Blending genres is not uncommon in the music industry.
And it’s about the right timing when a band actually makes it.
Paul Justin is certain his band, Rye Brothers, are on the next wave.
The Los Angeles-based quartet is known for its blend of rock, country and pop.
“Our sound is unique,” he says. “The way we are blending the genres, it hasn’t been heard before. We’ve had meetings with record labels and they don’t know what to do with us. We have similarities with contemporary country artists that are on the radio now.”
The band is led by Justin and Justin Foutz, who trade off on the lead vocals and guitar licks. Justin and Foutz formed Rye Brothers in the summer of 2015 and quickly added a solid rhythm section consisting of Michael Gunn and Jeff Sorenson.
Justin says he met Foutz in 2005 and it was five years later when the duo performed together.
Since its inception, the band has tried to keep it simple and pure, with two guitarists, bassist and a drummer.
Justin says the band has been raising cane in the honky tonks, bars, casinos and concert halls of California, Arizona and Nevada, and has earned a reputation as a high-energy, “power-pop,” original country band.
As a result, they were asked to open for Dustin Lynch, Eric Paslay and Kevin Fowler.
“We welcome the opportunities that come our way,” he says. “We’re not at the point where we can do this full time, but we’re getting close.”
The band recently went into the studio and recorded a 12-song demo using Tim Hutton as producer.
Hutton also played guitar and keyboards, and was on backing vocals.
Once all the tracks were recorded, they brought in Marc DeSito to mix and master the tracks. DeSito has engineered and mixed artists such as U2, Don Henley, Dwight Yoakam, Robbie Robertson and Buddy Guy.
