atre. It’s a sound unlike anything else in Calhoun
County.
“I’ve been influenced by everything I’ve ever heard,”
says Ford.
When pressed to explain their influences, the band
will collectively mention Iron Maiden, Pink Floyd
and Santana, among others, but the individual
members find inspiration in vastly different genres.
Warren names jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius and Rush’s
Geddy Lee, while Ford mentions influential drummer Steve Smith and Neal Peart, another Rush alum.
Bates says his guitar work is influenced by horn players like Charlie Parker and Miles Davis.
“We’re a fusion band that leans more to the rock
and roll side of things,” says Bates, noting that fusion
generally leans toward jazz. “There’s still a lot of jazz
in what we do.”
The melting pot mentality of the band leads to
songs that are both complex and easy to nod along
with, from Disaster Area’s pulsing rock and anthemic central riff to Spy Song’s jazz fusion and Staring
Into the Sun’s spacey, funky vibe. There’s no aural
dead weight; each member of the band is doing
something interesting all the time, lending repeat
listeners a chance to find something new with each
go round.
“I call it ‘music for smart people,’” says Warren, eliciting immediate laughter from the rest of the band.
Bates, Warren and Ford are artists, but easy, affable,
egos-left-at-the-door artists, without the pretentiousness that progressive art-rockers in Los Ange-
les or New York might insist upon. Usually a group’s
singer is considered the face of the band, but Bates
scoffs at being called the group’s frontman. Most
of the group’s material is made up of instrumentals
that feature each member equally.
“With what we’re trying to accomplish musically,
I don’t think every song has to have vocals,” said
Bates.
They’re so reachably human that it’s not difficult to
get swept up in the band’s master plans. First is a
full album release within a few short months, probably April. Then it’s time for live shows in the big,
metro areas, where music that isn’t country and
cover bands might find a home. After that, they’re
taking their recording experience and equipment
and setting up a studio where they can help other
musicians produce their own albums, artwork and
physical CDs.
Here in the now, though, From Outside Beyond
continues to jam, practice, rehearse and, when the
mood is right, rock out.
“Imagination is the key element to what we do,” says
Bates. “We’re only limited by what we can imagine.” ✤
Connect with From Outside Beyond by visiting them at their Facebook page, facebook.com/FromOutsideBeyond, or hear their live recordings at reverbnation.com/fromoutsidebeyond.
52
February 2014
INSIGHT