Downplay

Downplay originated near Youngstown, OH, in Salem, in 2003. Originally a cover band, the band entertained crowds in bars before many of its members were old enough to drink. Soon after, the band (comprised of Dustin Bates, Brandon Hill, Nick Kiser, and Chad White) moved to Ohio University in Athens, where two members were attending school. Over the next 3 years the band developed its sound and live show and found a major fan base in the Athens area while attending school there. The band's first record, Saturday, was recorded (in about a day) and released during its time at OU. Downplay found its niche for energetic live rock shows at Ohio University, playing the famous events like the Halloween Block Party, PalmerFest, and the numbered fests (threefest, fourfest, fivefest, etc). In 2006, upon most of the members graduating from OU, the band moved to Columbus, OH, where the band calls home base even today. Still playing a mix of covers and original music. In late 2007 the band recorded its second record, 'A Day Without Gravity'. This record had a more polished sound and displayed the bands improvements in song writing over the first record, and helped the band begin to expand across the state of Ohio. 2009 was full of showcases for Atlantic, Virgin/Capitol, Island, Mercury, and Epic records, both in Columbus and in NYC. In April 2010, the band signed with In De Goot Management and went on their first major tour with Puddle of Mudd and Sevendust. In June 2010, the band signed with Epic Records. Immediately after, Dustin went to LA to begin writing the first record. Throughout this period, Downplay accumulated the linup of Trevor Connor, Evan Mckeever, Brian Patrick and Corey Catlett. In Jan 2011, Downplay began recording the record with producer Dave Fortman (Evanescence, Slipknot, Mudvayne, Godsmack) . It was finished in May 2011. Downplay has played with a number of rock bands, including Chevelle, 10 Years, Theory of a Deadman, Crossfade and on a number of major Rock festivals including Rock on the Range in Columbus and XFest in Dayton. In October 2011, the band was dropped by Epic so they could sign bands from the new TV show X-Factor. In December 2011, Downplay released Beyond the Machine and had a song 'Hated You From Hello' used by WWE. In 2012, Downplay released another two records, Radiocalypse and The Human Condition EP. The band is currently in the studio working on an acoustic record entitled 'Stripped' which is scheduled for release on July 2nd 2013. get our acoustic record, stripped, on iTunes now! https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/stripped/id669241721