Most people can look back into their childhood and remember a time when they dreamed of being a rock star, when they played their favorite Kiss song, turned up to 11, as they rocked out on their air guitars.
For Scott Terry, lead singer for Red Wanting Blue (RWB), that’s a dream that has now become a reality.
“It’s all I love to do,” Terry said. “There’s a certain romance behind being in a traveling band . I gave up a long time ago on the delusions of grandeur of being in a band. Playing in front of 500 people, that’s a dream and a career. There’s nothing wrong with that. (It’s) probably a sweeter way to go.”
RWB, which hails from Columbus, Ohio, is a five piece band made up of Terry, Eric Hall, Mark McCullough, Ed Davis and Greg Rahm. The band has produced six albums, with their most recent one, “These Magnificent Miles,” released in early January, 2008.
While many different reviews have described RWB’s sound in a myriad of ways, Terry said his favorite has always been a phrase his producer, Mike Farley, has coined.
“We’re a very melodic rock ‘n’ roll band, with a bit of country flair,” Terry said. “Our producer says we ‘taste like a healthy plate of Americana.'”
Performing live is something Terry said he takes very seriously.
“We often get people . (who) will say we’re a very passionate or theatrical band,” Terry said. “That’s so easily misinterpreted. That sounds to me like there are bells and whistles going off, and pyrotechnics, when that isn’t the case. We’re just five guys that are up there.
“The songs, when I wrote them, matter to me, and they still matter to me,” he added. “I write them in a way that I’m not able to hone it in the performance.”
As far as actually writing songs goes, Terry said he simply has to wait for inspiration to hit.
“These moments come and spill in waves, and I just have to be sensitive to when they’re there and pick up on them,” he said. “I write about relationships, travel. I write about my life because that’s what I know how to.
“I feel like there should be emotional attachment to things,” he added. “Songs are important and should be striking in the same way as a painting . A song should have an impact on you.”
RWB has played in Marquette several times in the past, and Terry said they always love to travel to the Upper Peninsula. Since the band spends so much time on the road, Terry said they like to hunt out great places to eat in every town they play in, so they know the good places to go.
On the hunt in Marquette, RWB found one place downtown they return to whenever they travel back to the area.
“I would have to say the greatest muffins I’ve ever had are from Babycakes,” he said. “Their apple cinnamon muffin absolutely kills me.”
The band will play at the UpFront tonight, Thursday, Jan. 22 at 10 p.m.
