The Stage - Tomorrow's Music. Today.

Slightly Ripe,
by Melissa Evanko

What happens when you add nearly 10 years of musical experience, talent and positive energy into a blender; you get Slightly Ripe, one of the Lehigh Valley’s premier original bands. Sean Blackburn, lead singer of Slightly Ripe talks about the bands longevity, the music scene in the Valley, and the Zen of gardening.

Slightly Ripe hails from the Lehigh Valley. The men behind the sound are Sean Blackburn, lead vocals and guitar, Mark Piedmonte, bass, Bryan Kerschner. drums and Kevin Kerschner percussion.

Slightly Ripe, was not the first name of the band, it was Nastureum (referring to the plant). The name was misspelled more times than not by clubs, so a new name. Slightly Ripe was chosen. The inspiration is from fluorescent stickers that are placed on fruit at the grocery store. Blackburn felt it summed up the band perfectly that they were "almost ready for the picking."

The song that Slightly Ripe performed on "The Stage" was "Meditate." This song made the cut because it will most likely be the 1st single to be released from their upcoming CD. This track has a heavier sound to it. Blackburn jokes that with age their sound should be getting mellower not more aggressive.

The new Slightly Ripe album is slated for a December release. Blackburn feels this album is more edgy than their previous releases. The disc will contain 10-11 new tracks. There will also be a second disc, limited to a 100-copy run, which will contain previously released tracks re-vamped. The band is also toying with the idea of a ‘greatest hits;’ album to commemorate their 10 year anniversary.

That Slightly Ripe sound is created by a group effort. When it comes to lyrics Piedmonte is the word man. Blackburn comes in to add the music. When he is about halfway done the rest of the band comes in to finish the song. The band tries to be positive in their lyrics and in general. Blackburn feels there is enough negativity in the world already.

When it comes to the Lehigh Valley music scene, Blackburn feels that the scene is good with a lot of talent in the area, but not a lot of places for them to play. The Lehigh Valley is a "hidden area of talent," with many bands that are better than mainstream radio. There is a united front among the bands, according to Blackburn. This could be seen as original bands Vs cover bands mentality.

Blackburn sums up cover bands as an acting gig. The bands are actors and "some are really good at acting." The flip side is that the crowd does not really care about you or your band, you just "sound like what song they want to hear."

The Lehigh Valley has not had many bands signed that have gone on to fame, or minor fame for that matter, a valid point by Blackburn. Of course Slightly Ripe wanted to get signed and have that elusive record deal. The deal became not as important after years of seeing "how ugly the music business is." with friends who got deals and went nowhere.

About a year ago the band asked themselves eternal question, Why are we doing this? The answer was from day one they have loved to play music. This was an epiphany, helping the guys to rediscover that joy from playing and also interacting with the crowd Blackburn’s favorite aspect of playing live. Now when they "hit the stage, it’s with the same feeling as ten years ago."

The secret to Slightly Ripe’s longevity may be simply put, the guys are "best friends before bandmates." Blackburn feels it important that the guys all go to a show together. With some bands it is like a job, everybody arriving separate. Here you have bandmates who genuinely like each other as people.

A favorite pastime of Blackburn involves getting your hands dirty and providing lots of tender loving care. Give up? it’s gardening. In Blackburn’s garden you can find an array of vegetables, including cucumbers and carrots. Blackburn is amazed that "you can put a seed in the ground and then eat from it." When you think about it, gardening is a lot like music. A band is like a seed that is planted, left to grow where with care, some will flourish, while others will wilt, even rot. But with the proper care, they can succeed, just like Slightly Ripe.