Stephen Speaks
Encyclopedia
Stephen Speaks is the band name through which Rockwell Ryan Ripperger releases his music. Ripperger has invited hundreds of artists to be involved since the band's inception in 2000, and has overseen all production by way of his independent record company, Rippley Records Inc. Speaks' has released four albums, performed hundreds of shows around the world, and is certified platinum by Waner Music through a licensing deal with Warner Music Philippines in 2003. Among a career of internet-based success, Stephen Speaks' music has made the top 100 independent sellers on iTunes and the top 10 unsigned band on MySpace.
, who offer them digital distribution through outlets such as iTunes
, Amazon MP3
, Rhapsody
, and Napster
. No More Doubt's two biggest singles, "Passenger Seat" and "Out of My League" both went #1 on Filipino radio stations. No More Doubt was released in the Philippines on February 4, 2003, through a licensing deal negotiated with Warner Music, in conjunction with Ripperger's label, Rippley Records Inc. The album was declared platinum ten days later by Warner Music, on February 14, 2003.
Speaks' second album was recorded in Ripperger's home studio and printed on CD in 2003. Most popular tracks include "The Leaving Song", which features Grammy winning artist Ryan Tedder on vocals, "First Glance", and "On My Way". Ripperger digitally remixed and mastered One More Day for release on iTunes in 2006.
In 2006 Ripperger teamed up with producer Chad Copelin, the band's first effort outside of their own studio, "Symptoms Of Love". "Disappear demo" was released on MySpace in 2006, and gained over a million internet plays before the album was finished being recorded. In February 2007, Speaks' made the top 100 artists for CDbaby due to their jump in iTunes sales. Symptoms Of Love was released on January 7, 2008.
In December, 2010, Stephen Speaks released Christmas With Friends 2, which was available for free on the band's website. Christmas With Friends 2 features only acoustic guitars and vocals, with guest vocalists Lindsey Sandella, Ben Kilgore, Noelle Kilgore, Julia Frej, and Jay Lashley. The guest guitar players featured on the album are Jesse Aycock, Jeff Coleman, Matt Cox and Ben Mosier.
Live performances vary from solo to a five piece band consisting of lead-singer and acoustic player Rockwell Ryan Ripperger, with a rotating lineup of guitarists, drummers, bass players, and key players. Speaks' is represented by two booking agents, Box Talent Agency and Event Recources Presents.
Stephen Speaks' first major studio album, Age Of The Underdog, was recorded in summer of 2010 with producer Brady Blade, who also played drums on the album. A documentary was also filmed about the making of the record. Both the DVD and record are set to release in 2011.
History
Stephen Speaks first album No More Doubt was recorded in 2000. Speaks' music has been distributed through various online retailers, including Awarestore.com, CDbaby, and TunecoreTuneCore
TuneCore is an online distribution service for music founded in 2005. TuneCore principally offers musicians and other rights-holders the opportunity to place their music into online retailers such as iTunes, AmazonMP3, Zune Marketplace, Rhapsody, eMusic, and others for sale.-History and...
, who offer them digital distribution through outlets such as iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, Amazon MP3
Amazon MP3
Amazon MP3 is an online music store owned and operated by Amazon.com. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights management from the four major music labels , as well as many independents...
, Rhapsody
Rhapsody
Rhapsody may refer to:* Rhapsody , an enthusiastic instrumental composition of indefinite form* A work of epic poetry, or part of one, that is suitable for recitation at one time...
, and Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
. No More Doubt's two biggest singles, "Passenger Seat" and "Out of My League" both went #1 on Filipino radio stations. No More Doubt was released in the Philippines on February 4, 2003, through a licensing deal negotiated with Warner Music, in conjunction with Ripperger's label, Rippley Records Inc. The album was declared platinum ten days later by Warner Music, on February 14, 2003.
Speaks' second album was recorded in Ripperger's home studio and printed on CD in 2003. Most popular tracks include "The Leaving Song", which features Grammy winning artist Ryan Tedder on vocals, "First Glance", and "On My Way". Ripperger digitally remixed and mastered One More Day for release on iTunes in 2006.
In 2006 Ripperger teamed up with producer Chad Copelin, the band's first effort outside of their own studio, "Symptoms Of Love". "Disappear demo" was released on MySpace in 2006, and gained over a million internet plays before the album was finished being recorded. In February 2007, Speaks' made the top 100 artists for CDbaby due to their jump in iTunes sales. Symptoms Of Love was released on January 7, 2008.
In December, 2010, Stephen Speaks released Christmas With Friends 2, which was available for free on the band's website. Christmas With Friends 2 features only acoustic guitars and vocals, with guest vocalists Lindsey Sandella, Ben Kilgore, Noelle Kilgore, Julia Frej, and Jay Lashley. The guest guitar players featured on the album are Jesse Aycock, Jeff Coleman, Matt Cox and Ben Mosier.
Live performances vary from solo to a five piece band consisting of lead-singer and acoustic player Rockwell Ryan Ripperger, with a rotating lineup of guitarists, drummers, bass players, and key players. Speaks' is represented by two booking agents, Box Talent Agency and Event Recources Presents.
Stephen Speaks' first major studio album, Age Of The Underdog, was recorded in summer of 2010 with producer Brady Blade, who also played drums on the album. A documentary was also filmed about the making of the record. Both the DVD and record are set to release in 2011.
Albums
- Doubting Thomas (1999)
- No More Doubt (2000)
- One More Day (EP) (2003)
- Symptoms of Love (2008)
- Christmas With Friends (Feat Lindsey Sandella) (2009)
- Christmas With Friends 2 (2010)
- Age Of The Underdog (In Post Production)