Rio Bravo

As Rio Bravo's first project after their first album, "Fences", this is a new direction for them with a more complex melodic center and more emotional content that takes you into the world of Rio Bravo. By mixing influences from U2 to Kings of Leon and Radiohead all into one this band has created a sound that is new, yet somehow familiar and fun to listen to. - CD Baby

Scattered across the landscape of Wilmington’s original music scene are a lot of singer/songwriters, Southern-style metal and a burgeoning and organic acoustic movement. Alternative rock groups, with a genre that has gives it listeners just that – an alternative – seemingly are becoming fewer and farther between.

Rio Bravo, a four-piece outfit that began in a hot, cluttered garage in the summer of 2008, knows this better than anyone. "A lot of times we get put on bills with the weirdest bands, because venues don’t really know who to pair us with," states bassist Ed Sumpter who, along with Mica Kohl, Christian Black and Bryan Davis, form this talented band...
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Every few months or so, there seems to be a new band or two that begins bubbling out of our local music scene, becoming the topic of conversation. Maybe it’s because of a string or two of successful shows that attract just the right crowds. Maybe it’s that their music seems unique, or intelligent, or catchy enough that it doesn’t leave our ears. Or maybe it’s just the classic word-of-mouth that puts their name in the forefront of people’s minds when they think about the “next best thing.” For band Rio Bravo, it’s all three.
Over the past year, Rio Bravo has worked to become the topic du jour, immersing themselves in the small, but remarkably vibrant scene and carving out their place in its current landscape. Playing melodic riffs that crescendo and release against vocals gruff in emotion, the four-piece is making a mark with their own brand of modern rock, sometimes tinged with pop sensibilities. For those lucky enough to have followed their rise, it’s safe to say their best and brightest days are still to come. Recently, encore spoke with bassist Ed Sumpter as the band prepares for this Friday night’s show at the Soapbox.
encore: Tell me about your band: how you guys got together, how long you’ve been playing, and some of your influences.
Ed Sumpter: We have all been playing music with each other, and with other projects and bands in Wilmington, for several years, but we started playing together in Rio Bravo in January ‘09. We are all influenced by lots of different artists, in many different genres. Specifically, the ones that influence our writing range from Radiohead to Muse, Grizzly Bear to Paramore to Manchester Orchestra, Kings of Leon, Mute Math and The Avett Brothers.
e: How have you navigated a career on the Wilmington music scene and built a following? What are your impressions thus far?
ES: We have been working on our local following for the past year, trying to play in town a lot . . . and we have really been using the Internet to reach people: Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. We also have been able to, sometimes by chance, get on some really cool bills, like [our recent gig with] The Love Language. There wasn’t a whole lot of space for us [on the music scene] when we first started, but, recently, we have been gaining some popularity and more of a following. The scene has changed a little bit. People have really started to latch on to the “indie” kind of movement, and I think Wilmington is becoming a lot more diverse than what it used to be—even a year or two ago.
e: Take me through the process of making music in Rio Bravo. How do you guys write, construct songs and put together projects?
ES: Every song is different in its construction, really. We all have our own strengths, but there is no real clear-cut way in which we write every song. Most of the time Micah [Kolk] (vocals, rhythm guitar) writes the outline and comes to us with it, and we work on piecing it together and arranging it. Bryan [Davis] writes a lot of the catchy hooks and lead guitar work, and we all work on the rhythm section stuff along with Christian [Black] (drums). We all have control of the dynamics and arrangement of each song, [regardless] if we ever play or use the song in our live show.
e: How do you see yourselves as artists? Where are you going, where have you been, and what’s the future of Rio Bravo?
ES: We have all been on the scene, playing with other bands, on other records, etc. For Rio in the future, we have a tour starting in May, as well as other shows this summer. We are also talking about a fall tour and even plans for the rest of the year. The most exciting thing, though, is we are recording our first album, to come out sometime this summer. We are really excited about this project and think it is going to be a real success. This is what we want to do: We want to make Rio something that we can do for a living.

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