"For Facing Forward it's not necessarily about getting to that one place and saying, hey look we got here guys. It's about the feeling, the perseverance, the hard work; It's about when you get there saying, what's next?"
There is no better way to describe a band that has been committed to hard work and showing relentless dedication to their craft, but it doesn't come without an undying passion for the music they create, and the messages they send. The name Facing Forward isn't just a name snatched from a dictionary or plucked from a magazine. The name encompasses the lifestyle chosen by every artist that lives and dies by their art, and anyone else in the world that keeps fighting through for what they choose to believe.
Through thick and thin the members of Facing Forward remain as positive and driven as the name suggests, producing stadium-caliber pop anthems aimed to captivate the masses. Their sound is a marriage of classic elements with modern appeal, which helped gain them regional recognition over the past few years, and will surely help them burst into the national spotlight in the years to come.
"We worked for what seems like forever trying to find a formula for our sound, but after that pressure was taken off is when we found what we had been after," says Ryan. The songs themselves - comprised of clever pop hooks, ambient guitars, and hard-hitting grooves – are anthems of overcoming, empowerment, perseverance, and trials of living. From the energetic "last night of our lives," to the heartfelt anthem, "city lights," each song has its own message and emotion that the band hopes will reflect the lives of millions upon their debut release.
The road for Facing Forward began with a fluke run-in with a prominent Chicago promoter at a local Chicago headlining club date. This rendezvous resulted in Facing Forward being the only independent act on VH1's Aftermath, which aired on national television. Soon after, their demo landed in the hands of Danny Nozell, owner of CTK Management in Nashville, TN who later signed the band.
The musical fuel for the band began with brothers Ryan and Colin Greshock. As most brothers were playing with toys or running about the neighborhood, they found themselves sneaking away with their father's beaten up acoustic guitar and teaching themselves to play. By ages twelve and ten they started a band and the seed to what would later become Facing Forward was planted.
While Ryan and Colin were hard at work in Chicago in their early years, drummer Lance Bennett was 1,000 miles away doing the very same. By age three Lance sat behind his first kit given to him by his grandfather. At 21 years old, he still has yet to leave that very seat. "I'm just so glad to be a part of something with such potential - so epic - with such amazing people," says Lance upon joining the band in early 2011. Lance was brought in after drumming behind a slew of major hip hop and rock acts in Kansas City, MO, and also extensively touring nationally. "Coming from such different places both musically and in life has really helped create something special between all of us," Ryan says of the band. "Sharing a common goal and passion for the music eliminates any age, creative, or geographic barriers within the band." Lance makes the commute to and from Kansas City to Chicago about once per month for rehearsals and business.
"It's more than just a group of guys getting together. It's a family," says Colin when asked about what the band means to him. Colin's innovative guitar acts often times more as a texture than in the forefront. Influenced by early acts such as Pink Floyd and The Doors, Colin's unique philosophy about what role the guitar plays in a given song adds something truly unique to Facing Forward.
Bryan Walker has been a part of Ryan and Colin's musical life for the past five years, but with the addition of Lance the rhythm section has been reinvented and gives Facing Forward a strong foundation. "Pursuing a career in the music industry is the dumbest business decision you could ever make, but when I walk out on stage this feeling comes over me and it's just the highest high - It's like its own drug," says Bryan when asked about having a career in the music industry. This is a testament to how much precedence the music has taken over logic, as is case for anyone within the music industry.
