Sceneazine.com
It Takes F.O.C.U.S.
By Alyce-Hannah Golderer
Photos by Elizabeth Ghrist
T
hey call themselves a “drama-free” band. They
personify the feeling that seems to permeate
the Augusta rock music scene, that everybody, every
band, is supportive of everybody else. And, they play
a lot of great music at every place that will have them,
often with their brother-band, Six. They are the rock/
alternative/metal group, F.O.C.U.S.
Founded around 2011, the current lineup includes Dean Dillon, passionate vocalist; Josh Newman, heavy-hitting guitarist; Johnny Ryder, a big man
with enormous drum talent; and Jarrod Saylor, whose
bass lines make you listen to them without distracting
from the rest of the song. They are all very laid-back,
easy-going guys who seem to have avoided acquiring
the “rock star mentality” that plagues a lot of groups.
No one appears to need to be in charge of everybody
else, they take turns speaking and do not talk over one
another, and genuinely listen to each other’s thoughts.
And, when they start to play, they are totally focused on
the job at hand – with great results.
Currently ranked in the number one spot of
ReverbNation’s Augusta charts, the band has developed
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quite a following throughout the CSRA (Central Savannah River Area) and in other areas. Ryder downplayed
the importance of the ranking saying, “We were always
in the Top Ten.” He also attributed the placement to
Dillon’s skill at internet networking, getting the band’s
music out to more people than
had been done previously in
the group’s history.
Newman, who does the
production work for the group,
said they are all just in love
with playing music and that the
rankings really don’t matter so
much as the feeling the audiences they play for have.
“We don’t do drama and
stuff,” Newman said. “We just
wanna play really good music
and we wanna have fun.” All the guys agreed that this is
a big reason they are so relaxed and get along, not only
with each other, but with other musicians in the area,
so well.
The fellows said the sense of camaraderie and good
fellowship in the Augusta scene is for real, that it is like
that all over, all the time, wherever you go and hear
someone play.
“It’s not a competition with us,” Ryder said, speaking for his own band and others in the CSRA. “We’ve
all been around a while
and just gotten over the
ego. We give and receive
love and support from everybody (in the Augusta
area). We’re all connected.”
But F.O.C.U.S. is
more closely connected
to one band than most
of the rest. Ryder and the
others think of the members of Six as true brothers. The two groups play
a lot of shows together
throughout the year and,
as a result, help each other out more than some
bands might when crises
arise.
“Darrell (of Six) let
me play his guitar at a
show we were playing together when something
happened to mine,” Newman said. “That’s something not everybody’s
gonna do for you, you
know.”
This sense of fellowship is probably strongest
within F.O.C.U.S. itself. When creating new material,
the guys have the same easy-going attitude that marks
everything else they do. One of them will come up with
an idea, bring it to the others, then the band jams on
that idea for a while and the song comes out of that
type of mixing bowl a finished,
ready-to-play tune.
“It’s totally organic,” Ryder
said of the process. “Our songs
come mostly from just messing
around in the jam room.”
Dillon downplayed his
importance to the band’s creation of material when he said,
“I don’t write lyrics, I just sing.”
The others were quick to correct any thinking that Dillon is
“just the singer.” They said he
has brought a great intensity and passion to their music
on a higher level than before and that they are really
happy to have him in the group.
The guys also said it was sometimes challenging to
create material that fits Dillon’s voice, but that they just
work around it, never asking him to change his style.
“We just let him do what he does,” Ryder said.
“We’ve never been ones to tell eac