Article in Albany Herald

Written by Brad McEwen

ALBANY — Thanks to a little good fortune and always being ready to bring their musical A-game, Unbreakable Bloodline will get a chance to show fans at South By Southwest why they’ve quickly become one of Southwest Georgia’s most popular bands. The Albany-based group hits the stage at the prestigious Austin festival on Friday.

Founded in 1987 as a multi-day music festival that drew more than 700 attendees its first year, the festival — often abbreviated SXSW — has grown into a 10-day music, film and interactive media extravaganza that regularly draws upward of 30,000 registrants looking to find the next the next big thing.

Now with the chance to join 2,000-plus artists that will be showcasing their music next week, the members of UBL — vocalists Jerome “King OZ” Osborne, Vernon “Chief Havok” Cruz, Tiffany “O’She Tyght” Thomas, drummer Chad “Black Out” Basco, bassit Ryan “Mr. Meyers” Meyers and guitarist Jon “Rock On” Smith — are hoping this marks the start of the band gaining more exposure outside of its native Southwest Georgia, perhaps propelling it to the next level.

“Probably whoever your favorite artist is, whoever you like, you know, you’re thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if they were there and saw us and then were like, ‘Hey, man, we need to talk?’” Osborne said. “I think that’s everybody’s dream.”

“I was laying in my bed the other night thinking, ‘Damn, we could possibly meet up with like Outkast or Macklemore,’ you know what I’m saying?” Cruz said. “How cool would it be if someone saw us and was like, ‘Hey, man, we’ve got a spot on our tour. Why don’t you join us?’”

Although they admit such dream scenarios are longshots, the band members see that getting a chance to play at such an important showcase allows them to do two of the things they strive to do where ever they go — expand their fan base and build new relationships.

“Ultimately, for the past two years we’ve been planting seeds and building relationships and nourishing those relationships,” Smith said. “It’s more about relationships than anything else right now.

“Not to name-drop or anything, but the relationships that we’ve built have lead to other relationships, which have led to other relationships, and we’re finally in the loop with some prominent people in the business. We work hard and we’re a tight band whenever we play out live.”

Their ability to build relationships and present those tight live shows helped the group land the SXSW gig, even if there was a little luck thrown in for good measure.

Osborne said that just a few weeks ago, the group was playing a show at Big Rax Saloon in Albany alongside local rock band Days to Come and good friends Almost Kings. To UBL’s good fortune, Almost Kings just happened to be playing with a fill-in bass player named Paul “Devon” Lewow, who is also the singer in a band called Brother Grey.

“Devon knows some guy named Joe who has something to do with the talent for SXSW,” Osborne said. “Well, Devon saw us play and made a phone call, sent (Joe) a text actually, and was like, ‘Hey, man, you got any slots left? You need to get these guys on. I just watched them and they’re pretty tight.’”

Osborne said Lewow continually showed the band the texts he and Joe were exchanging throughout the night. Finally, news came down that something had been worked out.

“That was a Friday night and then Saturday he texted us to say, ‘Hey, I’m just waiting on him to reply to see if he has a slot for you guys.’ Then about 2 or 3 o’clock, he texted and said, ‘Hey man, it’s on.’”

When explaining the whole series of events, Cruz sums it up succinctly: “He obviously liked what he heard.”

Indeed, for Lewow to hear the band one time and go out on a limb like that speaks volumes about the quality of a UBL show, which is something the members take great pride in.

“With SXSW and all the opportunities we’ve gotten, it really comes down to our work ethic and being prepared, man,” Cruz said. “If we weren’t as tight as we were in front of these people when we had that first impression, they wouldn’t be dealing with us. It’s as simple as that.

“They saw what we can do and that kind of set the tone. That’s what’s helped us along.”

As many in the Albany area know, UBL has built a solid fan base thanks not only to their great music, such as the tracks on last year’s “Anti-Gravity,” but also by being able to bring the power and energy of their songs to the masses through an impressive live show.

Such was the case last weekend when the band graced the stage at the downtown Albany Mardi Gras Street Festival, where they were met with thunderous applause from the hometown faithful. In fact, the reception from people at the Mardi Gras show was one of the best the band has ever received.

“I was really, really happy seeing our city show up for Mardi Gras,” Cruz said. “When we looked out at that crowd and there were all those people, it was incredible. And they weren’t just standing there, they were engaged. Really, we just want to say a huge thank you to the Good Life City.

“We need our city’s support. Every time we are a part of something here it seems to get bigger and bigger and that makes us feel good. Honestly, I get goosebumps thinking about it because we’re connecting with people.”

Making such a strong connection with the local fan base also serves to fuel the band’s excitement and confidence about playing the SXSW gig, as it lets them know that they have the talent and ability to make a good impression on new fans.

“We’ve been running into people that are from different places that are out of the ordinary, like Detroit or Chicago, and when they get a chance to see us, they are blown away,” Thomas said. “They say things like, ‘I didn’t expect to come to Albany and see something like this. You guys are tight!’ And they’re really enjoying it. Being able to expose Albany’s talent (at SXSW) is great.”

The band’s quest to invade Austin and pull even more fans into the UBL family gets going Tuesday night when the crew will hit the road with the intent of driving straight through to Austin.

“We plan to have dinner together and, once we do that, we’ll say goodbye to our families and hit the road,” Cruz said. “It’s a 15-, 16-hour drive and we’re pretty much going to drive all night and take two-hour shifts.”

In another act of fate the band also has the good fortune of not having to shell out outrageous sums of money to stay in Austin for a few days (it’s SXSW policy that all acts have to pay their own way).

“My cousin just moved to Austin and she lives right in the downtown area, maybe a 10-minute walk from the whole event,” Cruz said. “Her main reason for buying that house there is because of this event. She and her husband go to it every year; they’re die-hard fans, so we lucked up. The closest hotel, which would have been a half-hour away easy, was like $300-500. We got hooked up with the family connection no doubt.”

The band’s SXSW performance is slated for Friday at noon at the Chuggin Monkey, where they’ll get to play a 40-minute set that they are rehearsing daily leading up to the show.

Once again fortune is at play as SXSW features performances at several venues scattered throughout Austin, but from what the band members understand, their venue is in the heart of the action.

“The Chuggin Monkey is on 6th street, right on the main strip,” says Cruz.

While the vast majority of the acts that play SXSW are up-and-coming artists, each year it seems several well-established artists will not only visit the festival as music fans, many end up playing unannounced gigs while they’re there.

The rumor is the Chuggin Monkey is one of the venues where those nationally recognized artists have been known to appear.

Regardless of whether the band is fortunate enough to get discovered or meet some of their heroes at the showcase, each band member is simply excited to have such a great opportunity and is relishing the chance to be a part of something so well known.

“Aw, man, it’s awesome,” Smith said rather frankly.

“It’s epic,” Osborne added.

“Yeah, epic’s the word,” Thomas agreed.

The band is set to return to Albany right after its SXSW performance. UBL will once again entertain its friends and neighbors at the annual Albany Wing Fest to support The Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition. The Wing fest is 11 a.m.-7 p.m. March 19 at the Albany Fairgrounds.

UBL set to drop their sophmore album "ANTI-GRAVITY"

ALBANY — Having taken a break from live performance early this year to focus on writing and recording their latest album, Unbreakable Bloodline (UBL) is back on the local scene in a major these days as they build momentum toward the release of their sophomore effort, Anti-Gravity.

That momentum will come to a crescendo Saturday night when the band will host a CD release concert at Albany’s State Theater.

“The band is extremely pumped about our Anti Gravity CD release party on May 9th at The State Theatre,” said guitarist Jon Smith. “We’ve been working our butts off for this moment to come and it will be here before we know it.”

Smith said the band has been working hard on it’s live show and the members are excited about having another chance to share their varying musical styles with their hometown crowd.

“UBL fans can expect a high energy performance from us as usual, along with a handful of tricks up our sleeves for this particular event,” Smith said. “We will be performing the new CD material in its entirety along with a couple of new tracks that do not appear on the CD as well as some new cover tunes and a few old favorites from our previous CD.”

Joining UBL at the show will be openers Yamadeo and Almost Kings, along with a handful of other guest performers.

“We are both honored and privileged to have the opportunity to share the stage with this incredible lineup of musicians,” said Smith. “The CD release show will feature special guest appearances by Rachel Mansfield and Sydney Parr on stage with UBL as well as a couple of other “surprise” guests.”

Unbreakable Bloodline performs as special guest for Albany's first Battle of The Bands

ALBANY — The 2015 Dougherty and Lee County Relay for Life will be taking place this weekend at Darton State College, with coordinators hopeful the fundraising efforts will be able to exceed those of the previous year.#The opening ceremony will be at 6 p.m. Friday and will end 12 hours later at 6 a.m. on Saturday. Since it was started nationally in 1985, Relay for Life has been the cancer society’s key source of funds for those 30 years.

#Participants and supporters in Dougherty and Lee County have been doing their part since it came to the area 21 years ago.

#The event will begin with opening ceremonies led by Robbie and Dottie Davis, which will include an appearance by the Westover High School ROTC and a survivor lap and caregiver lap led by Lee County Middle School cheerleaders.

#Disc jockey Dollar Bill will provide entertainment throughout the event. There will also be a roll call lap to celebrate the success of the fundraiser.

#The event will feature teams manning decorative campgrounds, participating in a variety of events and selling items and services — including food, glowsticks and bouncy house jumping — to raise money for the cause while participants take turns walking the Relay for Life course.

#“Teams will have at least one person walking through the night,” said Elyse Atha, community manager for Relay for Life.

#At 8 p.m. Friday, Unbreakable Bloodline will be on stage. Following that, there will be a luminary service during which the luminaries around the track will be lit. Torches named in honor or memory of someone will be lit, and the glow balloons purchased will be released at the end of the ceremony.

#At 10 p.m., Meow Kapow will perform during the “Birthday Blaster” hour, which will have a birthday party theme. The following hour will be themed “Purple Power Protector,” during which participating contestants are expected to dress as a female superhero.

#At midnight, La Bete will be on stage for the “Vanquish the Villains” hour while there is a “Superhero Speedsters” boxcar race. The remainder of the night will include limbo, karaoke, relay games, Tug of War, a scavenger hunt, line dancing and Zumba before the “Fear Factor” hour at 4 a.m. and doughnuts, celebratory music and presentation of a survivor wall at 5 a.m.

#The American Cancer Society’s largest fundraiser, Relay for Life is considered a powerful tool for raising awareness and money for research as well as the organization’s programs, including Cancer Resource Centers, the Cancer Survivor Network, Hope Lodge, I Can Cope and Look Good Feel Better.

#Last year’s Relay here drew 507 participants, including 200 survivors and 47 teams that raised $111,066 for the organization. The goal this year is $116,500, with 49 teams — including 300 participants — registered as of Wednesday.

#“We want people to understand … when people hear Relay for Life, they think it’s a 5K, and it’s not. We just want folks moving in the track all night,” Atha said. “We don’t sleep because we realize that cancer doesn’t sleep.”

#The event is open to the public. There is no charge. All funds raised will go to the American Cancer Society.

#Darton is located at 2400 Gillionville Road.

#To learn more about the Dougherty/Lee County Relay for Life or to find out how to get involved, visit www.relayforlife.org/doughertyleega or contact the American Cancer Society at (229) 446-0986. Those wishing to purchase a luminary in honor or memory of someone can do it up until 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Joseph Lavender premiers his newest horror film "Seven Toe Maggie" in Atlanta GA.

Director Joseph Lavender premiers his newest horror film "Seven Toe Maggie" with a Red Carpet celebration.  Featuring a cameo of Unbreakable Bloodline throughout the movie, including two songs on the movies soundtrack. 

Unbreakable Bloodline headlines this years Albany GA Mardi Gras celebration!

UBL is set to open for the widely known Atlanta based Almost Kings.  With their huge fan base this should be a good look for UBL.  

Unbreakable Bloodline show cases their skills live on top of a 54 foot trailer durring the 2014 Albany Parade. 

Albany's own Unbreakable Bloodline scores an endorsement deal with the popular Vape Company "Venum Vapur"

  ATLANTA -- A pair of Southwest Georgia groups emerged as the best bands in the state at the recent Georgia Music Awards at the Buckhead Theatre here.#The Albany hip-hop collective Unbreakable Bloodline received the Georgia Award for Hip-Hop Group of the Year, while Dawson/Leesburg-based Highway 55 was named Country Group of the Year.

  The ceremony marked the second year of the Georgia Music Awards.

  "It really took a little while for this to sink in," UBL drummer Chad Basko said Monday.

  "You get the award, they shuffle you out and suddenly you find yourself backstage just looking around. Then there are photographs and interviews. ... It was a whirlwind.

  "But the last couple of days we've had an opportunity to think about it, to think about where we are as a band. We've worked hard to get here. The ball's rolling pretty well for us right now."

  The GMA comes on the heels of the successful release of Unbreakable Bloodline's self-titled debut album. The band's work is currently available on iTunes, Spotify, Google and will soon move into rotation on Pandora Radio.

  Winning awards is nothing new for Highway 55: vocalist Cody Smith, guitarists Skyler McCrary and Grover Mims, bassist Paul Harrell and drummer Jason Plowden. The group, which is currently working on its second album, was named Band of the Year at last year's Georgia Country Music Awards as well.

  Next for UBL is the Music in Our Veins benefit concert for the Red Cross at the Crisp County Middle School Auditorium Saturday. The band will also play at the city of Albany's Independence Day celebration at the Exchange Club Fairgrounds.

  "May was a huge month for us, and now (with the Georgia Music Award) we have even more momentum," Basko said.

ALBANY — Things are about to change for the high-energy Albany band Unbreakable Bloodline.

 Dramatically.

 A best-kept local secret for the better part of three years, UBL are going to expand their fan base exponentially with the release of their self-titled debut album, which will be available at an unveiling concert at the State Theatre Saturday.

 “This album — these 14 songs — validates us,” Vernon “Chief H” Cruz, one of three MCs who front the hip-hop/rock hybrid six-piece, said before a recent UBL rehearsal at guitarist Dusty Ashberry’s Radium Springs-area home. “I listen to a playback now, and I hear each person: I’m reminded of whose idea a particular piece was, who headstronged what song.

 “These songs are a timeline of all the things we’ve been through to get to this point.”

 Unbreakable Bloodline’s story may not be unique, but it certainly has enough twists and turns to offer a sense of divine intervention — or at least a Stephen King novel — that brought the band members together. Chief H, Tiffany “O’She Tyght” Thomas and Jay “O-Z” Osborne were members of a local hip-hop unit that had its 15 minutes before imploding.

 Bassist Ryan Meyers was playing with the hard rock band Echo Valve before running into the trio of MCs at a local function. They hit it off, and Meyers ended up working with Chief H, O’She and O-Z on an acoustic version of one of their songs, “Realize.” The four liked what they did together but decided they wanted to flesh the sound out more.

 Meyers called on fellow rockers Ashberry and drummer Chad Basko, who had established a regional following with the bands Holley Drive and Drive Down Holley, and the six met up at Ashberry’s home. There was immediate magic.

 “Everything with the band just kind of happened organically,” Ashberry said. “I think for all of us we pretty quickly realized that we could go places musically with UBL that we’d never gone before. We had a very small period of getting to know each other, and things just clicked.

 “There’s a song on the album, ‘Fly Away,’ that’s built around a guitar riff I wrote 10 years ago. And the chorus is something O’She had written 10 years ago. When we put the two together, it worked.”

 As the members of UBL discuss their album, it’s quickly apparent that the six have a deep-running respect for each other’s talent.

 “Everyone brings some really amazing stuff to our mix, and you hear it on this album,” Basko said. “It’s honestly one of the most diverse albums I’ve ever heard. There are so many flavors — because of the talent of all the people in the band — that there’s something for everyone.

 “I’ve been living with these songs for a long time, but I have not taken the CD (of various cuts of the songs on the album) out of my CD player for the last year. I also think it’s significant that we can put together an album of 14 hip-hop and rock songs, and there is not one cuss word and not one single use of the n-word.”

 The album — which also includes such live performance favorites as “Irish Frank” (“That came from a riff I had from back when I was a kid,” Ashberry said.), “Good Life City (The Bany),” “War,” “Service,” “Blood Sweat Tears” and “La La La” — is indeed a sterling showcase of the diverse talents in the band.

 “A lot of people form bands with huge intent, but they never follow through,” O-Z said. “The sticking point is they can’t get product done, can’t get their work out there. We took (making the album) as a series of challenges. We had high expectations going into the process, and as soon as we got one challenge done, we’d move on to the next.

 “It was amazing the way we worked off each other’s concepts and ideas. It was never about ‘I want to be out front on this song or that.’ We were pushing each other to get things from the other band members that we wanted to hear.”

 Meyers, a creative artist who designed the band’s familiar logo and the art packaging for “Unbreakable Bloodline” — as well as the unique bodies of his guitars — said the genre-defying quality of the 14 songs on the album is intentional.

 “It’s a jam-up album because of that,” the bassist said. “It doesn’t matter what genre of music you generally listen to, if you listen to this album you’re going to be able to find something you like. That wasn’t necessarily planned, but that’s the way we approach our music.

 “I think the thing that pleases me most about the album is that it’s one you can pop in and listen to all the way through. You might have favorites, but I think all 14 songs are quality songs.”

 UBL’s album release gathering, which will include performances by opening act Another Alien Astronaut — yet another excellent local band in the final stages of preparing its debut album — and surprise special guests, will kick off at 8 p.m. at the downtown State Theatre. Tickets for the 18-over show are only $5, and copies of UBL’s album, as well as other band merchandise, will be available. (The album will also be available on iTunes, amazon.com, reverbnation.com and cdbaby.com.)

 Also planned is a raffle for a new Godin Art & Lutherie acoustic guitar, provided by event sponsor Godin. Other sponsors include The Athlete’s Foot, Then & Now Boutique, Basko Tactical Gear (B.T.G.) and Xcel drum sticks. The band has inked sponsorship deals with Godin and Xcel.

 “This is going to be a release concert, not a party,” Basko said. “We’re going all-out to put on a show ... lights, quality sound, everything.”

 Fans who have been with UBL from the beginning will note the growth of the band as they listen to “Unbreakable Bloodline.”

 “The finished product is just awesome,” O’She Tyght said. “When I take a step back and look at it, I’m really amazed at where this thing has taken us. From a hip-hop group with Vernon and Jay, we’ve been able to take our music and translate it into an entirely different arena, to become a legitimate live band. That’s really amazing from a creative and a business standpoint.

 “We’ve got an album that truly is a reflection of all our talents. You can sit down and listen to all the little tidbits, everything from all six members of the band. It’s been an amazing process to get to this point, but we’re just getting started. We still have so much more we can do.”

 ~Carlton Fletcher

 ATLANTA — Southwest Georgia will definitely be in the house at the Buckhead Theater on June 8 when the 2013 GA Music Awards are handed out.#No less than five artists from the immediate area are among the nominees for the second edition of the statewide awards, given to fan-selected artists in a number of musical genres.

 “We feel that our new album (which will be unveiled at a release concert Saturday) validates us as artists, and receiving a statewide nomination for the GA Music Awards validates us beyond our geographical boundaries,” Vernon “Chief H” Cruz with the Albany-based fusion hip-hop/rock band Unbreakable Bloodline, said of the nomination.

 UBL received a GMA nomination in the Hip-Hop Group/Band category and will compete for fan voting with fellow nominees Clan Destined, Jubee & the Morning After, Brothers Under Different Skin, Kid Sync & Brandywine, and Tizzle & Streets.

 “We’ll have an opportunity to play a big showcase (at Atlanta’s Terminal West Club) featuring all the hip-hop nominees before the awards are given,” UBL drummer Chad Basko said. “It’s going to get us a lot of exposure. We’re looking at it as another stepping stone as we continue to move forward.”

 The six members of Unbreakable Bloodline — Cruz, Basko, Ryan Meyers, Tiffany “O’She Tyght” Thomas, Jay “O-Z” Osborne and Dusty Ashberry — will see plenty of familiar faces at the GMA ceremony. Cole Taylor (Country Male), Faith Jackson (Country Female), Highway 55 (Country Band) and Caitlin Gutierrez (Youth Rock/Country and Youth Video), all of whom are from the metro Albany area or have close ties here, are also among the nominees.

 Highway 55, which was named best country band at last year’s Georgia Country Awards, will compete against Reluctant Saints, Laughlin, Lyn Averne, Georgia Red Clay, Brock, Southside of the Tracks and Cottonwood Canyon. Taylor, who also was a 2012 GCA winner, will compete against Tyler Brant Harrison, Ricky Gunn, Ben Wells, Alex Hall, Chuck Courtenay, Jared Wade and Scott Brantley.

 Jackson, who joins fellow nominees Mandy Gauley, Angela Reign, Lauren Ashley, Kelly Ballard, Amy Taylor, Crista Lyn and Rebecca Collins in the Country Female category, and Gutierrez continue Leesburg’s strong country music legacy with their nominations.

 Gutierrez will compete against Athens Band, Gabbie Rae, Emily Vance, Jordan Grassi, Aspen Countrymen, Cheyenne Knight, Katie Belle Akin and Madison Shaw in the youth category, and her “Country Air” video vies for honors over works by J’Plus the Entertainer, Rae, Vance and Miss Mulatto.

 Fans of the artists have an opportunity to actively show their support by voting for each at the gamusicawards.com website. UBL fans can link to the GMA site at www.facebook.com/UnbreakableBloodline or at twitter.com/UBL6. Voting continues through June 1.

 Advance tickets for the GMAs are $31 for orchestra seating and $21 balcony, and tickets are $36 and $25, respectively, on the day of the show.