Musical Influences Incubus, Deftones, Fuel, Blindside

Similar Artists incubus, deftones, glassjaw, finch, hoobastank, blindside, papa roach, creed, fuel, nickelback, weezer, 3 doors down, all american rejects, foo fighters, nirvana, taproot, alien ant farm

Artist History Destiny seems to have played a part in drawing the members of Red Sky together to form a band that indeed seems destined to make its mark on the music world. Their beginning is a story familiar to many successful bands today: an early interest in a particular music genre, music lessons and self-taught stylings, garage bands and local competitions, and ultimately the right blend of musicians for a sound that suddenly hints at success. For Red Sky, the path began in Houston during high school where each of the members dabbled in everything from marching bands to club bands to school talent shows. Tyler Shults and Danny Erickson attended Stratford High School together, where Tyler played drums for both the school marching band and a garage band called the Tourists. Danny’s musical inclination came through in a talent show competition he entered on a whim as a singer. He won the competition. In that same talent show, Tyler took second and third place playing drums for two different bands. Meanwhile Andrew Murff was playing guitar in his own band while attending Lutheran High North across town and found himself going head-to-head with Tyler in Battle of the Band competitions around the area. A few years later, the two would move from competitors to band mates. For Duncan Chance, music was a part of his life from junior high on. He played in his school marching bands at the junior high and high school levels. In high school at Houston’s Klein Forest, Duncan also played bass guitar and sang lead vocals for a garage band called Stare Decisis. Over in Orange, Texas, Richard Gandy was developing into a serious musician who was already playing clubs in Louisiana by age 15 with a band called Hybrid. As an accomplished guitar player, Richard played in a number of venues both with Hybrid and with others groups. Following high school, all five ended up as freshmen at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. Danny and Tyler were roommates, as were Andrew and Duncan. The four formed a band called Outlet primarily for recreational playing, and the occasional party gig or campus talent show. Richard, on the other hand, was still playing with Hybrid, which had developed quite a following, and he commuted to Orange and Louisiana for bookings. Shortly after starting college, Richard secured two prominent bookings for the band but before they could fulfill the commitments, Hybrid broke up. Richard, already friends with the other four through their fraternity, turned to Outlet to keep the bookings. He got the group organized and they put together 30 cover songs in two weeks, and played the first of the two shows within one month of hooking up. The performance was a hit and the show was broadcast live on a local radio station. Richard became the band’s unofficial manager and began booking additional shows. At one of these performances, C.C. McKinnis, a former booking agent with Warner Bros. Records, and Frank Randazzo discovered the talented young band and offered to represent them. Adopting a new name and a determined vision, Red Sky was born. The band soon began to secure bookings in better clubs and with better pay. Richard had the group on a regular practice schedule and arranged for them to cut their first CD in March 2002. They recorded five original songs and sold the CD at shows. Although they felt like the band was moving in a strong professional direction, Richard still believed that they needed to cut a legitimate CD. Following the summer break when they returned to school, Richard set a firm date to have songs ready for the new disk. They saved the money to get the CD professionally recorded, and in early September 2002, the band went into A&S Studio in Port Arthur, Texas, to record their self-titled CD. The CD includes 11 tracks featuring the five songs off the original CD and six new cuts. Red Sky’s sound is born out of a melting pot of musical influences - none of the songs sound the same and yet they have a common thread that ties them together in a distinctive way that is recognizable as Red Sky. The songs are at once melodic and at the same time driving with powerful emotion and rich instrumentation. By definition, Red Sky falls into the alternative rock genre but the songs carry a positive message with their own individual character. While no band likes to engage in comparisons, the group that all five members of Red Sky cite as a common influence is Incubus. Other touch points, however, are as varied as the personalities of the band’s members: Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Matchbox 20, Nickelback, Weezer, Deftones. For now, though, Red Sky is forging its own path and hoping to harness its destiny.

Group Members Duncan Chance, Tyler Shults, Richard Gandy, Danny Ericson, Andrew Murff

Albums Red Sky (self-titled)

Location Houston, Texas - USA

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