Descyple: Descyple

The Story of DESCYPLE

The Legend of Descyple was just that….a legendary story that was passed along on the underground and that’s where it was meant to stay. Only 10 “demo” cassettes of the project ever existed, and the band had about half of them and industry insiders (management, lawyers, A&R reps, etc.) had the remaining few copies. And the project that was supposed to have legs soon died when an entertainment lawyer with connections to Geffen Records couldn’t secure the band with a deal. And that’s it. End of story….or is it. Forward almost a quarter of a century later and lead singer Jeff Kimpland finds out that not only has one of these few tapes in existence made its way onto the European black market, but the people are trading it…and loving it…and trading it some more (all over Europe)…and word is getting out about this awesome band, from the late 80’s, that almost was. E-mails start flooding in asking about this band Descyple and is there an official recording? A better sounding copy? And Descyple, true to its name, now has a group of loyal followers of the bands doctrines, music, and message.
Descyple was formed in MCMLXXXIX (1989) in upstate Cortland NY. It was purely a studio project for band founder and guitarist Dicky Reome who was introduced to lead singer Jeff Kimpland by a mutual friend. Jeff brought his good buddy Leon Searls (drums) into the fold and Dicky suggested longtime friend Doug Dann (bass) to round out the project. Dickys parents saw the dedication and heart that these young guys were putting into the project and wanting to support their son and his dreams booked some studio time for the band. The band rehearsed and rewrote songs for two months prior to going into the studio. Dicky’s basement (and then eventually the living room) became the bands makeshift rehearsal room. Dedicated and wanting to prove that this wasn’t a fluke, the band practiced relentlessly trying to perfect their craft.
The day to go into the studio came and the band was prepared; but as life has its peaks and valleys, barriers and challenges, lead singer Jeff Kimpland would ultimately face the worst cold of his entire life. Still, Jeff pushed forward, and made the best of the tools he had to work with. This is why if you listen to these demos very carefully, you can hear some slight tonal changes. Jeff’s range was also limited and a little rasp in the voice was introduced giving some of the vocals unique character. The band pushed through the challenges recording for sixteen hours over two days. Ultimately, the band was satisfied with the initial efforts. Afterall, this was only meant to be a demo, and not a final product. However, due to the world becoming a much smaller place with access, or is it actually becoming a larger place with further reach, the fans demands have been heard.
The band wanted the fans to have a quality product, remastered, with official artwork containing maybe the one and only band picture that exists, and the original artwork that was on the 4 track cassette demo…the same artwork that donned all 10 cassettes ever made. The band also wanted to take a stand against the illegal bootlegging and piracy of their music, blood, sweat, and tears. While co-founders Dicky and Jeff were flattered that word was spreading about a long-forgotten, barely known band…they also wanted to play off their strengths and later endeavors (bands) and keep value in their name and hard work. So they opted to sign a deal with well-respected Nashville record label FnA Records in order to make the Descyple material official and legit.

What you have here is a brilliant moment in time. Once again, never meant to be an official release; but nonetheless something the guys in Descyple are extremely proud of. From Dicky Reome’s soft heartfelt guitar playing to his lightning fast shredding and unique guitar solos to Leon Searl’s heart-pounding precision drumming and Doug Dann’s amazing bass playing mixed with Jeff Kimpland’s versatile singing style, the self-titled Descyple album is a pure pleasure and thrill for those who have always heard of the legend of Descyple, but never got to experience the message.
The bands demo landed in a few industry professionals hands, but nothing ever came of it. Jeff moved to New York City to pursue his singing career and signed a handful of record deals before finally landing with FnA Records. Jeff also fronted some extremely well respected bands like Saharra and Eye Of The Storm. Dicky Reome followed in similar suit in upstate New York where he played with numerous bands while doing some recording and showcasing his solo work to rave reviews. Leon Searls continued on as well playing his heart out on the drum’s with several band’s, and was well respected as one of the greatest drummers around upstate Cortland, NY area, until his life was suddenly taken at a young age in 2004. Doug Dann continued playing bass around the upstate NY scene and became a well respected, solid musician. Dicky Reome & Jeff Kimpland have since reunited and have been talking about a possible NEW future album as well as some performing…thanks to you….the die-hard fans.

-- Bio by “Doc”

Descyple lovingly dedicates this album to the memory of Dick Reome Sr., Leon Searls, Baron Duncan, Robby “Karras” Humeniuk, Jackie Boylen, Steve Morgan, and David Kimpland.