I hear “Kentucky” and I get hungry for chicken. As well as deliciously unhealthy deep-fried farmyard fowl, it’s also home to today’s BotD…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We are from Lexington, Kentucky.
How did you meet?
Still in high school and looking to form a progressive rock trio, we (CJ Jones, Ryan Slayton, and David DeWolfe) got together during the summer of 2017. Having played with a variety of other bands in the local music scene, we developed a mutual respect for each other’s musicianship. We had a few informal jam sessions, recognized our musical chemistry, and Indigo Storm was born.
How long have you been playing as a band?
We have been playing together as Indigo Storm since the summer of 2017.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
“Indigo Storm” just seemed to be a good fit. We are like three Indigo minds – curious, creative, and sometimes perceived by friends and family as a little strange.
What are your influences?
CJ Jones (guitarist/vocalist):
“My musical influences include Led Zeppelin, Deftones, Tool, and Alice In Chains. The first time I heard Tool was a revelation for me and the start of a relationship with progressive music.”
Ryan Slayton (drummer):
“I do have lots of influences and/or artist I love to listen to such as Tool, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Alice in Chains, and Porcupine Tree – and a list of drummers longer than your arm.”
David DeWolfe (bassist/vocalist):
“It’s honestly hard to boil down who my band inspirations are, as there are so many. Musicians would be Cliff Burton, Jaco Pastorius, and everyone I’ve had a musical relationship with whether it is on stage or simply listening to them. I love all music of all kinds.”
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Our music is high energy and progressive. Our uniqueness, perhaps, lies in that we have a more intuitive yet also traditional approach to songwriting and performing.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Most of our music themes or messages are self-describing – introspective.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
We really enjoy our time together on stage and we want our listeners/audiences to feel that – to become part of what we are giving. There is a concerted effort to produce music that can be replicated in a live performance. We want listeners to enjoy the song on the cd, but love it more when they hear it live. We put a lot of thought into what we write and want them to feel the honesty and – hopefully – make an emotional connection that will bring them back wanting more. We have played almost 50 shows across several states and in a variety of venues – including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Hmmm… we saw our Applebee’s waiter from the previous day in the audience at a show? Really though – we like to think we are matching up with our crowd – so can there be a “wildest”?
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Ryan uses a six piece Tama Star Classic. David uses Kiesel/Warwick basses and Darkglass amps. CJ uses Gibson SGs with Orange, Bogner, Mesa Boogie amps.
What are your plans for 2020?
Working with Grammy Award winning Producer/Songwriter Skidd Mills of Skiddco Music in Nashville, we just released the first single from our EP Metric. Our next singles will drop soon, followed by the full EP – and we have already recorded three songs for our next album. We really want to grow our fan base and presence organically so touring is going to be a priority. We want to play shows, hopefully build our fan base, and keep writing music. We are musical brothers and indigo minds so the future looks promising.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be ing and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
Wow! Hard to choose just one! We would love to play with Nothing More again. We would also love to share the stage with Karnivool, Deftones, Gojira, Rush, Alice in Chains, and of course Tool. Primus would be a choice simply because they’d put on such a crazy show it would oddly fit with the progressive rock and metal scene. As far as an opener – we’d choose one of our hometown Central Kentucky prog bands: Forrest, Vena Cava, or Amnia.
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