By John Johnson
(Photos Band FB)
I recently sat down for a phone interview with two members of a band that rolls through town this Thursday. The four-piece band based out of St. Louis known as The Band Feel, not the band FEEL, but to be clear, they are called The Band Feel. The bluesy, classic rock quartet is made up of Garrett Barcus on vocals, Tyler Armstrong on guitar, Kadin Rea on bass and T.J. Steinwart on drums. Although based out of St. Louis the band members reside primarily in different cities, from Sacramento to towns in Illinois, with frequent time spent in Nashville. The relatively new group, with an old soul, was formed in 2021 by Armstrong and Steinwart, and is quickly catching the deserved attention of critics and music lovers alike.
Guitarist Tyler Armstrong rang me up early afternoon on Monday to discuss their current winter tour, and said that singer Garrett Barcus would be calling in as well. The group is currently nestled in the middle of their winter tour, which they are co-headlining with The Retrograde. They played a gig in Sarasota Sunday night, so Armstrong was calling me from the beach. “It smells a little like a fish’s body, but it’s still really nice dude” he remarked with appreciation. “Oh, that’s right, you guys are getting a little bit of red tide down there” I said. “Yeah” he continued “but it’s beautiful. I think they call this Siesta Key.” I concur, that although red tide can be rough on the nostrils, there’s not too many Florida beaches nicer than that area. “It can be a little boujee down there. How was the crowd?” I asked. He chuckled knowingly but said that the “crowd was very enthusiastic.” “We even had about five people from Canada come see us while on vacation.” He noted proudly, “It’s always cool to hear where people come from to see us. It was a cool gig.” Although in the midst of their headlining winter tour, the Sarasota show had them opening for Derek St. Holmes, former lead vocalist with Ted Nugent. I quipped that we shouldn’t hold that fact against him, and Armstrong seemed to laugh in agreement noting “he’s got some other projects, but that’s on the top if his resume.” Among some of their impressive on-stage partnerships, one that stands out is their recent stint with none other than ZZ Top. They opened for ZZ top at a sold out show at The Factory in St. Louis where the three-piece little band from Texas was the headliner. “At first the audience didn’t seem to respond like we’d want, but at the end it was like 3,500 people giving us a standing ovation.” Armstrong confides that older audiences may be leery of the four longhaired lads at first, but “If they close their eyes, they realize we’re a good band”. The somewhat emotional guitarist continued “but we also need to prove it visually. It’s a whole experience”. A standing ovation seems to be a good barometer that the elderly crowd was “Feel”ing the whole experience just fine.
As I was confirming with Armstrong the groups moniker and its proper pronunciation (they are often called FEEL), the line clicked for singer Garrett to join the call. After a brief moment of technical difficulties, I was able to have both members on the line simultaneously. Armstrong joked that if we hadn’t connected successfully, that “Garrett would probably just go back to bed anyway.” Thankfully the tech gods worked in our favor and we three resumed our chat. From this point on, I’ll have to refer to any quotes I mention as “they”, as it was hard for me to discern which of the young musicians was answering my questions, and I’d hate to misquote them.
I began by mentioning that one of their recordings was done at our beloved Jannus Landing. “Oh yeah, that was really early on. I think we were only together for about three months when we recorded that.” And although they considered it “really rough”, it’s quite impressive, especially when you consider the short time they had been playing as a band at that point. As interviewer, I of course had to query them on their musical influences, some of which are the obvious 70’s classic rock bands like Zeppelin and The Small Faces, they impressed me with influences from way back in the 30’s and 40’s. “That far back?” I asked excitedly “Like who?”. “Oh, I definitely consider Robert Johnson and Django Reinhardt as big influences”. Both being early blues and guitar virtuosos I assumed that Armstrong was behind that exuberant answer. Also mentioned were jazz composer and “genius” Sun Ra, and the more current heavy hitters Rival Sons and Dirty Honey, the latter being a band they toured with in the Fall of 2024. I felt obligated to mention how impressive Jay Buchanan (Rival Sons) is as a singer, and how he may actually be “too good”. “Oh, he’s a beast” chimed in Barcus, (I assumed), as he seemed taken back a bit by my acknowledgement of his “rougher” timbre being more preferred in a singers voice. I favor a little bit of “soul” and “gravel” which the appreciative Mr. Barcus has in spades.
I inform the two down to earth gentlemen that my friends will be opening for them at their show this Thursday at The Crowbar. “My pals The Dirty Janes are playing before you, great guys and they’re a bunch of hair-farmers too” I tell them. “Wait!? What kind of farmers?” They asked in slight confusion. “Hair farmers.” I continue “it’s what I call guys, at your age who seem to grow glorious hair with ease”. They laugh knowingly “Yeah, we have hair that women seem to want”, and I mention they should have a hair product sponsorship. “Yeah, we’ve been told we should strike a deal with Pantene.” With the average age of the band being around 25, I believe they said the bass player is 21, these young dudes seem to be extremely grounded as well as fervently determined. I ask them about the current tour and the perils of going from city to city to “spread their ‘message’” and the toll it can take. “It can definitely be tiring zig-zagging across the country” they informed me, “but we don’t mind it at all. We love playing and will go wherever we’re scheduled”. I ask if the old cliche stands, that touring bands are like families that get tighter on the road. “Oh, we’re a lot like brothers ya know?” They say “You learn a lot about each other. What to do and what NOT to do” they say, one continues with slight jest, “And sometimes you intentionally do the stuff that irritates the other to keep it interesting.” The duo laughs insightfully and I agree that yes, that sounds exactly like what brothers do.
I rap up our delightful, albeit brief, chat with questions regarding any upcoming studio recording. They currently have a very tight self-titled six song EP, that ranges from heavy blues rock influenced tunes to more soulful, melodic compositions. “Yeah, we’ll have another EP released at some point later this year” they answer. With the resurgence of vinyl releases, my daughter being a collector herself, I wonder if they’ll follow suit. “Oh, we’ll definitely release it on vinyl” they confirm, “The experience isn’t just the recording itself” which he agrees that many vinyl releases these days are “kind of weak” going “directly from the digital recording right to the press”. They continue with heartfelt passion, ”Its everything. From the record itself, to all the packaging too. It’s the whole experience. We want to do it right”. And if their on- and off-stage energy is any evidence, I have a good FEELing that The Band Feel is most certainly doing it right.
Do yourself a favor and come see what’s sure to be a true rock and roll trifecta, with Hibiscus, The Dirty Janes and The Band Feel. This Thursday, February 20th at The Crowbar in Ybor city. Doors open at 7.
LINKS
Web | https://www.thebandfeel.com/
Instagram| https://www.instagram.com/thebandfeel
FB | https://www.facebook.com/thebandcalledFeel
Tiktok | https://www.tiktok.com/@thebandfeel
Apple Music | https://music.apple.com/us/artist/feel/1586917108
Amazon Music | https://music.amazon.com/artists/B0D8RM4BB6/the-band-feel
YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC5AEweKnvMIHgxrVcLFsRg/featured
