Biography
Music at its best can move, unite, and inspire. It can tear down walls and build unbreakable bonds. That is the idea that forged tHe CoNStAnT; a Los Angeles based Hard Rock Band whose members came together from different worlds to create music as intense and powerful as it is intimate and timeless. The Music Connection describes tHe CoNStAnT as “a unique amalgam of classic, prog, glam and metal -- every inch of which rocks” and this has never been more apparent than on their latest release Sometimes Things Just Happen - a collection of 10 dark, lush, emotionally and musically intense songs that explore the universal themes of love, devotion, frustration, and loss.
tHe CoNStAnT is lead vocalist Steve Feldman, guitarist Frank Yanno, bassist Brian Rutkin, and drummer Oleg Shlyahov- all of whom come from wildly varying backgrounds. Steve grew up on the streets of Los Angeles, while Frank was the youngest of 7 in a stable, blue collar family in Upstate New York. Brian comes from a middle class family in San Francisco, while Oleg grew up in a coal mining town in The Ukraine. “But what unites us” Frank says “is a shared passion for music and songwriting and a love for musicianship and its execution.” Steve explains, “We grew up listening to the same bands- Zeppelin, Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Rush, and later discovered STP, Radiohead, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden- you can hear all of these influences in our music.”
Oleg and Frank started tHe CoNStAnT in the midst of turmoil. “When I first met Frank, he was going through a painful divorce,” Oleg confesses “but the music he was writing was undeniable. We made an instant bond that transcended beyond just being musicians. We are brothers.” During this time they wrote and demoed off a huge catalogue of songs- many of which are on the Sometimes Things Just Happen (and the band’s next release Lost in the Everyday due out later this year). This bond grew stronger with Brian and Steve. “It was trial and error for each of us before we found each other,” adds Brian “but from that moment we knew this was exactly what we all wanted. We’re family.” Besides playing all of the major clubs in Los Angeles, tHe CoNStAnT has played several clubs in San Francisco and even traveled to Moscow, Russia playing in front of 10,000 people at the Save Our Tomorrow Concert held in Gorky Park. They landed in the top 10 out of 700 bands in the Emergenza Worldwide Battle of the Bands and have written and recorded songs for Movies and Television. They’ve since partnered with Jonathan Dunker’s non-profit organization Learning Thru Doing in an effort to help inspire inner city kids, and tHe CoNStAnT plan to release the single “On Christmas Day” later this year with all profits going to the Research and Treatment of Autism.
Sometimes Things Just Happen is an electrically charged album with a sense of darkness and hope. The mixed emotions of defeat and dedication are palpable in the single “Marigolds,” a powerful ballad with a huge hook about having to trust the one you love to the care of others. At the same time, a profound sense of loss and denial pour like blood from a wound in “November 17th,” a guitar driven song about reliving and regretting a break up. And the pounding rhythms and wailing vocals in songs like “Papercuts” and “Bash It Up” echo feelings of frustration and overcoming what life throws at you.
tHe CoNStAnT is finding their audience by playing their heartfelt, intensely personal and accessible music anywhere and everywhere they can. Plans for regional and nationwide tours are in the works, and their live performances will bring in more and more fans who like smart music served up hard and heavy.
Instrumentation
Steve Feldman- Lead Vocals
Frank Yanno- Guitars, Keyboards, and Vocals
Brian Rutkin- Bass Guitar, Vocals
Oleg Shlyahov- Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Discography
NINETIMESTEN
The Letter
Sometimes Things Just Happen (unreleased)
Lost in the "Everyday" (unreleased)
Links
| http://www.theconstantband.com |