The Grip Weeds are a band with a mission: they aspire to the artistic heights reached by the classic bands of rock's golden age while achieving originality and an urgency suited to the new millennium. In short, this is a band which refuses to give up on the dream that rock music can still be great and compelling.

Headquartered in Highland Park, New Jersey, The Grip Weeds consist of: Rick Reil (songwriter, guitarist, vocalist); Kurt Reil (songwriter, drummer, vocalist); Kristin Pinell (lead guitarist, vocalist); and Mike Nattboy (bassist, vocalist). The band's sound has been described as ranging from sixties inspired pop psychedelia to modern rock, power pop, British R&B, folk rock and Beatlesque Merseybeat.

As noted by reviewers, some of the more obvious influences include the classic American sound of the Byrds, but with a far more visceral delivery reminiscent of the Who. Other disparate elements can be detected in the group's sound: a touch of Led Zeppelin, a hint of the Smithereens and the modern Brit pop of Oasis. However, above all the Grip Weeds achieve what one reviewer has called the quality most desired by musicians: originality.

The Grip Weeds' sound revolves around the melodic songwriting of the brothers Reil as aided by the interpretive talents of Pinell and Nattboy, the harmonic vocal blend of all four members, ripping guitar work, inventive bass playing and explosive drumming. Tight and exciting live, on recordings the Grip Weeds achieve sonic clarity and a richness of texture working in their studio House Of Vibes Productions. Designed and run by the band, it is a musical laboratory not only for the bands own productions but for many other artists who have become House Of Vibes clients..

In an excerpted concert review entitled The Grip Weeds flower outside the studio (12/15/98), The Newark Star Ledger said:
"For The Grip Weeds, on the scene since the late 1980s, the show was the occasion to celebrate the release of their new album...the Grip Weeds were a fiercely tight, rollicking unit and emerged as worthy torchbearers for the latter-day, psychedelic-garage movement. Like such other retro proponents as the Flamin' Groovies, Plimsouls and Tripping Daisy, the live Grip Weeds add wide-ranging, hard-hitting guitar work to the melodic structures of such '60s icons as the Byrds and the "Revolver"-era Beatles".

When the Grip Weeds hit the stage with a soaring, harmony-laden ethereal rendition of an obscure Byrds song, "She Don't Care About Time," they provided abundant evidence that their set would be the surprise treat of the night. Powered by Kurt Reil's propulsive drumming, tenor lead singing and sharp, urgent harmonies with his brother, rhythm guitarist Rick Reil, along with Kristin Pinell's ringing lead guitar work, the band's original songs came to life.