The Standard

Issue date: 11/3/09 Section: Features

A popular social connection helped jumpstart the local band known as Storyline.

"We got started by Ashley shooting me a MySpace message," Storyline's drummer Geno Valloni said. "Bryant, Zack and I's previous project had disbanded, and Ashley was just coming off working on a solo album. Though the three of us guys weren't actively looking to start a new group, I met with Ashley and we decided to start working on some songs to see how things would go. Obviously things turned out great."

Storyline, whose music has been compared to Jimmy Eat World, Kelly Clarkson and the All American Rejects, have sparked success throughout the musical community.

The band agrees that other music triggers their inspiration, and working together is key.

"Musically, our inspiration comes from ideas that are spurred from listening to other artists whether it's past or present," Valloni said.

"Lyrically, our inspiration comes from our day- to-day lives and things we all go through as individuals and as a band. Right now, Bryant is the sole writer of the music, and Ashley and I share duties when it comes to writing lyrics and melodies."

Since forming in the fall of 2008, the group has won Best New Artist at the Agape Music Festival in May 2009.

In June, the band released their debut album titled Welcome Home, which features songs produced by Stephen Christian of Anberlin (Universal Republic).

However, personal recognition of their success started to set in when they were given the opportunity to open for national recording artist Relient K in July 2009.

"That was probably one of the first major stepping stones we had as Storyline," Valloni said.

Their achievements can also be attributed to their love of music.

"We each have a passion for music and have incorporated music into our lives in some way before we ever came together as a band," lead singer Ashley Pratt said. "Ever since we formed a year ago, we have accomplished more together than we ever did apart, and it has been amazing how many opportunities and how much success we have had in just a year of being together."

Their success keeps expanding as their music branches onto the television scene. In July, the band was approached to provide the theme song for a locally aired show on Mediacom Channel 231 called "ALUMNI," which aired Oct. 24.

"We were really stoked about the opportunity to be the theme song for "ALUMNI," Valloni said. "Basically the way it went down was we were approached by the producers of the show, The Erwin Brothers, via our booking agency and they asked if we would be interested having the song be the theme song for the show. They sent us a couple episodes to watch and we were immediately hooked and excited to be a part of what they were doing."

Storyline's popularity continues to spread, with 2,000 plus plays a day from their 70,000 plus fans on MySpace. The band plans on traveling to New York City to attend the PurePop 2009 Showcase. They will perform for prominent industry representatives such as MTV, Disney, Universal Records, Sony Music, Jive Records and more.

"Overall, our goal is to play great music that everyone can enjoy," Pratt said. "And since we are a positive pop rock band, we hope to send some positive message through our music. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to be known on an international level. We each want our music to be a lifetime career."

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