Black Sea Royalty

ARTIST: Black Sea Royalty

SONG: War Cry

BIRTHDATE: Sometime in 2013

HOMETOWN: Different places around the U.S.

CURRENT LOCATION: Nashville, TN

AMBITIONS: To create. To get others to a place they have never been with our music

TURN-ONS: Whiskey

TURN-OFFS: Orange Juice after brushing teeth

DREAM GIG: Red Rocks

FAVORITE LYRIC: “Even Castles made of sand fall into the sea, eventually.”

CRAZIEST PERSON I KNOW: Martin Sisk V

SONG I WISH I WROTE: 1901 – Phoenix

5 PEOPLE I’D MOST LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH: Macho Man Randy Savage, Steve Irwin, John Belushi, Jimi Hendrix, Paul Newman

MY FAVORITE CONCERT EXPERIENCE: Foals- Orange Peel

I WROTE THIS SONG: To get the thoughts out of my head. - American Songwriter

Black Sea Royalty has been rolling with the rock vibe, but they’re introducing more ambience and layers in their upcoming album expected early next year. For now, they have their studio faces on as they’re jumping into sessions to pull out a new single Blood Brother by the end of the week. Shadowing the transition from youthful innocence to growing up and accepting new realities, the single will highlight the dynamics and importance of having a brotherhood to surround you as you enter new phases of life and learn that growing up is never what it seemed, but has something exciting and unique to offer if you’re willing to join in.

Jon Marc first met (now ex-bandmate) Sammy Mitchell at Belmont in 2011, connecting through a mutual love for the guitar. When Jon Marc pulled a no-show to class one day as did fellow student Jordan, they were automatically grouped together on a class project. After jamming together shortly thereafter, Jordan joined in forming the band and brought in his roommate at the time Matt. Since the start of the band in 2012, Black Sea Royalty has produced their first single Irene and a self-titled, debut EP.

Dan Fernandez, studio musician and good friend, has taken on the role of producer for the band’s recent projects in his private Nashville studio. Dan’s pay-it-forward investment and strong belief in the band’s potential could mean the difference for their recording process as they focus on writing, composing and preparing for future touring. And although Nashville holds a unique place in their hearts as the band’s birthplace, excitement is building about the upcoming tour after the early 2014 release of the new album.

“The intense energy at our shows is a standard we strive for. We have never set out to write rock and roll, we just do what we love as best we can and this is what it has turned out to be… We feel like our music translates from energetic stage energy to powerful and dynamic recordings.” (Jon Marc)

Working odd jobs in between to support their passions, band and room mates Jon Marc Winchester (lead vocals, guitar), Jordan Williamson (drums), and Matt Green (bass, vocals) have become more entrenched in the last two years with writing, producing, marketing and booking gigs while expanding their fan base. As their experience and music grows, the band expects to move forward independently. Jon Marc said they plan on incorporating promotional help for the new album and already have others booking upcoming tour dates and venues because trying to run all aspects of the band weighed heavy on their creative expressions at times. However, as far as expounding on the band’s discography and gearing up for travel, they feel more than capable of holding it all down. - Lightning 100

Nashville natives Sammy Mitchell and Jon Marc Winchester make some serious noise on their debut EP. Black Sea Royalty’s sound, falling between traditional hard rock and mid-2000s alt-rock is both rough enough to appeal to Nashville’s underground music scene and accessible enough to find success in a general musical atmosphere. The duo does a killer job of writing, performing, mixing, and producing this EP, and their work shows. “Salvatore” is my personal favorite, but every song is good in its own right. -Austin Lyons 3/7/13 -
- WRVU

Black Sea Royalty voted band of the month by fans. - The Deli Magazine

In the left: newcomers to the Nashville rock scene Black Sea Royalty. They remind me a lot of fellow Nashville rock outfit The Honeymoon Thrillers, who I've been meaning to write about for some time now, but I actually like these guys more. With synthy elements borrowed straight from Two Door Cinema Club and an almost Linkin Park intro that had me expecting a much heavier drop, Black Sea Royalty's "War Cry" sounds pretty fresh. It's the kind of exciting, highly listenable stuff where the general sound is so enjoyable that you probably won't bother to listen to the lyrics until the third or fourth run. Once you do, though, you'll be delighted to find some vivid, cinematic imagery that begs you to come back for repeat listens so that you can piece together the meaning. To me, it's the kind of song that is radio-friendly purely in virtue of the strength of the writing and production, and not because the band worked too hard to squeeze it into a particular mold.
The Verdict

I liked both, but I'm not having too hard of a time deciding on Black Sea Royalty. They just seem like a band that's doing all of the right things; they sound fresh, new, and radio-ready but also genuine and exciting. Plus, if you take the time to read their No Country for New Nashville interview, you'll find that they come across as really nice dudes who say that they want their music to "make people feel something as well as make them want to party." I, for one, am down. - Nashville Noobsauce

Raw, unfiltered truth. That’s the best way to describe Black Sea Royalty. They aren’t just another rock and roll band. Yes, they like to play loud, but that’s only to make sure that you get the message. And you don’t want to miss what they have to say. Their cinematic outlook and songwriting mixed with their raw skill and emotion that builds from the ground up is what drives their debut self-titled EP. Full of heavy hitting drums, energetic guitar riffs and melodies and lyrics that tap into your emotions and make you feel more alive than ever before, this debut album is only the beginning of a long adventure for this Nashville quartet. Made up of Nashville implants Jon Marc Winchester (Lead Vocals, Guitar), Sammy Mitchell (Lead Guitar, Vocals), Jordan Williamson (Drums) and Matt Green (Bass, Vocals) their music is captivating because they didn’t write for any specific genre. Instead, they focused on what they loved and the rest came naturally. Riding the release of their debut EP, 2013 is going to be a busy year for the group. Black Sea Royalty is passionate about expanding their reach by touring regionally and nationally, consistently releasing new material, and focusing on forming relationships with new listeners.
- Brite Revolution

Raw, unfiltered truth. That’s the best way to describe Black Sea Royalty. They aren’t just another rock and roll band. Yes, they like to play loud, but that’s only to make sure that you get the message. And you don’t want to miss what they have to say. Their cinematic outlook and songwriting mixed with their raw skill and emotion that builds from the ground up is what drives their debut self-titled EP. Full of heavy hitting drums, energetic guitar riffs and melodies and lyrics that tap into your emotions and make you feel more alive than ever before, this debut album is only the beginning of a long adventure for this Nashville quartet. Made up of Nashville implants Jon Marc Winchester (Lead Vocals, Guitar), Sammy Mitchell (Lead Guitar, Vocals), Jordan Williamson (Drums) and Matt Green (Bass, Vocals) their music is captivating because they didn’t write for any specific genre. Instead, they focused on what they loved and the rest came naturally. Riding the release of their debut EP, 2013 is going to be a busy year for the group. Black Sea Royalty is passionate about expanding their reach by touring regionally and nationally, consistently releasing new material, and focusing on forming relationships with new listeners.
- Brite Revolution

Track of the day - 1track1day.com

November means it’s starting to get colder and almost time to chow down on turkey and cranberry sauce. November also means 20 new songs from some of our favorite artists. This month’s playlist features fresh jams from bands like Mean Creek, Ben Sollee, Titus Andronicus and plenty others. We also cheated a bit in our interpretation of “new” music this month. Last year we covered Big Scary’s LP Vacation, but it wasn’t until this month that the record finally got a worldwide release. For former Boston-based quartet Black Light Dinner party, some tracks from their B.L.D.P EP have been floating around the interwebs since 2011, but the full release just hit Spotify and iTunes this week. So we cheated a bit, who really cares? Good music is good music and we are extremely excited to share these 20 tracks with you. Remember to subscribe to get 20 new tracks each month! - Maimed and Tamed

"BSR is a great band full of members that came to Nashville from all over to make a life and a little noise. They're new on the scene but are already developing a deep community of listeners with their debut self-titled EP." - no country for new nashville

"BSR is a great band full of members that came to Nashville from all over to make a life and a little noise. They're new on the scene but are already developing a deep community of listeners with their debut self-titled EP." - no country for new nashville

"I really need to applaud Black Sea for having a real knack for crafting some truly remarkable hooks that really stick with you. They're packed with such a punch, and matched with some hard hitting percussion and bold guitar riffs. The verses and lyrics are just as outstanding, and the instrumentation throughout their songs do a great job of not crossing that fine line of sounding too soft or too hard. They're so good." - The Record Stache

"I really need to applaud Black Sea for having a real knack for crafting some truly remarkable hooks that really stick with you. They're packed with such a punch, and matched with some hard hitting percussion and bold guitar riffs. The verses and lyrics are just as outstanding, and the instrumentation throughout their songs do a great job of not crossing that fine line of sounding too soft or too hard. They're so good." - The Record Stache