MySpace a place for friends

What do you do when you’re the guitarist for one of the most successful unsigned bands in the Mid- and Southwest, your best friend kills himself, and you realize that the reasons you play music simply aren’t enough anymore? The answer: you shake things up and find the difference between what you have and what you really need. Such was the case when Rescue Signals’ singer Beau Tyler left the band Upside in the summer of 2006.

  “I didn’t really know what to do next,” recalls Tyler.  “Should I keep playing music, or should I hang it up?  At 21 years old, I knew that quitting wouldn’t be the worst mistake I had ever made. I decided that if I was going to stay in the game, it had to be for something more than personal glory.”

  Tyler stuck to these convictions, and only one year after leaving Upside, he formed Rescue Signals under the following guidelines: to be the most fan-based band on earth; to be a cure, not a cause; and to give people something to believe in.

  Once he had a mission in place, the task was left to find a very rare set of musicians who could aid in the conquest of this goal. In an age where being in a band often isn’t much more than a popularity contest or having the best hair, this would prove difficult. Over the next year the final lineup, however, was secured with the addition of bassist Michael Marhefka, and drummer Bryan Nicholas.

  “Even though the majority of our debut album had been written by me before the arrival of most of the members,” says Tyler, “Rescue Signals didn’t come to fully realize itself until the final lineup was in place.  I think my vision has brought out a better side of each member, and their brilliance has brought out the best in me.  None of us could ever be as successful without the other. It’s a beautifully terrifying situation to be in.”

  Fan involvement, the thing Tyler considers most important about the band, proved to be an easy task and one that has been embraced fully.  The band’s forthcoming album, “Indecisions,” was named via a fan contest on the band’s MySpace page, as was a still-unreleased song, “Sing To Me,” which was available for download for only a short time to fans.  The band has also enlisted their fans to design t-shirts for them as well.  An early Acoustic Living Room tour proved so successful that Rescue Signals hopes to take it on the road much more widely in the future.  They’ve also offered RS-TV (Rescue Signals TV) to fans, which includes behind-the-scenes glimpses into touring, rehearsal, and special twice-monthly acoustic performances (completed wherever possible – dressing rooms, hotel rooms, etc.), during which fans could request songs.  Already the band has ideas for many additional ways to involve their fans in their world online.

In only 18 months as a band, Rescue Signals’ mission has proven to be solid. They have already signed a record deal with Rock Ridge Music, racked up an immensely loyal following everywhere from Dallas, Texas, to Lincoln, Nebraska, and played with countless national acts such as Anberlin and Quietdrive.

  So what can we learn from this band?  Sometimes you have to burn your life down to start over. Sometimes you have to believe in yourself, before you can believe in something better.

Rescue Signals is: 
Beau Tyler (Vocals, Guitar, Piano)
Bryan Nicholas (Drums, Loops)
Mike Marhefka (Bass, Piano)
Noah Galaviz (Guitar)