I love the internet.  It is like having my own personal SXSW or Bonnaroo  sitting on the desk in front of me.  I log in and suddenly  hundreds of bands and performers are only a page click away.  Music, videos and interviews all just waiting for me to discover.  This kind of access to music is awesome, but it comes at a price.  In a seemingly endless sea of new bands how do we spot the sharks?  Well, we look for the fin.

Okay, okay.  Equating a song to a shark fin makes less and less sense the more coffee I drink but I am letting the comparison stand.  Or swim.  Whatever.  Because with all the choices the internet brings us it is easy for a band to get lost in the crowd.  Or the school. 

(you know, cause fish…schools…yeah, I should really let that one go)

Viv and the Revival caught my ear with the very cool Shook Up, a rock/pop track with just an edge of punk.  After playing the song a while and popping it in the sidebar juke, I went looking for more info on the band and more of their music.  Viv and the Revival is a Philadelphia-based band with Viv Peyrat on vocals and guitar, Jake Brnich on rhythm guitar, Ian Brick on bass and Nate Osbourne on drums and backup vocals.  Check out several tracks from the new album, And Then The World, Part 1 available for a listen on the band’s MySpace page.  While the other tracks don’t match the intensity of Shook Up, they are still pretty good. I really like the drums on Forever and the ’80′s sound of Wonderful and Go Live Your Story

Playing Shook Up live for a local news segment:

You can download several tracks for free off ReverbNation  if you sign up for the email newsletter or you can purchase the album from Amazon, iTunes or the Viv and the Revival website.  Definitely worth checking out.

- Kit