Music Worth Noting : Universal Hall Pass Covers "Ring of Fire"

One of my favorite Boston bands, Splashdown, broke up a couple years ago after Capitol Records decided not to release their Blueshift album. All three of the band members moved on to other interesting projects. Melissa Kaplan (vocals/lyrics for Splashdown) started her own band called Universal Hall Pass, a project featuring her vocals and lyrics plus guest contributors. She was in North Carolina recently recording music for a forthcoming album. Maybe she’ll be lucky and the record label who picks her up will actually release it. In the meantime, she’s made a few songs available on her website. The latest MP3 is a cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” When most bands cover a song it’s hard to really even tell them apart; but Melissa does a great job adding her own style to this song including middle eastern influences and stunning vocals. The song was a joint collaboration with the electronic duo Mugat. (Universal Hall Pass : Ring of Fire)