays guitar, for a chat about the group’s upcoming gig at the 7th Annual Millenium Music Conference as well as some other not-that-relevant type things. So read on (and by read on, we mean don’t make us bring out the gimp)"

You can check out the Pulse article at: Pulse Weekly or click on the photo.

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Other unrelated Pulse topics:

Review Kittie Kats Rock The Croc by Nick Rose
Click here to Read

Editoral material courtesy of Pulse Weekly as printed in the February 5th release issue.

 

SignalFading Review - 12.2002

We get lots of music here which represent every different style under the sun, but every once in a while we get a cd that kicks us in the ass so hard we can’t do anything more than absolutely gush over how good it is. The samples Settle sent us made me do exactly that… Their press kit said they are working toward a genre all their own. I don't doubt that, but I also don’t know how much I agree with it either, since it reminded me of post-hardcore (think Quicksand / Rival Schools) but with a more melodic, pop / rock inspired feel to it.

Settle’s got everything they need to get signed, should they choose to do so. Strong, natural vocals, powerful melodies, great lyrics, tight musicianship, exceptional songwriting skills, and a catchy sound that a lot of people are going to love highlight this emotionally driven rock outfit from Easton, PA. In fact, I liked the 3 songs they sent us so much, I actually took time out of my overly burdened daily schedule to go to their website and download every song they had up there. Needless to say, Settle stayed on repeat for about 2 hours (insert mental image of Brian bouncing around his apartment like a moron almost the entire time) before I had to start working on some other things.

If you take my recommendations seriously, drop what you are doing this minute and go get some songs (“Coldlife” and “Commotion” were my two favorites)… Then sit back, let Settle run though you, and be completely blown away.

I know I was.

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Express Times - 8.1999

In the summer of 1999 the band found themselves without a bass player. Although Tom Rose (settle's personal manager) was reluctant to perform with the group, but he knew performances had been booked in advance and "the show must go on." Little did he know at the time that the local newspaper would pick it up as a story and run with it.

"As much as I enjoyed playing with the group, I knew I'd have to find someone more suited for their music and image. I always had an eye out for a candidate and when Nick had me listen to Mike's demo, I knew we found our man. Mike is great asset and a valued contributer to the bands sound and image.

I'll continue to support the band. I believe in them and I know that success for them is just around the corner."

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EAHS "The Junto" - 6.1999

The news clip on the left was taken from the Easton Area High School newspaper "The Junto". The article featured the "Battle of the Bands" contest of which, they were selected the winner from twelve other local bands that competed in the event. The FRONT went on to compete each year, winning all events except one, their last year at Easton where they were disqualified for playing past the allotted time limit.

Although the members of the band were always competitive, their main purpose was to get the experience of playing in front of an audience. As their confidence grew so did their individual desire to pursue music as a professional career.

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Info

Getting It To The Next Level

settle members are currently working with Hank Decken (Dizzyland Studios) in order to move forward with production plans for the groups first demo project. They hope to pitch the demo to record labels sometime in the late Spring of 2003.

If you'd like to check out more information on how this all evolved just click on their new "what we're up to" page.

If you're interested in more information about Hank, checkout his web site at: www.hankdecken.com Hank's staff includes some very impressive professionals like, Andy Happel and Shaun Michaud.

In addtion to working with Hank, Mike, Nick and Matt meet with vocal therapist Mark Baxter regularly in his NY City studio. Mark has worked with artists such as: Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), John Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls), Gary Cherone (Van Halen) as well as many more and is credited with helping settle take their vocals to that next level. If you'd like more information about Mark Baxter check out his web site at: www.voicelesson.com

"Mark has made a difference. We hope that our relationship will continue and grow as our music continues to evolve." Nick Rose

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History

A Turning Point Benefit - 5.1999

In the Spring of 1999 Geoff Finger, a member of the band at the time on keyboard (far right in photo), had a friend who was seriously injured from an accident at his school. He asked if the band would be willing to perform at a benefit in order to raise money for some special needs his friend required.

What the band didn't expect was that several local celebrities had also agreed to perform at the benefit. Craig Thatcher was one of those featured that evening.

This gig, was a turning point for the band. It was here that everyone realized that there was something a little more to this band than was initially expected. Although they had only been playing for less than a year, their performance was tight and their sound was somewhat distinct from the sound nornally associated with other garage bands. From here on, everthing changed.

First Gig- 4.1999

In the early spring of 1999, Willie (a fifth grader at a local elementary school at the time) "moved up" from 5th to 6th grade. A big event here in their home town of Easton. In order to celebrate the move, Willie asked if the band could perform for his class. The school PTA agreed to allow them to play at the event.

The band choose to perform one original song title "5 a.m.".

 

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The band would like to recognize the following past members of the band who had contributed to their success in those early days:

Jake Heck 1998-2000 Guitar (Spirit Island)
Colin van Horne 2000-2001 Bass
Evan Hunter - 1998-1999 Keyboard/Vocals
Geoff Finger - 1999 Keyboard/Vocals

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Status Changes - 10.2001

In the Fall of 2001 the band (previously known as Front) decided to change their name because of a conflict with a now defunct band currently still activiely represented by a major label. Even though the band had broken up several years ago, the name was still actively secured by the label.

It took months for the group to come up with a name they all could live with and at the same time be refective of theirr style of music. Settle™ seemed to fit the bill.

At the suggestion of the settle™ legal council, it was thought to be better to start out with a secure name rather than have to deal with possible issues later on, a much more costlly tast at that point. In order to secure the name they applied for U.S. trademarkregistration. It took about a year or so, but by December of the following year, the name was theirs.

At about the same time, the four group members incorporated under the name Really Really Good, Inc.

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