"We lost Jed, our drummer of four years. At the same time, we find ourselves in a brand new city, with a totally new music scene and a very different overall mentality," says guitarist Tom Burda. "And believe me, New York City is a far cry from San Diego in every way imaginable." So Tom and Joe Hanley (keyboards), scoured New York for the right drummer. As luck would have it, of all the drummers auditioned, the very first one they met would be the guy they'd end up with. RJ Rabin is the newest member of Ripplegroove and has brought with him an influence of change much welcomed by the other members. "I could show you a big list of reasons why RJ was the right choice. But what it really comes down to is, that it just felt great to play with him," says Joe. "It clicked right away. I just knew."

With a simpler, bigger sound and a deeper pocket, the addition of RJ would be change enough. But Ripplegroove is adding yet another big addition: vocals. Right now, they're hard at work in RJ's Green Room, writing, playing and recording new music. Upcoming Performances will soon be an eclectic mix of the instrumentals off Under The Microscope that fans know and love, along with new tunes, both vocal and instrumental. And of course, a second album is in the works. Under what name? That is yet to be determined.

Throughout all of this change, Ripplegroove has never lost focus of their personal and singular vision of sound and style they have strived to create. Josh Klemons of Jambase.com put it best when he described Ripplegroove as a band "that is already comfortable enough with its sound to not only think outside the box, but to open it up and take a walk around, all the while remembering where they are coming from and what they are trying to say, both to each other, and to those of us who have chosen to tap in."