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The SCENE Magazine

Six Gun Sound: You Will Know Where They Came From

Sep 06, 2012 03:35PM ● By SCENE MAGAZINE STAFF
It was a year ago that Six Gun Sound was featured in The SCENE Magazine. The musical trio of brothers Vinnie and Bobbie Territo and Cory Rardin showed the dedication and talent that it takes to succeed and truly carve out a meaningful career in this tough industry. At that time, the band had just begun booking performances at area venues like Union Tavern and Scout Bar.

“Six Gun Sound was never meant to be anything else besides a kick ass heavy rock band, and we feel we have stayed true to that persona with determination,” says Vinnie Territo (drums, vocals.) “Six Gun Sound wasn't just some band that we put together in our free time.”

Truly it wasn’t. Their fathers Robert Territo and Joe Rardin were longtime best friends and performed in bands together when they were younger. “It's something that has been etched in stone years before we were even born. We literally grew up together,” said Vinnie.

Bobby Territo (guitars, vocals) quickly interjects, “It's like you’ve got your Power Rangers in make-believe time and we had Ozzy Osboume and Van Halen. My brother and I knew we were meant to play together from square one.”

The Territo brothers had been making music together for so long that whenever they tried to add another member, it just didn’t work out. Then Joe Rardin urged his son Cory to tryout. He knew Cory would fit the “talented and down to earth” description that the Territo brothers wanted to find.

“I think the first songs we played were ‘Keep Away’ & ‘Bad Religion’ by Godsmack.” Cory said. We looked around at each other and nodded in approval. At that time Vinnie asked me to join the band.”

The rest, they say, is history.

Six Gun Sound has been nominated for multiple Texas Buzz awards, performed at House of Blues Houston, headlined the Texas Buzz show, and shared the stage locally and regionally with Rehab, The Hunger, Hell Yeah, and, later this month, Saliva, and in November with In This Moment.

Recently, the band released their debut self-titled CD. It was originally recorded at SGS Studios and mixed and mastered by Kevin Bomar of Final Stage. “After Kevin’s magic touch, the album became what it was meant to be,” said Bobby.

The CD contains a dozen tracks that catch your attention. The first track, as well as first single, is “You Know Where We Came From.” The rowdy anthem has become the battle cry for the Bay Area, and I absolutely love how it starts out. “This song was meant to be our introduction and we use it to let people know what to expect from us. Right off the bat, we establish that!” said Vinnie. The band also shot a video for this song with HD Publications and featured some of the hottest women in Clear Lake. Watch it on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/sixgunsound.)

“We wanted to make a song that hits you hard, then harder, and then lands to K.O.” said Bobby, in reference to the searing track “Not Satisfied.”

The mellow track with a few well-placed growling vocals “Love From Gravity” began to take shape after Rardin was “free styling” at practice. “The guys fell in behind me and literally 10 minutes later, we had written what is probably our favorite track on the album,” he says.

“Sold Down River” was written the day after “Love from Gravity” and Vinnie explains, “We were in some kind of zone and the flood gates were open all the way at this point.” Bobby was so passionate about achieving the perfect guitar solo that it took over eight hours to get it just right. “Over 60 takes on a 45 second piece of music, you know you’ve got to want it!” said Vinnie.

The first song that we actually sat down and worked piece by piece with Kevin Bomar was “Something In The Way.” Rardin said, “It absolutely set the pace and the bar for the rest of the album.”

The only cover to make the CD is Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.” Rumor has it that Cash’s son John Carter Cash said this is the best cover he has ever heard of his Daddy’s song.

Other songs to note are my personal favorites “Where The Moss Don’t Grow,” “Wonder,” and the blues laden "Filthy Breed."  I just love the composition of these songs. The last track “Just For Now” shows off their acoustic talent.

Overall, Six Gun Sound’s debut is everything I have come to expect from the band. It sounds very professional with timeless songs and relevant lyrics that run the gamut of party songs to dealing with everyday emotion. It was well thought out and executed. Get your copy at a show, iTunes or any other major digital retailer. For more on Six Gun Sound, visit their new website www.sixgunsound.net.