Rock & Roll is Once Again Bubbling Up Around the Slopes of Mount Rainier

Rock and Roll has been struggling for decades to find its once enormous mass-appeal presentation. The genre, which seems to be shooting from the hip, is looking for a spark and a sound that will last for an extended period of time - like the bands that came out of Seattle in the 1990s - but even in what appears to be misdirection, the rawness Rock and Roll is famous for still has a pulse. Don't misunderstand my message here - there is some great new rock cutting through the minutia, but not enough to carry the genre by itself – maybe that’s why it continues to lean on the rooted core to survive – Metallica, AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, and Ozzy to name a few.

There’s new life for Rock and Roll bubbling up around the slopes of Mount Rainier in the Pacific Northwest.

Emerging from the rubble of the burnt Tacoma/Seattle music scene like a superhero dusting himself off after battling a demon, arises the rock and roll band, ‘DROP the STAR’ – led by the growling vocals and songwriting of Johnny Reidt.

Who is Johnny Reidt?

As the former lead singer of the popular Seattle rock band, Bathtub Gin, and the founder and frontman of New American Shame, Johnny Reidt shared the stage and worked with every mega-band that came out of Seattle during its rock heyday and toured with some of the biggest names in the industry - Pearl Jam, Kid Rock, The Cult, Buckcherry, Staind, Megadeth, Joan Jett, and Queens of the Stone Age. He was even considered as a possible fill-in for Brian Johnson of AC/DC in 2016. His experience bleeds all over DROP the STAR’s debut project.

Who is DROP the STAR?

DROP the STAR is a five-piece American rock band from Tacoma, Washington. The band (all lifelong friends) formed in 2020 when Johnny Reidt and his friend Donnie Lemmon met up for a dirt bike ride into the foothills of Mount Rainier – “we came to a clearing where we could see Mount Rainier, and it was so big that it filled our vision. I said, 'We need to write songs that big.' Donnie laughed and said, 'Yeah, Rainier Rock.' So that’s what we are shooting for."

DROP the STAR’s material injects new life into rock and roll and the Pacific Northwest music scene. It’s hard to compare them to the GOATs but all one has to do is listen to hear the influences of AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses. And, their new project has a lot of depth; from the stalkiness of ‘Serial Thriller’, the pounding raucous sound of 'Profiteer', the power of words in 'Bombs', and the anthem of ‘American Made' which screams at the polarization of America.

Their sound is purposely raw and is a fastball down the middle for fans of rock and roll. Turns out Rock is alive in the Pacific Northwest with DROP the STAR.