Just the facts…  Local band Born From Ruins (BFR) was formed in December of 2008. Like the myth of the Phoenix, BFR was born as each member was raised from the ashes of a former band that was no longer. The members of the aggressive, hard rock group are Blake M.F. Ortiz (vocals), Josh Jenkins (guitar), “Dirty” Dave VanOrstrand (bass), and Ryan Damian (drums). In 2010, they won the Texas Buzz Award for Metal Band of the Year. In August, 2011, BFR released an EP called “Daddy’s Little Whore.” In the same year, they took home the Texas Buzz award for Best Indie/Hardcore Band of the Year. The band steamrolled into 2012 with a performance in the "Will Play For Food" benefit show in May and ended the year adding to their award collection by Ortiz earning the Texas Buzz Vocalist of the Year award and BFR receiving the award for Best Live Performance of the Year. Career highlights include sharing the stage with Texas Hippie Coalition, Soul Fly, Shadows Fall, The Hunger, and most recently HED(pe.)

You may have caught one of their shows in the Bay Area at Scout Bar, Union Tavern or Pier 27 Tavern.

And now, Born From Ruins is just getting started… 2013 has been a banner year so far. In February, BFR hosted a “Red Carpet Roll Out,” a semi-private movie-style premiere, at Star Cinema Grill in Webster for the video of their newest single "Save Me" off an upcoming full-length CD titled “The Aftermath.”

“The song 'Save me' was chosen to be our first single from the new album simply because we feel it best shows the energy we are putting into this album,” said Ortiz. “We really love the energy it gives off, and we wanted to use it as a statement basically. The production crew at Digital Services (who produced both the music and video) were amazing and definitely made our part much easier.”

The focus of the video is a group of people struggling to survive the end of the world, since the lyrics for “Save Me” are based on the apocalypse or the rapture. “The kids in the video are meant to be set in a dark reality of how times would really be, even though the song has an upbeat feel to it, the underlining meaning is quite the opposite,” said Ortiz.  “I really don’t think it could have come out any better.”

The premiere was a huge success, and as Ortiz says, “It was a great night with great people, and a memory of a lifetime!”

A look ahead… The rest of the year is looking great, too. On March 23, BFR will be headlining at Scout Bar in Webster. They are also planning on more regional shows and develop a fan base outside the Houston area. Also, “The Aftermath” is set to be released at the end of the summer.

When not performing, the guys lead busy lives as Jenkins is a student at UNT in Denton. Ortiz is a family man and has two little rock stars in the making (Aiden and Jude). VanOrstrand is a “work-aholic” six days a week, and Damian is also on that workaholic list with his day job. Plus he performs with two other bands.  While it is a challenge to coordinate schedules, BFR has made a commitment to "keep digging." (A reference to local band Saturate’s song.) Born From Ruins is on Facebook, YouTube and  ReverbNation. Email [email protected] if interested in booking or obtaining a media package. On behalf of the band, Ortiz says, “See you in the crowd!”