Blank Trust

The band is Blank Trust; the album is Stand. Both very simple, yet powerful meaning lies behind each of the names. A lot of people ask about the origin of the band's name, and the only way to understand it is to know the story, or the foundation, on which the name stands today.

The year was 2003. Like most boys do, Stephen and Justin Kirk had a desire to play music professionally. They had no direction, no idea of where to go or what to do with what they had, all they knew is that it was there and it wouldn’t go away. Later that year, the boys met Taylor Harlow who moved from Florida to North Carolina. They almost immediately became best friends because of the mutual hunger they felt towards music. They formed a band and called it Element 36. The band consisted of a vocal/ guitarist (Taylor), a back up vocalist (Justin), and a drummer (Stephen). Though truly inexperienced, the band started to grow musically.

Two years of relentless practicing and writing came to a halting stop when news came that Taylor would be moving to South Carolina because of his dads job. The move was a critical blow to the morale of the young band, causing the boys to stop practicing for about a year, but it wasn’t near enough to suppress the inner fight that the boys had. Stephen began playing the guitar, and writing all new material in hopes of getting the ball rolling again.

Another year passed, and Stephen took the leadership role of the band. He recruited Skyler Mcnabb a drummer, Justin picked up the Bass, and they began looking for another guitarist. Wesley Lineberger seemed to be the answer to their prayers. He stepped in as a “fill in” guitarist but ended up being exactly what the band needed. “ I called him to see if he knew anyone that would play a show we had scheduled.” Stephen says about Wesley, “ he said he would, but I was reluctant. I’m so glad he ended up playing, because he’s redefined who we are as a band.” The extra guitar Wesley provided on stage allowed the band to greatly expand their sound both live and in the studio.

After some time, the band collectively decided that they needed a name with meaning behind it. “We decided to call ourselves Blank Trust because the only thing that had held us together through all we had been through was the belief or “trust” in this dream that we share that no one can see, and not many understand.” Said Justin. With a new line up, and a new name, the band started working hard to make a name for themselves.

Hardship struck again in January of 2007 when Skyler moved to Alabama. The band was taken by surprise, but did not feel beaten. They kept writing and rehearsing, playing occasional acoustic shows here and there. In October of that same year, the band received a call from a familiar voice. “I just remember my caller I.D. said Harlow and when I answered the first thing he said was “hey dude I think I found you a drummer!” “I just threw my hand up. I felt invincible.” Stephen recalls. “We tried Josh out and just knew he was the one. We felt like we just won the super bowl or something. It was that week I wrote Stand.” which is the title track of their first album. “Stand is our anthem right now” adds Wesley “ We want to let people know that anything is possible, and no matter how hard it gets, well keep getting stronger- because we believe in what were fighting for.” The words “Are we trapped inside these walls/ or are they a way to escape?” refer to the bands struggles and obstacles. They believe that all they’ve been through has made them stronger.

So with the final line up being Steve, Wes, Justin and Josh, the four-piece Phenomenon will tackle their greatest obstacle yet. Moving to Nashville, Tennessee.

And the Story Continues…