Press for Triple Whip's Slapshot

From Aiding & Abetting 11.3.03
Yer usual post-power rock trio, complete with buggin' bass, jumpy drumming and loony guitar. I've heard this sort of thing many times before, and these folks do the sound well. There's a cool detachment to the songwriting that really helps me ease into the stuff. Good work.

From: Amplifier Magazine Issue #40
Loud and caustic at times, while at other times delicately layered and sensitive, Triple Whip know how to orchestrate a rhythm section. The vocals are pretty cool, too. Vocalist Santanu Rahman just lets it out however it wants to come out. His guitar is often hardly noticeable, and at other times it sounds like anything but a guitar. Slapshot is punctuated with short, sharp, intense songs that make you sit up and listen. "Pump," "Battle Whip" and "Might" are standouts, but Slapshot is an overall score.
~ Elizabeth Sokol

From Impact Pess 12.03
What you get here is steady percussion, jazzy guitar riffs and a bass guitar sound that pulsates like Prong and Primus, and highlights this creative collection. The vocals are short and sweet, at times singing, at times talking. Lyrics are choppy and songs are made up of very brief descriptions of various movies from different genres that add a slight twist and mystery to follow along with. (JC)

From OpeningBands.com 11.1.03
Review #1 - Steve Sobel
Triple Whip is a Champaign-Urbana all-star trio of Santanu Rahman, Holly Rushakoff (of WEFT Sessions fame, amongst other things), and Brett Sanderson (Absinthe Blind). Pulling jazz, rock and outright oddness together, Slapshot is a foray into challenging and dissonant but still somehow pleasing music.

Most songs are much heavier on the bass, with occasional accents coming from the guitar, which meshes quite well with the energy in each track. Like a lot of great music, this album is definitely not easy listening for the average person. It is a real treat, however, for anyone interested in jazz-infused rock with catchy basslines and an almost Twin Peaks Soundtrack Gone Heavy sort of feel.

Combining complexity, experimentation and style - this album is not to be missed by those looking for something a bit different. Check out www.triplewhip.com for more information on the band.

Review #2 - Casey Best
When I first put Triple Whip's Slapshot into my computer, my initial reaction was not a positive one. "Where are the melodic vocals and elaborate guitar parts that I am so accustomed to", I asked myself. Actually, it was more of a "This kind of sucks." The guitar and vocals definitely take a back seat to the pounding bass and drums, which is something I found a little obnoxious at first. After a few listens, my opinion began to change. Listening to the CD, which was somewhat of a chore at first, became gradually more enjoyable, to the point where I have become pretty impressed by what Triple Whip has created. Every track except one opens with Holly Rushakoff's bass work, then works in the guitar and drums. The music is very rhythmic on account of this, which, along with Santanu Rahman's echoing voice, creates an ethereal feel to the music.

The only downside to Triple Whip's ten song CD is that the songs can be a little hard to differentiate, which can cause the songs to be monotonous at times. Fans of the sound shouldn't have a problem with that, though. Overall, this is a CD that fans will enjoy, and people unaccustomed to the sound may grow to appreciate, if they give it a chance. For more info, go to www.triplewhip.com.

From: Playback STL Magazine
If you’re into bass-driven bands, boy, do I have a CD for you. Triple Whip, a trio from Champaign, have released their first full-length disc, Slapshot, on which Holly Rushakoff’s fat, fuzzy, often-frenzied bass is the lead instrument. Sure, there’s some basic guitar chordings provided by energetic frontman/singer Santanu Rahman, and drummer Brett Sanderson has to be pretty dang good to keep in synch with Rushakoff’s sometimes unholy noise. But the bass is the powering force with this punkish group in a way not often heard.

The press release states that the group’s sometimes discordant, occasionally jazzy, often fiendishly forceful sound has caused some to refer to them as "cinema art rock."

The propulsive bass does remind one of Yes’s Chris Squire at times, and a few of Rushakoff’s licks also recall Primus’ Les Claypool. But the combination of elements here is kind of hard to pin down. It’s progressive, punk, minimalistic, and dense at the same time. Rahman occasionally sings with the passion of Joe Strummer, but oddly, he also sings sometimes like Jim Morrison. Other times, he doesn’t really sing at all; he seems to just yelp out phrases and short lines as a mere topping for the beefy sonic brisket below him.

Cool songs include the driving "Han Man" (a number that’ll probably slay ’em live), "Mr. Ugly" (nicely sung and arranged), the darkly discordant "Fist to Claw," and perhaps the best tune, "Double Feature," which is pretty damn hypnotic, the point in the album at which the bass has either taken your ears prisoner and rewarded you with a multi-layered composition, or caused you to hit the "off" switch. Me, I surrendered. Slapshot is only 30 minutes long and there’s really very little self-indulgence on it. Triple Whip play like they mean it. They may slap you around a bit with the occasional harsh sound, but the smile they flash here and there says that you won’t get hurt too bad.
~ Kevin Renick

From Punk Planet 3.07
"It's refreshing to hear driving basslines and incessant drums overwhelm guitars now and then, especially if the band can pull it off. Champaign, Ill.-based Triple Whip is that band: drum and bass upfront, discordant/jazzy guitar with speak/sing/shouting B-movie-inspired lyrics."

From: Splendid E-zine 3.2.04
Triple Whip tinker with the power trio formula on their debut disc. Like Primus, bass is the dominant instrument here -- but the similarities stop there. Triple Whip eschew jam rock tendencies, opting for a stripped down, calculated approach.

Bassist Holly Rushakoff favors heavy, not-quite-distorted bass figures that are rhythmically interesting, but still provide the requisite fat bottom-end. Brett Sanderson's drumming is nimble, and utilizes a lot of hi-hat work, playing nicely off of the bass grooves. However, Santanu Rahman's guitar action is the thing that really makes the band unique, serving more to embellish the rhythm section than to relegate it to the background. Sparse, dissonant chords jut in and out, contrasting with the more fluid bass and drum figures. It sounds almost jazzy -- especially when you consider the fact that Rahman doesn't lean too heavily on effects.

The vocals (Rahman again) are half spoken, half sung, providing more rhythmic layering to the songs. When the band occasionally stretches into more melodic turf, they're up to the challenge -- minimal and restrained, never overpowering the music ("Mr. Ugly" is a prime example). The lyrics, far from typical stuff, seem to be rooted in films and their dialogue (cheesy action films and otherwise), and are never particularly wordy.

Triple Whip's sound brings to mind a number of other bands, but it's truly a piecemeal assemblage. For instance, the bass riff from "Might" recalls the fluid work of Darin Gray of the late Dazzling Killmen, and the discordant grooves in "Delight"'s chorus are reminiscent of Cheer-Accident. The offbeat vocals and bass-heavy rhythms may remind listeners of Trenchmouth, who also relied heavily on dissonant guitar work. Make no mistake, though -- there's no mistaking Triple Whip for those other (highly respectable) bands. Their sound is entirely their own. Special note should also be made of Matt Talbott's (Hum, Centaur) production work. The unpolished, stripped down recording doesn't sacrifice clarity for intensity.

Mark my words -- we'll be hearing more from Triple Whip.
~ Garrett Splain

From the Buzz: 9.26.03
Champaign trio Triple Whip gear up for release of Slapshot
By Brian Mertz
With his cat Curley roaming around his feet, Santanu Rahman stands, his legs and arms spread open in a Tai Chi position called the single whip. His arms are stretched out in opposite directions, one hand curled back, the other pointing forward.

Rahman's mind one day wandered to what a double whip would be. Showing what he came up with, he curls his other hand back so the two are pointing in towards his body. "That is a double whip." So what would be a triple whip? Out of limbs, Rahman lifts his leg, bending it at the knee, striking a familiar "crane kick" pose. "Oh this looks like the Karate Kid," Rahman says, unable to contain a hearty laugh. He breaks the pose smiling at the explanation for how his band, Triple Whip, got their name.

That demonstration, blending humor, introspection and intelligence, pretty much sums up Triple Whip as a band. Brett Sanderson, their drummer, describes their sound in three words, "Quirky, mathematical, rock."

That clean, distortion-free sound is amply displayed on Triple Whip's album Slapshot, which will be released on Tuesday and at a CD release show this Saturday at the Brass Rail. Slapshot is the first full-length for the band, which has been in existence since 2001. It is also the first for seasoned veterans Rahman and Sanderson as well as bassist Holly Rushakoff.

"I have been a musician since 1989 and this is my first real album to be released on a record label," Rahman said. "All my musical experiences since then have led to this and it is very exciting to me."

"I have had several records that have never been officially released," Sanderson said. "It has been a long time coming. It seems a like a short time, but we've put a lot of work into it so it will be good to get something out there finally."

The work that has gone into Triple Whip began when Rahman wanted to try his hand at recreating Asian Underground music that he was listening to, in particular Talvin Singh's fusion of drum ‘n' bass and traditional Indian music. To create his own take on the sound, Rahman employed a flutist, a violinist and a keyboardist. But it wasn't exactly what he was looking for.

"I would have to sample everyone's playing and then edit and make my own thing," Rahman said. "It was cool, but it was a lot of work. I had to take everyone's music and decide what to use as samples."

Rahman trimmed down the lineup and brought on Rushakoff to play bass. At the time though, Rushakoff didn't play an instrument and had never been in a band.

"I tried the keyboard and I didn't know what it was doing and it was very intimidating," Rushakoff said. "With the guitar I wasn't compelled to learn further. The third thing was the bass and I felt like when I tried that and I learned some of the riffs that Santanu had me practice, I felt ‘this I like.'"

Sanderson, who was in a band called the April Crash with Rahman in 1997, was the last piece of the Triple Whip puzzle.

"I love being in a band with him," said Sanderson of Rahman. "There is no ego. There is none of that stuff that you get with a lot of people in bands. And that goes for Holly too."

Sanderson knew what to expect from Rahman, but he also was not worried about Rushakoff's inexperience on the bass.

"I don't really get worried until I have a reason to get worried and I never had a reason to get worried. She really just dug into the bass," said Sanderson, who also plays bass for Absinthe Blind. "I'm totally impressed. I started playing bass not much longer after she started and I would not touch what she does."

Rushakoff's bass lines are the strongest parts of some of the tracks on Slapshot and often provide the melody while Rahman's guitar and Sanderson's drumming provide tight rhythmic backing.

"It felt like the antithesis of me," said Rushakoff of her bass playing. "I'm not a booming person. I can ask someone a question or say ‘Hi' to them and they might not even hear me. And I'll be like okay, whatever, I'll ask them later. But this is so forceful and commanding and I love the feeling."

The final ingredient to the Triple Whip sound is Rahman's lyrics, which are sung in a punctuated style. But like so many other components of the Triple Whip songwriting process, there is constant evolution from new influences. Rahman says that working on new tracks after recording Slapshot have been influenced again by far-off musical sources.

"Recently I've been spending a little more time developing the vocal parts because I have been listening to more of these Bollywood parts where there is such an intense vocal emphasis," Rahman said. "I have been listening a lot to that structure and how that element can actually fill in gaps we've never even thought of before, so I'm coming to the table with voice parts in mind as well."

Triple Whip plans to evolve with their touring schedule as well, hoping to play more events. Presently they have their CD release show, a showcase for their label, Innocent Words, and the Chicagoland version of the Great Cover Up, at the end of which they will be performing a few Afghan Whigs tunes.

With Triple Whip and Absinthe Blind both picking up steam, Sanderson has had to balance his commitments. But despite having to more carefully plan his calendar, Sanderson has no intention to leave either project.

"I really love playing the drums and I really love playing bass and I don't want to give up either," Sanderson said. "They are both different products musically so it is good to have those outlets creatively."

Triple Whip has been playing more shows, including a few spots on the Asians in Rock Tour, a project that Rahman feels very proud of.

"Just the idea of promoting Asian Americans who are doing the rock thing, on a social justice and activism level, it is a great thing to push that Asians can do this thing as well (as) just to broaden the mindset of the public when they think about Asians," Rahman said.

Locally, the band is drawing bigger crowds.

"We're starting to attract (a) more and more diverse crowd," Rahman said. "I used to think we were purely a musician's band. Only musicians would understand what we're doing and everyone else would be like ‘when is he going to kick that distortion pedal on.'"

At the same time, Rushakoff and Rahman don't want to overextend Triple Whip's Champaign presence.

"We do want to take the next step. We don't want to just be a Champaign band," Rushakoff said. "I really like this music and we're all really proud to be from Champaign. We're happy to go out and be a representative of Champaign. We believe in the music to find a way to be a little different. We don't want to sound like everyone else."

Wherever the future may lead this trio, one thing is certain: Triple Whip will create music in their own creative and introspective way.

"Being a musician today, you can't just go from your soul and your gut anymore because everyone has done that. Everything you come up with has already been done before," Rahman said. "You have to take that and know what's out there. It's like a research project. You have to know what other people have made and then know what your own true self is and then put those things together and create what you would consider your own identity."

Triple Whip will perform at The Brass Rail on Saturday, Sept. 27 with The Violents and The Fourth Rotor. Tickets are $3 and the show is 21 and over.