Opium Symphony

Please visit myspace.com/opiumsymphony for more info
while we build our website. Thanks for your Patience! ~OS

Opium Radio

The idea that �rock and roll is dead� has long been repudiated � although the form that rock has taken has varied greatly since its inception and what many consider its peak in the mid 1970s. While comparing current bands to 70s icons is often a fruitless venture, every once in a while a band emerges that carries the swagger, idealism, and � most importantly � the quality songs to be considered worthy of that mantle.

Opium Symphony is one of those bands. Hailing from Dallas, Texas, the band brings the Texas attitude that bigger is better � bigger hooks, bigger riffs, and bigger personalities. This combination is on display on Opium Symphony�s debut EP release �Life is A Cigarette,� seven songs rife with distorted guitars, pounding rhythms and soaring choruses. The band � vocalist/guitarist Kellen Ross, bassist J.D., guitarist Troy Schmidt, and drummer Leigh � also has a gift for dynamics, which gives their songs a surging, cascading sound.

Standout tracks include Pretty, Rich, Beautiful, an opus against empty materialism; God or Money, a catchy hook-laden tune reminiscent of the best of Queens of the Stone Age; and Stars and Stripes, an irresistible track full of potent anger and ironic lines like, �my mother taught me one thing you never trust a man wearing stars and stripes.�

The four-piece has also has big ideas, like a tour advocating a boycott of the 2008 Presidential Election. The �You Don�t Deserve My Vote� Tour 2008 is a rallying cry to a generation of disenfranchised citizens, railing a system that continually fails to deliver. As Kellen Ross says, �Too often it seems voting is our only chance to have a voice. We believe that it is time that we remind ourselves and our government that we are THE voice. We want to encourage people to boycott the 2008 Presidential Election to make it known that we are discontent. The point of retracting our vote is simple. It unifies us in this cause. It has become apparent that only extreme measures will force them to listen to what we have to say.� This idea, while on its surface may seem apathetic, is anything but to Kellen and Opium Symphony. As Kellen continues, �We are not a political band, but we are citizens of this country much the same as everyone else. It doesn�t take a politician (or a political band) to recognize that times call for a change, and that is why we are launching this Counter-Campaign Tour, You Don�t Deserve My Vote 2008.

This counter campaign, backed with the solid tunes and a dedicated and growing fan base, will see Opium Symphony raising awareness while committing to great music. With the spirit of the 60s and the musical influence of the 70s, the generation born in the 80s and raised in the 90s is spreading good music and a �question everything� attitude into the new millennium, and Opium Symphony is leading the charge.

Written by Jason Peterson
Minneapolis

Hey everyone! In support of our counter campaign "You Don't Deserve My Vote 2008" we have released our first full length performance video. Hope you all enjoy it!

You Dont Deserve My Vote 2008
Counter campaign

We the Symphony, as a band, have taken it upon ourselves to ask the question Why? Why is it that every four years we get what are effectively two candidates to choose from when there are others running? Why can a candidate win the vote of the people, and still lose the election? Why do we put so much energy into getting people to vote in a system with such obvious flaws?Our philosophy as a band has always been, and will always be, to put music first. We will continue to make the best original music possible.

We are not a political band, but we are citizens of this country much the same as everyone else. It doesn�t take a politician (or a political band) to recognize that times call for a change, and that is why we are launching this Counter-Campaign Tour, You Don�t Deserve My Vote 2008.

Too often it seems we are told voting for president is our only chance to have a voice. And yet we never teach our children about participating in the government at the city council levels, or even state for that matter. We just tell our children "that's the way it ia" when they ask about the flaws.

We believe that it is time that we remind ourselves and our government that we are THE voice. We want to encourage people to boycott the 2008 Presidential Election to make it known that we are discontent. The point of retracting our vote is simple. It unifies us in this cause. It has become apparent that only extreme measures will force them to listen to what we have to say.We will use our voice as a band to spread this movement across the country during 2008.