Kevin Coyle, Tyler Todd, Bobby Hausenfluck, and Luke Gefell have known each other for more than 8 years. With the fact that they were friends and all knew how to play music, it was almost a sure thing that they would join together because of those bonds and create a band. Kevin Coyle plays guitar and sings, Tyler Todd plays bass and sings, Bobby Hausenfluck plays guitar, and Luke Gefell plays drums in the band. When the four musician friends formed a band, the four Virginians decided to call themselves the Virginia Gentlemen after the whiskey. But after some time, the band name was shortened to The Gentlemen. As the band members started to write songs together, they took several musical influences that include rock, reggae, and blues to create their sound. Falling somewhere between The Police, Weezer, and Cream, the band has a style that could fit with straight reggae groups as easily as it could fit with straight rock bands.
Once the band had enough time together and had written enough songs to fill up an album, the quartet entered a recording studio. The resulting tracks from those sessions were used to create the 2008 release by the group, which is simply called “The Gentlemen”.
The self-tilted release by The Gentlemen contains 10 songs that alternate between reggae, rock, and blues influences that are contained within the group’s style. On songs like No Trouble and Follow, the band lets their reggae side shine. And with the quality in the production on the songs, plus Hausenfluck’s ability to come up with bass riffs that sound like they could have come from bands that are actually from the Caribbean, the reggae tracks sound more genuine than some of the other bands that have incorporated some reggae into their styles.
The band’s song, DUI In Idaho, is a song that could easily be turned into an extended jam while the band is in concert. The Gentlemen admit that they do tend to extend their songs into jams while stage, so the jam feel on DUI In Idaho makes sense.
The track Move On Outta Here begins with a very rockin’ intro before it slows down into a rock/reggae jam. The song also includes a few guitar solos that are very bluesy in feel. The song is the perfect combination of the rock/reggae/blues styles that the band has shaped their music around.
Along with Move On Outta Here, Uptown Blues is another song on the album that features the band in a very bluesy mood. And with the song being performed at a relaxed and easy pace, it shows that the band members are just as able to perform straight blues songs, as they are able to rock out.
On their own, Kevin Coyle, Tyler Todd, Bobby Hausenfluck, and Luke Gefell are fine musicians. And together, they have formed a band that could easily take the stage at any venue and keep an audience entertained for a long time.
The Gentlemen are a band that knows how to write songs that people will really enjoy. And their 2008 self-titled release proves it. If you like straight-out rock, rock-flavored reggae, or even jam band music, The Gentlemen deserve your attention.
To find The Gentlemen and discover their music for yourself, you can find the band on MySpace at www.myspace.com/virginiagentlemen.
Reviewed By Matheson Kamin
