3.15 Saturday (Rock) Serdar Illhan Presents: Turkish Rock Sensations GRIPIN $70adv / $75dos 8pm, 21+ High Dive 513 N 36th St highdiveseattle.com Gripin is a rock band based in Istanbul, Turkey. The members are Birol(vocals), Murat (guitar), Evren (Bass guitar), İlker (Drums) and Arda(Keyboard). They started as a cover band, playing in bars like Bronx in mid 90s, and earned a cult following. Their wide repertoire not only included Britpop, but also featured examples of American Alternative rock, and in some cases Turkish Rock. The band started off together in 1999 playing mostly cover tracks out at Turkish bars and clubs. Before they knew it, they manged to establish themselves a name behind the music they covered. In early 2000s they started recording their own songs and, released Hikayeler Anlatıldı (Stories are told) (2004), which was later released as a double album containing the acoustic versions of the album’s songs. Some of the singles featured in this album include, “Karışmasın Kimseler” (Nobody should stand between us) and “Elalem” (Everybody). The following album is a self-titled one, which was released on 26 February 2007. The new album features duets with popular Turkish artists like Ferman Akgül from maNga, Pamela Spence and Emre Aydın. The producer of the album is Haluk Kurosman, the successful producer of many young Turkish talents (like maNga, Vega, Göksel and Emre Aydın). The band is managed by Hadi Elazzi of GRGDN, the company he owns together with Kurosman. Gripin’s new single, entitled Böyle kahpedir dünya (The World Is Such a Whore) has become a huge hit with television and radio stations, having led the top 10 chart of MTV Türkiye. The following single, “Sensiz İstanbul’a Düşmanım” (I loath İstanbul Without You) – a duet with Emre Aydın – saw an equal amount of success in terms of its popularity in Turkey. The band has recently won the prestigious Hürriyet Altın Kelebek Awards as Best Newcoming Band. (See Awards section) To this day, the band continues to perform in clubs, concerts and festivals.