Rebuilt

Rebuilt, "Ghostman on First."

For a band playing meat-and-potatoes rock supplemented by a bit of funk, personality goes a long way toward making a positive impression.

Rebuilt's "Ghostman on First" does have moments of sparkling character. Vocalist Tony Smith easily engages listeners on "That Ain't the World" (a struggle between idealism and realism) and "La Merde Creek" (an over-the-top post-breakup rant)... At the same time, bass player Nathan Gray impresses by integrating his passion for funk in tasteful, non-distracting fashion. - Indianapolis Star : David Lindquist

...Chris was quickly followed by one of the best acts of the evening, Rebuilt. The band really did their homework, opening with an interesting slow groove rendition of “We Three Kings.” They followed this up with a very creative musical take on “The Night Before Christmas,” complete with a large poetry book prop which would make a return appearance later in the evening.

As Rebuilt’s lead guitarist switched to a Hawaiian shirt, the band launched into the Hawaiian Christmas song, “Mele Kalikimaka.” I was absolutely stunned in amusement, if that’s possible. As if it couldn’t get any better, he proceeded to play a superb Hawaiian guitar solo. Host Jeff Sample was so impressed he ran up on stage and gave him a lei. And just when you thought it was over, they came back with another verse complete with giant cue cards for the audience to sing along, each one dropped to the floor in perfect sync with the song. Absolutely brilliant! - Indianapolismusic.net: Roger Baker

IMN / 92.3 FM / NUVO "Artist of the Week" IndianapolisMusic.net presents the Artist of the Week. Each week our editorial staff will select one local artist who has made a place in the spotlight for themselves by giving Indy's music lovers something they should be hearing. Along with the weekly IMN feature, the Artist of the Week will also be featured in the pages of NUVO Newsweekly and on the air on radio station WTTS - 92.3 FM.

Chris Spurgin, guitarist and vocalist for Rebuilt, says the band starts basic and goes from there. “We generically describe our music as ‘rock’, but there's really more to it than that. We have three singer/songwriters, so you get an interesting flavor and variety in what we play. We also have a rhythm section that has an inescapable groove. So for lack of a better description, when pressed we say we are eclectic groove rock. It gets the idea across.” Given that the band lists influences as diverse as Muddy Waters, Turin Brakes, The Who and Miles Davis, the eclectic part stands out. But so does the camaraderie shared by the band’s members.

Rebuilt got its start three years ago as an acoustic effort, says guitarist/vocalist Tony Smith. “I became pretty serious about music around the spring of 2002, and my brother Dwayne introduced me to Micah (Winters, guitar and vocals) around the same time. We started playing open mic nights around town and decided we wanted to expand on what we were doing and get some other serious musicians involved. We had already made a friend and ally of Chris, who was playing in an acoustic duo and hosting open mic nights. After running sound for us for a few shows, we talked him into joining. I met Chad (Troyer, drums and vocals) through a childhood friend, and around the same time we had enlisted another friend to play bass. A few months passed, and our bass player left, leaving an opening for Nate (Gray), a longtime friend of Chad. It was really by chance and good fortune that we all came together the way we did, but I thank God every day that it happened. We are brothers now, and I wouldn't want to play music with anyone else.” Troyer adds that he takes pride in “Riding the ups and downs of life with the four guys in this band while making and playing great music.”

Spurgin says the band is currently recording new music with a twist. “We're currently working on our B-Sides album, Ferris Wheel Junky, which will be available via our website for anyone who has purchased our recently released CD, Ghostman on First.” He adds that Rebuilt also is playing live whenever they can, listing Birdy’s and The Patio as particular favorites. They also recently took to the Vogue stage as part of the Battle Of The Bands finals. They also plan a short tour in the near future, details of which are still in the works.

While the band has three songwriters in the collective, they all find inspiration alone. Smith says he’s prone to writing in the living room, “but most of my ideas come while I'm driving.” Winters writes “at home after coffee and cigarettes,” and Spurgin says “most of my writing is done in my apartment, whenever inspiration strikes, but if lyrics or ideas come to me randomly during the day, I'll just grab whatever paper is handy and scribble them down.” Those songs then go through the band and get taken to the studio or stage.

Even if that stage is sometimes an unfriendly environment. Spurgin recalls one show where “We drove to Lafayette in a blizzard to play at a place called Pete's. There were about four people in the place all night, and in the middle of our last song of our first (and it turns out, only) set, the sound guy starts choking some guy who had walked up to the sound booth. We played on through that last song and then took our 25 bucks and left. As far as I know, the guy getting strangled survived.” - Indianapolismusic.net: Ryan Williams