Welcome to the magic world of New Granada. If this is your first exposure to this unwashed New York City quartet, you'd better have a heaping helping of controlled substances ready. If you think this is some cynical hype, by all means decide for yourself: One listen to Steppin' On You will convince you that these four lads are nothing less than the future of dirty ass-crackin' rock n' roll. From the unfettered brutal attack of the title track to the twisted, serpentine riffing of "Uninformed," from the undulating lock-step groove of "Sinkhole" to the achingly empathetic acoustic meanderings of "Rise & Fall," Steppin' On You is a masterwork in the finest tradition of hard rock legends like AC/DC, Soundgarden and, yes, Led Zeppelin. The roots of New Granada go all the way back to the late Nineties, when budding vocalist Ian Levinson and guitarist Richie White, two young tykes with a shared fondness for the finer things in life-Angus Young, spitting up blood, and getting beaten up by their local ganja dealer-began playing original rock tunes in an acoustic duo called Stringbox. Levinson and White plied their unplugged fare at clubs throughout the New York metropolitan area, building a reputation and earning a total of $37.00, split down the middle. "Those were good times," recalls Levinson with a semi-toothless grin. "We ate little but rocked hard." Around the turn of the century-the 21st century-Levinson and White stunned Stringbox's fans when they laid the acoustic duo to rest and formed a hard rock band with drummer Todd Berkowitz and bassist Bob Kouns. "We discovered that we loved the same things-unsterilized needles, petty theft and classic hard-ass rock," says Berkowitz. Although White feared a full-blown rock band would alienate their acoustic following, Levinson eventually convinced him to take the plunge. "He said, 'Take the plunge asshole,' " says White, "and then he hit me in the face with a cymbal. I couldn't resist." The rest of the story is known to rock and roll cognoscenti all over New York. New Granada, as the nascent band called themselves, tore up the Manhattan club circuit, wowing frenzied audiences at CBGBs, Brownies and the Continental, among other esteemed venues. Their live performances leave audiences delirious and often dehydrated-"they scream like lemmings going over a cliff," says Kouns dreamily. Now they've captured their furious filth on compact disc, and the results are staggering. "We are a revelation," says Levinson. "The stuff we got will bust your brains out, baby-you could lose your mind," says White.
