You get a weird feeling in your stomach when you realize a dream. That split-second when you know that you've hit paydirt; that you might have won the virtual lottery. However, you know that such feelings are mere hyperbole unless the dream is fully realized. The good thing is that this just might be the time.
Look up the word "synergy" in the dictionary. You'll find that when synergy is achieved, that the combination of individual forces has made the combined effort greater. Without one another, the outcome wouldn't be nearly as cathartic. In this case drummer Jimmy Ashbaugh, guitarist Blaine Gaiser, bassist Mike McDonald, vocalist Nick Ramey, and guitarist Tony Winters have taken it upon themselves to act as an agent of change; to become that which makes the sum greater than the whole – to become "Cynergist."
'Weight' has actually been about four years in the making. Jimmy, Tony, and Mike played together for about two and a half years as "Still Searching," keeping most of their songs and concepts when they came together with Nick, who was formerly of the band SubFiction. It was at this point that the band really started to take off. The first song that the newly formed foursome wrote together, "Phoenix," came together quickly and set a standard for the band. At this point, the four knew that something special could happen. Rhythm guitarist Blaine Gaiser was added to the mix to help fill out the sound, and playing shows to fans new and old all over the state of Indiana led the band to a basement in Indianapolis where some of these songs would be put on wax for the first time, and others would be re-imagined and reborn.
The goal was to put heart on tape: songs that people could move with and at the same time feel move within themselves. While topics such as love, loss, heartache, and rebirth have both inspired and driven poets and writers mad over the years; they're spun in a different light by Cynergist. It's not necessarily "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy sings sappy song about girl." Subject matter varies, from the smooth, lovelorn tones of "For A Lover" to the frantic, cleansing thrash of "Phoenix." Caution and regret are evident in "Danielle" – an ode to a woman who can't quite end an abusive relationship. "Here's your chance to sever your ties..."
What was once a dream has become reality for the Central Indiana set. While recording an actual, honest-to-God album was new for 4/5 of the crew, their surroundings and engineer, Andy Leigh (of Virtual Recording Studios) made the experience as painless as possible.
Bassist Mike McDonald said, "This was the most comfortable I've been recording. Andy was awesome." You could tell that the band was having some of the best times of their lives, however trying, in the recording studio.
"The four days that we recorded was the best recording and personal experience that I have had," remarked guitarist Blaine Gaiser, "this has been the best record that I have ever been involved with."
Lead guitarist Tony Winters echoed Blaine's sentiment. "I walked out feeling incredibly optimistic about this record. With Andy's help, my guitar sound became what I knew it could become."
Recording helped lead singer Nick Ramey notice that the recording sessions really brought the band together in a new way. "The relationships between all of us eased and became more conducive to us working together for a long time to come. It was a bunch of dudes really working towards a common goal and a common sound."
What really makes the album stand out above the crowd are the lyrics. They reflect positivism and empowerment. It has an element of anger, but not the kind of anger that makes you want to go out and start a fight; but rather the kind of anger that makes you want to go out make a difference, to change your life and the lives of others in a positive manner. "Letter of Letters," written during lead singer Nick's tour of Iraq, has a tone of despair and desperation, as well as a condemnation of current events. A song speaks to the fact that he's made his peace with death, as he sings that he's "waiting for the bullet that will take me home." "Soulstice" is another song with a message – that no matter the circumstances, no matter the outcome, the best thing one can do is to live your life with respect and pride. "Wherever the wind must fall, I will be there to meet it with pride...I rise with the ebb and the flow, my heart in my hand...I will let go."
The best parts of a project are truly the individual pieces that go into it. In this case, it's the individual road that each member has traveled that make the final destination even more gratifying. The music itself is evidence. Vocalist Nick Ramey brings his military experience to the table, and it is especially evident in "Letter of Letters." Drummer Jimmy Ashbaugh's excessive rock, reggae, and progressive drumming influences are evident all over the album. Bassist Mike McDonald's penchant for tasty hooks is all over "In Your Eyes", while rhythm guitarist Blaine Gaiser's signature background thrash permeates "Weight". Visions of guitar gods dance in one's head while listening to lead guitarist Tony Winters solo in "Between Us And The Wall" and "The Challenge".
'Weight' is the expulsion of everything from the last four years, but don't look for the band to sit back and beam with pride regarding this singular accomplishment. You'll find them in their practice space, tightening up this chorus, or going over this bridge. You'll find them on the road, bringing Cynergist to people who have never heard them before, and bringing back the grooves and thrash to those who have been there since the beginning. As drummer Jimmy Ashbaugh says, "We're constantly looking to the next thing. Always writing, practicing, and evolving."
Five individual brains, personalities, styles, and lives have met on common ground and that makes Cynergist and 'Weight' entirely better. It has been lifted off the shoulders of the band and into your CD players, iPods, and stereo systems. 'Weight' is a fresh outlook on life, love, loss, redemption, and the power of a positive mindset. Now it's in your hands to meet "The Challenge," to realize that "The challenge is living...to raise our voices as one."
- Kyle Degler
Cynergist Biographer
CYNERGIST Live Review: "Hard & Heavy Showcase" 6/28/2008
By: Roger Rockit (Transcribed from Video)
"Hey! Roger Rockit here with a video review of this past weekend's "Hard & Heavy Showcase" at Jerilees's Pub. This show featured three heavy bands with Cynergist, Rotovox, and, Seed. kicking off the night was Cynergist. This five-piece band hails from the Kokomo area and they bring a high energy show! They call their style "Heavy Soul Rock" and it fits perfectly! These guys don't mess around! They had the groove, they had killer leads, and they have a great front man in Nicholas Ramey! Check out these highlights from Cynergist!" [Cuts to video]
********************************
FT. WAYNE SHOW REVIEW 5/10/2008-
This band is one of the best bands that I have seen or heard
in quite a long time. When you combine all of the amazing
talent this band posesses, along with great music, strong lead
vocals, and lyrics that reach out and grab you, along with a
fantastic and entertaining show, you get CYNERGIST!!!
- Mike Hacha
********************************
’Cyn’ City
By: Erin Shultz, [friday] Editor, Kokomo Tribune
On the surface, the fivesome seems like your average Kokomo metalcore band, trading verbal punches like any other group of buddies. "He stole my girlfriend’s shirt earlier," says drummer Jimmy Ashbaugh, nodding to guitarist Tony Winters.
"They don’t makes clothes sized for me," said the super-skinny Winters with a grin.
"Yeah, Baby Gap isn’t around here," said Jimmy.
And that, right there, is one side of Cynergist, a group of 20-somethings who dig music, play in their studio space above a health food store and have known each other since grade school. But for as much as the band is fueled by the lighthearted friendships of a bunch of music fanatics, it is equally as fired by the serious drive of a group of hardworking young men who just want to make music a stable career.
"We don’t want to be Guns ’N’ Roses," said Ashbaugh. "That’s not what we are looking for. It’d be nice to have a million dollars, to win the lottery, to fly. It’d be nice for a lot of things," Ashbaugh said with a laugh. "At the end of the day, we just want to be able to play."
With influences from 311 and Clutch to The Police, Stevie Wonder, and Otis Redding, it’s safe to say that for the five members of Cynergist, their music is a collaborative effort. Some members are self-taught. Some can read music. Others studied Opera.
"There are so many factors that have taken shape to make up what we are," said lead singer Nick Ramey, sitting in a coffee shop with Ashbaugh and Winters on a recent Wednesday. Rounded out by bassist Mike McDonald and guitarist Blaine Gaiser, Cynergist has taken a long road to get where it is. Key pieces of Kokomo’s tight-knit metalcore scene, most of the band members have played together in previous groups. Winters, Ashbaugh, and McDonald all started out in the now-defunct band Still Searching and knew Ramey through his efforts in SubFiction.
"The first SubFiction show I saw, I was like "Whoa, he had them by the throat," said Tony. The guys invited Ramey to jam with them one night, and the rest was history. When Nick joined the band, something sparked, Ashbaugh said. There was a synergy between the members, and they all now agree that Nick was the catalyst that spurred them onto something new.
Synergy. Catalyst.
Cynergist was born.
Trained in opera, gospel, blues and more, Ramey brings a lightness to Cynergist’s sound that members say was needed. There was something that gelled when Ramey joined the band, and even their song writing feels it. It’s typical for the band to improve a whole song, with Ramey laying down spur-of-the-moment lyrics on top.
"I’ve never seen someone who could come up with something off the top of his head like that," Jimmy said.
"The result of the collaboration is evident on "Weight" a 15-track disc the band released in February. To call them a metal band wouldn’t be fair, but calling them a rock group wouldn’t be accurate. Rich, sometimes poignant lyrics layer over the band’s aggressive metal sound and combine with a bit of groove rock and thrash metal. With topics such as love, loss and heartache, it would be easy to write the lyrics off with a "been-there-done-that" attitude. But a closer listen to songs like "Letter of Letters," which was written during Ramey’s tour of Iraq [Army] and speaks of a man who has made peace with death, reveals a surprising maturity.
A solid first effort, "Weight" served as a way to get all of Cynergist’s new material onto one disc so the band could grow and evolve on its next effort, which members hope will take shape this summer.
"I think as we go we keep learning things," Ashbaugh said. "The five of us all bring our elements to the table." And this weekend, the band will bring a few more elements to the table, namely three other bands from the Kokomo scene, which will all play at Tail-Gators Bar & Grill on Saturday.
"Yeah, we designed this show as our buddy show." Ashbaugh said with a laugh. The members of Fighter Down!, Rotovox, and Zero Hour have enough history that putting on a show together could feel like a reunion for a bunch of friends. They play in each others’ sets and lend each other equipment ("Last time George from Fighter Down! borrowed my cymbals, I got ’em back cracked, beaten and covered in blood," said Jimmy) and they are all in it for a night of music with energy, aggression and a whole lot of guitars.
The next project for the group will likely be an outdoor show at an all-ages venue in Kokomo, before they head back into the studio to lay down more tracks for the next album.
By: Erin Shultz, [friday] Editor, Kokomo Tribune
*****************************
CYNERGIST-
Cynergist is one band that you can tell puts their heart and soul into each song that they write. Vocals come across the strongest in this band.
I was amazed by the empowering lyrics that are written by this band. The lyrics touch subjects as positive anger, war, strength to overcome anything and personal improvement.
It is refreshing to find positive lyrics like this in their type of progressive music. Each member of the band has different styles, but that does not effect the outcome of the music.
The guitars flow relentlessly through each song with a strong precision. The whole band provides the necessary backup to the standout vocals.
The first cd, "Weight", encompasses everything great about this band. Their live show has been described as powerful and very entertaining. That is not hard to believe with a listen to their music. Cynergist have a style all their own and its a great thing to sit back and enjoy. Check them out!
By: Metal Mark (TargetAudienceMagazine.com Spring Issue ~ April 2008)
