A Shining Rock Album

Bruce Von Stiers

A little bit Bono, a tad bit of Billy Idol. Who am I talking about? A hard rocking singer/songwriter named Ted Hovis. Hailing from the Washington D.C. area, Ted has just recorded a new album.

The title of the album is Let It Shine. On the album Ted does the lead vocals and plays both the electric and acoustic guitars. He also plays the bass on the album.

Ted is joined on the album by Kevin Gutierrez, Jamie Kowalksi and Jenn Colten. Kevin played the drums, did the percussion and did the keys for a few of the tracks. He also produced the album. Kevin is a partner in the up and coming recording studio Assembly Line Studios. Jamie does the keys for most of the album. He has classical training and has written a bunch of music. Jamie is a long time collaborator with Ted, having been in his band and other bands like White Boy and Red Wire. And then there is the delectable backing vocals by Jenn Colten. Her musical tastes run from 80’s pop to blues & jazz like her rendition of the great Louis Jordan song Is You Or Is You Aint found on her MySpace site.

The title track, Let It Shine, is up first. It is a toe-tapping, hip shaking, smile affecting rock piece.

Killer guitar reminiscent of a time gone by permeates the second song, Pocketful. Ted’s vocals are smooth yet give of a slight aura of angst.

Thinking Out Loud is simply a too cool rocking blues groove.

Twisting In Denial has a light U2 sound to it.

Another song that has a light blues groove is Fly So High. It has a smoky rock guitar sound that might have come out of the ‘70’s.

Until It Fades is an aching love lament with nice acoustic guitar.

Moving back once again to the 70’s rock blues guitar mode, The Place You Called Home is another great song on the album.

Foolish Pride has an intro that reminded me of Deep Purple. Then the song settles down to a moderate pace that makes it sound like something from U2.

The album ends with a subtle ballad called The Well Has Run Dry.

Ted Hovis has had his music compared with Alice In Chains and Stone Temple Pilots. I’ve added my comparison with U2 and some classic ‘70’s & ‘80’s rock. So you might say that Ted’s music spans many decades of rock music. Having done so, this new album, Let It Shine, should have a bit of everything for everybody, from young to old rock fans.

Let It Shine is out now. Online venues like amazon.com and CD Baby are but a few places to get a copy of the album.

To learn more, visit www.tedhovis.com.

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