Rock quartet Opium Symphony made its debut in Baton Rouge last night at local bar Game Day Daiquiris.
Opium Symphony is a Dallas-based band that got its start back in 2007. In those few short years, the group has experienced various struggles and hardships paving the way to the band’s first full length album “Blame it on the Radio,” which dropped June 19th.
According to Kellen Ross, lead singer, this is the band’s “third reincarnation.” Past members equipped with mental instability and addictions may not have helped the band, but they do provide for interesting tales.
As rock-n-roll generally goes, band members and egos are bound to clash. Ross said things went sour with the original members, and they were purged from the group in 2009. The bottoming out with the members came at inopportune times, as the band was peaking at a local level.
Unlike most group breakups, this one ended with death threats from two former band members, according to Ross. He said Opium Symphony’s original drummer left the band not due to artistic differences but because of an overdose.
Ross eventually began to assemble his new band and asked for help from his childhood friend Jarrett Kramer. Kramer initially resisted, but then Ross said he drunkenly decided to give it a go. Kramer became the band’s guitarist.
The drummer Derron Bell auditioned for the band during recruitment, but was not originally chosen. However, when the selected drummer dropped out right before they were set to open for the Gin Blossoms; Bell stepped in and played his first show with the band.
Through all the tribulations, Ross said the band has finally come together over the years. After working two and a half years on “Blame it,” the band was ready to begin a national tour to showcase its work.
“I started realizing all the songs on the album were loosely tied to why we are here making music,” Ross said. “Screwed up relationships, everything from love to hate, quirky things about me and everything from when I started the band until now have inspired this album.”
Drew Nolde, the group’s bassist and keyboardist, chimed in that the album is essentially “a story told out of order.”
Each band member comes from a different musical background. Their musical interests range from progressive acts like Rush, Latin music and classic rock such as Pink Floyd, lending an eclectic and dynamic sound to Opium Symphony.
Unlike the other band members, Ross said he doesn’t like to indulge in other music. He likes to create music from a blank slate.
Baton Rouge marks the ninth stop of their 20-date summer tour. Ross said Louisiana is more receptive to new bands than more musically saturated areas like Texas.
Their tour continues tomorrow night in downtown New Orleans and will continue along the East Coast for the remainder of the summer.
 
____ Contact Taylor Schoen at [email protected]