The Band Behind the Music: Echo Grey

Echo Grey consists of band members Ryan Cothron on guitar, Patrick Brazzell on drums, Brenton Shelby on bass, and Shawn Steele on lead vocals and piano. Currently they are one of 25 bands vying for a music contract with Decca Records. Since the incubation of Gather's First Tracks competition, Echo Grey has been one of the top bands on Gather's leaderboard. I had the opportunity and the pleasure to interview one of the most innovative and interesting unsigned talents out there.

Ryan Cothron Patrick Brazzell

Brenton Shelby

Shawn Steele

What is your music background, did you bang on pots and pans when you were a kid...? Receive a plastic toy instrument for your birthday...? What brought you to this point, how did you get here?
Brenton Shelby: Ryan called me and wanted me to play a show in Middle School. He made me pick up a bass and play a show 3 days later. We've been rocking ever since.
Patrick Brazzell: I used to always practice on my brother's snare drum practice pad until I was 12. Then I received the opportunity to sit on my first drum throne with a 20+ piece kit. Since then I've purchased a few different drum sets and have continued to better myself as a musician.
Shawn Steele: My family all have some musical talent, so I guess that's where I got the raw ability. As far as creativity, I was pretty introverted as a kid, and thus I always had on a pair of headphones, escaping into the music, studying every type of song I could get my hands on.
Ryan Cothron: I started playing piano as a child. It wasn't until I was 13 before I came across a bass guitar. After a few months of that I switched to guitar and it has been my passion since.

How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?
Ryan: I have known Brenton and Patrick since my adolescence and met Shawn about two years ago when we both worked at the same restaurant. I introduced Shawn to Patrick and Brenton in July 2007.

When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?
Ryan: The band came together around July 2007. All of us find our escape in this band. None of us are really good at nor want to spend the rest of our lives doing anything else in the normal career world, to be honest. This was something that each one of us has wanted for years.
Patrick: We had an acoustic jam session with Shawn first then afterwards everyone brought their equipment to my basement and the music just happened.
Shawn: The chemistry between all of us made us write some amazing stuff together right off the bat. We have all been doing this for so long separately, and we all have wanted it for so long that it made us all fit right on the same page with each other.

How did the name Echo Grey come to be?
Ryan: The name Echo Grey was created at about 3:00 am on Microsoft word. I just placed words that carried little or no meaning together and Echo Grey was what I came up with. The other guys loved it so that was what stuck. We think the name is a small issue, as it is the band's music that will give meaning to the name.

What are your band rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week to practice?
Shawn: Rehearsals generally consist of us all standing in a circle and performing all of our parts a cappella. Needless to say, Patrick has a hard time keeping his breath during some of the faster drum sections.
Ryan: We have rehearsal every single weekend. Typically we show up around 11:00 pm Friday night and play all the way through the weekend, getting home Sunday night. Sleep a little, eat a little, most of the time we are polishing or creating.
Patrick: Our practice space is an hour away for all of us, so it's a lot of time spent on the road and away from home to make sure we practice every weekend.

Who writes the songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? What are your songs about?
Brenton: Songs are written as a group, we all do our part.
Ryan: Everybody has their fair share of input as far the music goes. We like to pride ourselves on the fact that it is a total democracy inside our little jam room walls. As far as lyrics go, Shawn writes them. He may ask us how the songs make us feel or he might just write it. Either way it comes from a place inside of Shawn that I personally haven't found in myself yet.
Patrick: We all throw our voice into each song in our own way. It's a combination of thoughts, dreams, and occurrences throughout our daily lives.
Shawn: Nobody gets ignored, every member has input on every part of the writing process. There is no need for the singer to ignore the inputs of all the other members when it comes to lyrics. I always get the guys' input before and after I write lyrics. The same goes for the all of our individual parts; we always create parts as a whole.
Patrick: All songs were written by a collaboration of ideas from everyone. Songs about space, the future, us and so on it goes. Every piece from melody to rhythm has their designated parts. Lyrically, we have all made contributions but leave the final copies up to Shawn.
Shawn: I always try to let the song control its own direction. I try to let the emotion that the song evokes come out naturally. I don't think about the exact words when first writing the vocal melodies for a song, I just start singing, and some phrases stick. I then take those phrases, see what mood the rest of the band gets from it, and try to form the meaning around the initial feelings and phrases, and the consensus of emotion from the guys. The lyrics tend to be very personal for us, but vague enough that anyone can apply it to their own life.

What image do you think your music conveys?
Echo Grey: We like to think we are a solid rock band that can still put you on an emotional roller coaster with our messages. Just because we are rock doesn't mean we can't have deep or sensitive meanings behind a song. Our music is built on many emotions, but ultimately we'd like to convey hope in the self, writing about life's past and present to give a little light for the listener.

What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?
Brenton: We have faced all the challenges so far and have overcome them all.
Ryan: We are four different individuals. Our beliefs are very different. Our lives outside of Echo Grey are very different. None of that matters though. We respect each other. The lines that could be crossed exist but are well respected. This is our job as much as it is our passion. Our job is to make this band into something great and small things like personal differences will not hold this group back. We have never had an argument yet that is worth discussing. We're all good friends.
Shawn: We've not hit a challenge that has been big enough to break us. All the challenges that have threatened us are just petty issues that we know better than to fight over. We are different people, but we are smart, determined, tolerant people that want something better for each other. I think the real challenges will come later when the stress of the road kicks in for us.
Patrick: The challenge for me is paying for gas to get to practice every weekend!

Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?
Ryan: We have only performed in our two hometowns of Paducah, KY and Murray, KY. We do not enjoy outdoor venues as much as the indoor ones right now because they do not seem to be as personal. We really enjoy the crowd in our face. We have shows lined up in Murray and in Illinois right now. Soon to be many more!
Patrick: I haven't been disappointed with a venue yet, but it's still too early to tell. We are booked for a Battle of the Bands at Harrah's Casino in Metropolis, IL April 5th 2008.

What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?
Echo Grey: Progressive rock.
Shawn: Thom Yorke, Stephan Jenkins, Dolores O'Riordan, Michael Stipe.
Brenton: Incubus, Muse, Rage Against The Machine.
Ryan: Muse, Radiohead, The Mars Volta.
Patrick: Brad Wilk, Abe Cunningham.

What's your ultimate direction for your band? How will the circumstances of possible fame and fortune effect you?
Brenton: Fame and fortune is great but we are musicians, we love music and we think we are born to do just that, regardless of whether we make millions.
Ryan: I am seeking a career, a way to pay the bills and go to work on stage and in the studio. Patrick: I am seeking whatever my talent is willing to deliver to my band mates and myself.
Shawn: I don't care if I'm ever rich or famous, just as long as I can live comfortably living solely off the money I make from performing.

What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?
Brenton: Never give up; you have to make things happen in your own life. Nothing will ever fall into your lap. You need 100% dedication to what you are doing.
Ryan: Love what you do.
Shawn: Learn an instrument that nobody else knows how to play, like the oboe, bassoon, or ocarina. That should guarantee you a spot in some band…eventually.

And that's a wrap. Thanks guys! Can I just say from my own personal observation that for a band that has been together for the amount of time that you have; I am blown away not just with your musical talent, but with your sense of purpose and style.

Echo Grey is also currently in another contest called Rock the Dash and is currently in 4th place out of over 400 music artists. Help Echo Grey get to the #1 spot by voting every day! Forget the link? Here it is again: Click here to Vote for Echo Grey

For more information on Echo Grey, song purchase & pictures, please visit their MySpace page at We Are All Echoes

Echo Grey is also located on Facebook - Add them as your friends & tell them Hollie sent ya! ;-)