Rome The Ruins

Michele- I started playing bass when I was 15, inspired by the one and only Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers. Music is my favorite thing in the world. I also play guitar, piano, and drums- but there is just nothing better than a funky-ass bass line. My influences/favorite artists include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, U2, Avenged Sevenfold, Metallica, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Muse, Rage Against the Machine, Jimi Hendrix, Pantera, Foo Fighters, Pink Floyd, Elton John, The Doors, Black Sabbath, Guns N' Roses, AC/DC. Mike-I was that one kid who just played nintendo all day. In 8th grade, I got my Mom's old ipod, and that's how it started. I really liked Queen, and it was Brian May who inspired me to pick up an instrument. Got a guitar, took lessons for about a month, then stopped, as I could not afford them. Saved some money,bought my desired electric guitar, and have been teaching my self by ear and the wonders of youtube videos ever since. From Queen, I branched out into some heavier music. Metallica, Megadeth, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and many more. I go from thrash metal to bluegrass to flamenco to power ballads in a matter of minutes. Learned more about the instrument itself. I now fix, mod, and set up my guitars by myself. And that's how it all happened Tay- Singing has always been a passion. I was trained as a musical theater performer from the age of 6 all the way until my high school graduation in 2011. With idols such as Idina Menzel, Sutton Foster, and most importantly, Carol Burnett, I never saw myself pursuing a career in rock or pop singing. But when I went to college, that all changed. In the 1 year that I attended school, my love for music took a sharp turn, and I immersed myself in bands like Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, The Academy Is... and Paramore, while never forgetting the music my parents brought me up on, such as Aerosmith, Yes, and Def Leppard. With that in mind, I began writing music, combining my theater knowledge with my affinity for lyric writing, and my love for punk and rock, to create a new sound that fit everything I was looking for. Now a part of Rome the Ruins, I still bring that weird twist of knowledge to the table, and help to combine all of our music tastes into one individual sound. Brian: Music hasn't always been a passion for me. I am a self taught musician with a late start. I first picked up an electric guitar in the later years of highschool - only to quickly switch over to an acoustic guitar. I learned how to play for a few years, and then went back to my electric again. Outside of Rome The Ruins, I play anything between Folk music, Ambient music, and Noise Pop. My biggest musical influences would have to be Jason Lytle, Jon Hopkins, and Sharin Foo. Pop/Rock band from suburban Chicago.