In September of 2013, four young musicians began a journey. These four young musicians call themselves Rip ‘N Time, cleverly named after lead singer Riley Ripintyme. The band consists of a group of high schoolers from Los Angeles, California who collectively combined their talents to create an EP called Playing Her Guitar Suite.

What’s interesting about them, is that it is primarily guitar music. Playing Her Guitar Suite is a three song EP that takes the listener on a ‘jingle-jangle journey’ back to the classic guitar sounds from ‘50s rock, ‘80s metal, and the blues era.

The first track, appropriately named “Playing Her Guitar,” is a sensitive vocal. A mixture of shimmery guitar and pretty choral voices combine to create a passionate sound. The guitars break out into chunky rhythmic riffing that give it a chill vibe before adding the pretty guitar sounds from before back in. The result is a unique interweaving of different types of guitar playing.

“Twisting Road,” an eight-minute instrumental, overlaps beautiful chords with bits of metallic  guitars and a cool bass sound in the background. This track is full of intricate guitar solos that display the talent of the guitarists. The track morphs seamlessly between rough metallic riffing and easy rock sounds; very much like something one would hear at any classic rock concert.

Rip ‘N Time’s final track, “Suite Dream,” is another guitar-filled instrumental. It begins with dream-like cascading harmonies, accompanied by the soft plucking of a bass. As the track progresses, several guitars cry out in a sort of guitar-symphony, mixing and weaving their voices together. Soft vocals sing near the end of the track, leaving the listener feeling as if they’ve been on their own sweet dream.

The band not only plays, but other students work behind the scenes to create various paraphernalia that serve as visual representations of the music. Within the cover of the CD is a 24 page graphic novella booklet that tells an inspiring story of seven guitar legends who shape the basis for the band’s music-making goals. The band uses the power of tuning, sensitivity, practice, perseverance, attitude, tone and heart to achieve their ultimate goal: defeat the Tarborgs, a rival band, at the Battle of the Bands at the Twisty Road Cafe. Riley goes through a series of challenges and learns valuable lessons from some of the greatest guitar heroes of all time. The novella is beautifully written and the illustrations are as unique as the songs they play. There is also an e-book that serves as a more complete version of the band’s story.

The EP will officially be released on Dec. 23, three days after the Battle of the Bands mentioned in the novella. Until then, Rip ‘N Time will continue posting new pages to their e-book as their Playing Her Guitar Suite journey unfolds.