The Split Lips

The Split Lips - Heartbreaker EP
100%Wild Records
This is some seriously raging sleaze rock! Slick production, slides, leads, you can practically hear the railers being snorted off of the strippers asses! SHAKE MY STICK is a real smoker, probably the strongest release yet on this label, get it while it's hot! Very similar to any release on HOSTAGE.
Dustin Jak - Absolute Underground Magazine
article from Planet S by Craig Siliphant:
They say it's all been done in rock 'n' roll—there are only so many chords, so many melodies, and all the styles have been done. They may be right—but there's still a helluva lot of fun to be had by mashing a few of those genres and styles together into a nasty, dirty and entirely fun rock 'n' roll stew.
Take local rockers The Split Lips.
The Split Lips are aptly named—blunt like a hearty punch to the mouth, they play a hybrid of trashy, '80s L.A. glam metal and stripped-down, '70s CBGB's-style New York punk that's meant to be turned up to 11. Singer Hans Bielefeld comes off as a cross between Faster Pussycat's Taime Down and The Dead Boys' Stiv Bators, while the music itself is a collision of bluesy string bends and hot and sleazy guitar riffs, topped off with an absolutely face pounding rhythm section.
But while The Split Lips may wear their influences proudly on their collective sleeve, they've definitely taken the best those influences had to offer, and left out the bad. Instead of relying on the excessive guitar and vocal wanking that a band out of L.A. in the '80s would've leaned on, for example, the minimalism of their punk leanings sets The Split Lips apart from similar acts. The Lips are smart enough to keep things simple, so the excesses that would normally be inherent in '80s glam metal don't overshadow the music itself—and in fact, you can hear a purposeful simplicity even in the way that drummer Kevin Corbett talks about their retro re-writing of sleaze rock.
"We're influenced by good rock 'n' roll—and a lot of beer" says Corbett. "People may compare us to Faster Pussycat or The Black Halos. We have similarities with those bands but we're rock 'n' roll and that's good enough for me."
The band was only a vague idea in early 2007, but it all came together with relative speed, as most of the guys had either grown up together in the same small town, or had played alongside each other in other bands—including Sleaze Patrol and the now-defunct The Dead Travel Fast.
"Graham, Dale and I started jamming," says Corbett, "just working on song ideas, drinking beers, and talking about how cool it would be to have a singer. Hans was actually our first choice for a singer. We didn't think that he would want to but we were wrong. He came to one of our jams and from then on he was our frontman. After a while, we decided that we needed another guitar player to beef up the sound. My twin brother Keith was visiting from Victoria. He jammed with us and he fell into place perfectly, making The Split Lips a five-piece."
With those five pieces fitting together like a well-oiled machine, The Split Lips started working on tracks to lay down in the studio. Hans came to rehearsal equipped with a few songs from his previous bands, but they needed a few more cuts to be able to start recording. Happily, they quickly found a comfortable style of writing that produced tracks that were not only organic, but also full of piss and vinegar.
"Most of our songs are written the same way," explains Corbett. "Dale will bring a new idea to practice and we'll jam on it, see where it takes us. We've gotten lucky on a couple where we just start playing and it turns out to be a great song."
Now, only a few months after their inception, The Split Lips have hit the scene with the newly-recorded Heartbreaker EP, released on local label 100 Percent Wild. They went into the studio with the goal of coming out with four originals, but instead, they ended up with six—and more importantly, with what Corbett feels is a good representation of the band.
"We recorded the EP at PM studios with Josh Palmer in July," says Corbett. "None of us had worked with him in the past so we didn't know what to expect, but it was the best recording session I've been a part of. The atmosphere was really relaxed and he has a kick-ass recording spot above Amigos with lots of room. He seemed to know exactly what we wanted to sound like on a recording. We actually tried to do seven songs but by that time we were too wasted."
Speaking of being wasted, it should go without saying that the best part of any booze-drenched, sleazy rock band has to be their live show. With that in mind, you have not one, but two chances to check out The Split Lips in the near future, with both gigs being at Amigos (though you can pretend you're at CBGB's or The Whiskey if it helps you get your rock on). They'll be opening for Pride Tiger on Friday November 9th, and back onstage again on December 22nd for the 100 Percent Wild Xmas Blitzkrieg. In both cases, you can be sure the sweat will be flying.
"One of the main goals of this band is to be an awesome live band," says Corbett. "I think people can expect a high level of energy, and some trashed out rock n' roll!"
Cryin' Shame
NYC Stole My Heart
Son Of A Gun
Heartbreaker Of Rock N Roll
Bottle Of Love
You're So Cold
Shake My Stick
Cold Turkey Blues