On Friday night March 7th in a dimly lit bar called Katz Lounge, I stumbled in to watch a genre-less band from the Troy/Piqua area. Scott Lee and The Whiskey River Boys say that they hate labels and it holds them back from creating good, raw music.

The band, consisting of members Scott Lee (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), Ethan Miller (electric guitar and backup vocals), Taylor Long (mandolin and backup vocals), Matt Bones (bass guitar), and Denis Osborne (drums) use a mixture of folk and bluegrass sounds as found in their song “Moonshine On Me,” along with experimental funk and a hint of yodeling to create their unique “genre.”

The group has been making music for about a year now and came up with the name simply because they like to drink whiskey. For such a young band, they seem to have it together and when asked if they experience stage freight, member Ethan Miller replied, “No, it’s more of an anxious feeling. Like I just want to go out and play!”

Scott Lee and The Whiskey River Boys have since been signed with Sentio Music Records out of Piqua, Ohio and aim for an April release date of their first album titled Hey, Mirage.

Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash, Rush, and classic rock are all big influences of the gang and it’s evident through their music. Each member brings something different to the table.

Scott Lee for instance graduated from Troy High School in 2007. Lee has been writing and performing folk music as a solo act for about ten years prior to starting The Whiskey River Boys.

Another graduate of Troy, Taylor Long is used to playing the electric guitar for bands like Psuedo Agenda and The Art of Tragedy. Although Long says he enjoyed playing the guitar, it’s not until he met Scott Lee and began to play the mandolin that his music career was finally going in the direction he wanted.

We then have Ethan Miller, a 2009 graduate from Northmont who sounds like a pro on the electric guitar, has only been in one other band called Less Than Three. He mainly finds himself jamming with groups and locals at festivals and parties.

The band has gone through its share of members here and there and the two newest members seem to really make the band who they are and pull everything together.

Denis Osborne went to a Canadian high school where he played in a group called Line of Fire and it wasn’t until 2005 when he returned to playing drums, this time for a band called Purple Overcoat out of Lima, Ohio. In 2009 he joined a funk/ reggae style band out of Piqua called SOL. Osborne has been with Scott Lee and The Boys for about 2 months now.

Lastly, Matt Bones, a 2003 graduate and Indiana native. This bassist has been all over map, starting back in 2001 where he fronted a punk band called We Don’t care. From then on he was on and off playing and singing for numerous underground and Goth bands such as Solaroid. From 2009-2013 Bones pursued a solo career before he became a full time member of The Whiskey River Boys.

This band has big dreams and great potential. There isn’t anything like them playing around the Miami Valley. I can say after just two shows I’m an avid fan already. As a closing remark, lead singer Scott Lee left me with some words of wisdom and rock n’ roll advice, “Make music, make love, and drink whiskey.”

Check out Scott Lee and The Whiskey River Boys at some of their upcoming shows. Times and specifics can be found on their Facebook page.