The Twang Bangers

One listen to The Twang Bangers and one can gain insight to the southern roots influences which encompass the music behind a powerful unique blend that resembles everything from Whiskeytown and Townes Van Zandt to Garth Brooks and Travis Tritt — imagine Texas alternative country with a Tennessee twang, powerful guitars and masterful vocals — spliced with real-life Americana.

Since forming in 2008 inside the practice rooms of the same East Tennessee State University Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country Music program that produced the likes of Kenny Chesney, the band has compiled a streak of highly-attended performances in cities from South Carolina to Kentucky and has developed a tightened wall of sound on the live stage.

Word of mouth and social media has given the band a fan-base that spans across the Eastern United States and opportunities to share the stage with the likes of Josh Turner, Uncle Kracker, James Wesley and Trent Tomlinson as well as perform the Sprint Vision Pre-Race concert prior to the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway in August 2010 in front of 100,000-plus.

A partnership with Nashville producers brought the energy and passion from the live stage into a debut three-track E.P. “The Twang Bangers: EP” including songs like “Doin’ Right Tonight,” “Town That Time Forgot” and “Cowboy Angel."

Now, the group has dug deeper into its roots with the new six-track release “Part Two”, which was released to iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Rhapsody and Google Play on February 2.

Recorded at the ETSU Recording Lab in Johnson City, Tenn. and mastered in Nashville by Grammy Award-winning Richard Dodd, “Part Two” features an all-original blend of traditional country music with the progressive sounds of modern country radio.

“It’s our style all together, not just the songs we play but the way we play them,” said Tyler McCoy, the group’s rhythm guitar player. “Everyone brings a little something different to the table as far as style. It’s not hard to see that we truly love what we are doing and the passion that we play with.”

Now, with the power of its original music behind the wheel, and a trek across America's heartland on the horizon the group is looking to build a wider name for itself.

Said lead vocalist Wes Holtsclaw: “When we step off that stage every night, whether it’s in front of ten people or 3,000, we hope everybody who spent their hard-earned money take something away from our music and look back and say, ‘Those boys from East Tennessee sure kicked some ass!’”