Music INSIGHT
https://youtu.be/RHg9_NOmi3c
band — including guitarist Rob Bruce and
violinist Tim Lyons — will be joined by
longtime bassist LaFrandin Minchew, with
current bassist John Ballard adding percussion to the mix.
“Our first gig was at Brothers, so it became our home club,” said Ethan Baker,
singer and guitarist for the band. “Coming
back from being on the road, we’d play at
Brothers, a ‘we’re coming home to see the
family kind of thing.’”
It all started with a song. Baker and Chumney were both music majors at JSU, playing for the Southerners. Baker had seen
Chumney drum and wanted to start a
band; Chumney didn’t. Baker’s last-ditch
effort was to corner Chumney with a song,
Wildest Dance, that he was practicing in
the music building.
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“I just said, ‘Man, that is awesome,’” said
Chumney, who co-founded the band on
the spot. “I’ve been trying to learn how to
write songs like Ethan Baker ever since.”
It’s a whirlwind from there: the band fills
out with Bruce and Minchew and releases their first album, Common Element, in
1998. Baker graduates that year, and the
rest of the band drops out of school to
tear out on the open road. With the release of 2001’s brothersofdifferentmothers, the band kicks into overdrive, playing
as many shows as they can, which leads to
surprising matchups like a show opening
for 98 Degrees.
“I saw Nick Lachey laying out one
time at our gig, and I’m like, ‘I don’t know
if I’m ever going to tell anyone,’ but I guess
I just did,” said Chumney, laughing.
November 2015
INSIGHT