Hello to all my friends in the music video world. It’s Andy Gesner and the staff from HIP Video Promo, back with another video from an exciting independent band completely worthy of your attention. They’ve only just begun getting national exposure, but to those of us who live in the New Jersey area, Spiraling are already rock stars. In the two years since the release of their debut Transmitter, they’ve become one of the biggest indie bands in the state – regularly packing legendary clubs such as Maxwell’s and the Stone Pony with devoted fans. And they’ve done it with one of the most distinctive radio-friendly sounds on the East Coast: an amalgam of punk, prog, and synth-pop that has left critics and fans searching for adjectives adequate to describe it. If you can imagine hooky yet adventurous songs played with the punk fire of Green Day and the expressive instrumental daring of King Crimson, you’ve got a pretty good idea why Garden Staters are so mad about Spiraling. They are the real deal and everyone here knows it!

The word is beginning to spread. Protracted exposure on XM Satellite Radio and the AOL Radio Network has helped the group build a national audience, as has coverage from world-renowned publications such as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post. Closer to home, tracks from Transmitter have been played on radio stations K-ROCK and Q104.3, making Spiraling one of the few local indie bands who’ve managed to hurdle the boundaries of commercial playlists. On the Internet, the band has developed an online presence that rivals or surpasses that of many major label acts. All the while, the band has toured relentlessly, making stops from coast to coast, and supporting acts such as Hot Hot Heat, OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Armor for Sleep, Violent Femmes, and Rooney, to name a few.

The star of this show is frontman Tom Brislin – a piano/organ/synth player deft enough to have logged time in the tour version of Yes. With Transmitter, he shot the works, filling the instrumental canvas with wild, wiggly analog leads and organ chords thick with tremolo. His playing is no less dynamic on Challenging Stage, their latest EP release, but it does leave more room for the fierce performances of guitarist Marty O’Kane, bassist Bob Hart, and drummer Paul Wells. On “A Face For Radio”, the single cut from the EP, Wells’ drums lock in with O’Kane and Hart’s mammoth groove, and push the band into rougher territory than they’ve ever stalked before. Brislin adds stuttering clavinet and growling analog synth over the top, and sings a stinging put-down in a voice that radiates intelligence, clarity, and moral outrage.

In concert, Tom Brislin is known for playing several instruments at once, and twisting his arms into a pretzel as he reaches for knobs, dials, and keys as he sings. Director Jeremy Yuricek’s performance clip for “A Face For Radio” concentrates on Brislin’s dextrous acrobatics, and broadcasts the frontman’s spidery charisma. Here, he stands before his band as Spiraling plays in a white room in Soho, passionately singing as his fingers dance across the keys. Just as the Challenging Stage EP was meant to be a deliberate attempt to capture the feel of the band in performance, Yuricek’s clip presents Spiraling as a razor-sharp live unit, responding instinctively to musical cues, and approaching their instruments with enthusiastic mastery.

Here at HIP we are very stoked to bring you this terrific clip from one of our New Jersey favorites! On a personal note, Spiraling is one of many bands I have championed here in New Jersey through my work with Artist Amplification. They inspire me with their indefatigable adherence to the DIY, grassroots aesthetic. Spiraling will be touring throughout the year, so please let us know if you are into this band. They would love to set up video interviews and IDs with you! We will have copies of Challenging Stage for on-air giveaways, along with some other cool Spiraling goodies, including stickers and buttons If you need more info, call Andy Gesner at 732-613-1779 or e-mail us at HIPVideo@aol.com. You can visit www.Spiraling.net to find out more about the Garden State's favorite sons.

Visit Spiraling