It's almost humorous how we end up connecting with some bands. Los Angeles band, Silver Needle, was thrust to the front of the HotBands pack a couple of months ago when an email problem caused a series of unwanted spam coming from our server. As we were fixing the problem and dealing with a large amount of 'hate mail' from the debacle, Silver Needle was one of the bands that realized our problem and posted some nice messages on our behalf on our message board. From there we regularly began seeing their emails, shows and events that enticed further investigation into the band.

Formed from several local L.A. bands, Silver Needle's debut self-titled CD contains12 tracks of high-energy music obviously inspired by punk giants like The Ramones, Cheap Trick and The Sex Pistols. Creating a very BIG and driving sound seemed the backbone of the band's presence but there were songs on the CD that seemed to have more time spent in the production quality. The song 'Scatterbrain', being one of more 'refined' songs on the album, has mainstream top-40 potential but still packs the punch of a punk band.

Having already opened for a number of national acts including the late Dee Dee Ramone, the Rollins Band, and most recently Fishbone, Silver Needle has the grinding edge of a hard-driving punk band, set themselves apart from what I call a 'typical punk band' with tight arrangements that clearly demonstrate the band's musical ability and level of professionalism.

Silver Needle has all the elements of a winning ticket...high-energy music with well thought out lyrics, catchy hooks and vocals that are understandable.