The Gut Strings, comprised of Ben Geise, Kevin Ryan, Dan Comly and Phil Hutchins formed in 2010 in Philadelphia. All of the members of the band also perform in other groups, but they created The Gut Strings to explore a tougher set of original power rock songs. It is clear from the way the band members interact that they found each other because they share a rare complicity and a desire to wade into this dense, layered music -- with both Ryan and Geise providing vocals, they stack unique guitar improvisation on a driving bass, Hutchins' focused percussion and Comly's atmospheric keys only to dissemble the whole piece to reveal precise structure and compelling melody lines. Songwriting and musicianship is really what this band is about -- they treat every song differently by making intuitive musical decisions that underscore their main motive of exploration. The Gut Strings is not one of those groups that takes a political stand – they’re defiantly standoff-ish about the the world around them and, instead, inwardly focused and clear about the fierce truth in the music they make. The band's time is spent having a musical conversation and building a personal relationship with raw sound while searching for and pinning down some fractured, wild magic. It's difficult, dark and intense, and some of it is sweet, and it is supposed to be that way.
