Elton John, Sam Cooke, Flannery O'Connor, Captain Beefheart, Faces, Leon Russell, Ry Cooder, Howlin' Wolf, Joseph Conrad, Van Morrison, Otis Redding, The Band.
Sounds Like
With its slamming, spare garage rock streaked with grime, fueled by the go-for-broke enthusiasm of Ryan Thomas Becker and Grady Don Sandlin, this North Texas duo is steeped in soul. Appropriately enough, the pair’s 2007 full-length debut, The Both of It, was laid down live in the studio — and local critics have been falling all over themselves with accolades. --Preston Jones, DFW.com
Behind Sandlin's Watts-like backbeat, Becker's angular guitar work is raw and throaty, rooted in blues and punk but with the slightly twisted sensibility of Captain Beefheart… --Dave Sims, Dallas Observer
Ryan Thomas Becker play(s) his guitar in ways reminiscent of Calvin and Hobbes- absolute mischief and occasional mayhem in the form of rock music. --Sarah Crisman, MyDentonMusic.com
What a mighty, quirky noise comes from the Denton duo of Ryan Thomas Becker and Grady Don Sandlin! They run the gamut musically from rock to blues to twangy almost-country to odd pop and beyond... --Colleen Morgan, Metro ANE Magazine
If you haven't heard the oddly soulful RTB2, shame on you... Denton's Ryan Thomas Becker and Grady Sandlin can do more with a guitar and a drum than a lot of bands can do with four or five pieces... the duo somehow achieves a full-band sound, thanks to Grady Sandlin's slow, deliberate drumming and guitarist/frontman Ryan Thomas Becker's marriage of classic rock and soul. I don't think I've heard a more affecting vocal performance... whew. I need a cigarette... --Hunter Hauk, Quick DFW
The loudest duo in North Texas... RTB2 is clearly the one to watch here; if you haven't seen this duo's bl*es-r*ck live show yet, you really should... --Pete Freedman, Dallas Observer
...a forward-thinking duo taking some very old ideas and accelerating them into slightly strange but absolutely compelling directions. --Andrew Reilly, MadeLoud.com
RTB2 will build a song, destroy the whole thing, and rebuild it as you watch in some renewed phoenician form. He plays his guitar like it's made of water and sings like a stone skipping on a tumbling river. Get up in it! --Freddie Schulze, The Heartstring Stranglers
The single guitar and drum combination had a much more complete and full sound than one would anticipate, add to that the poignant vocals from lead singer Ryan Thomas Becker... their music is feverishly addicting, with Becker's outstanding guitar playing ability as the driving force behind the madness. Like a fine wine, the genius of Becker's guitar playing exists in the subtleties. It is dirty, and powerful, and also like a fine wine, will fuck you up bad! Your jaw will drop while watching this artist at work, stampeding across stage and creating the raunchy yet beautiful sound that has become this bands signature. Sandlin, on the drums, holds the act together, but just barely. At times, while taking cues from one another on stage, this duo will play itself to near oblivion, taking the meter way into the red before bringing it back down again with some soothing and soulful blues licks, or perhaps even a sharp bookend note that simply brings the turmoil to a screeching halt... they are explosive, they are soulful, they are incredibly talented, and most importantly they are passionate about their trade... evolution on the go... --Josh Hogan, MyDentonMusic.com
Ryan Thomas Becker drives this duo with slashing, blues-inflected, post-punk guitar work, propelled by Grady Don Sandlin’s MG’s-redolent backbeat. --Dave Sims, Paste Magazine
...a word as ample as "demonstrative" fails to encompass Becker's presence. His gesticulating, the frightening ease with which he plays, both wreckless and precise, his Screamin' Jay Hawkins-cum-verbose librarian. No one term can encompass all that. Becker's indefinable oeuvre rests solidly on Grady Sandlin's unflagging backbeat. Being in a living room with RTB2 is like being in a living room with a cyclone. --Richard Sullivan, Deep Ellum Sullie
Its like, he's sticking his indie stick into a bucket of art, and then painting a small dog and sending him on his way. --danny GARCIA, Oso Closo
Ya'll are like jalapeno jelly. --Rahul Basu, Kunsthaus
...a volatile duo from Denton, TX with a multi-disciplinary sound that spans across a vast musical spectrum.
From roots music to abstract progressive rock to soul to ambient soundscapes, you become contently spellbound with a colorful musical aftertaste by a sound much greater than the sum of its parts (live shows: vocals, guitar, and drums). Ryan and Grady intermittently played in bands together for seven years before developing this project. Birthed in 2005, RTB2 has released an EP and a full-length, and they have toured Texas and the Midwest. Their current release, The Both of It, was recorded live-in-the-studio by Justin Collins in Denton, TX and appropriately captures the sound expected from their live set.
New EP out July 2009. New live album out Fall 2009.
Recognition:
"Best Group" Nomination --Dallas Observer Music Awards 2009.
"Best Blues Act" Nomination --Dallas Observer Music Awards 2009.
"Big Group" Winner --QuickDFW's Big Thing Music Awards 2009. You could set your watch to a smile like that.
"Next Big Thing" Nomination --QuickDFW's Big Thing Music Awards 2008.
"Best New Act" Nomination --Dallas Observer Music Awards 2008.
Hey we have show tomorrow at The Annex House with Fishboy and Math The Band. We are going to play first and play at 10:00PM sharp.
Check out our video for Jason Bought A Hatchet. Hope to see you there.
Venue: Annex House
Cost: 5 Bucks
Time:10:00 PM
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