chasing layne biography

Below is the biography that I wrote for Chasing Layne. It's my first attempt at writing a bio, but I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. They were pleased with it; I hope you are, too!


Chasing Layne isn’t a band of boys you’d bring home to your mama, and they definitely aren’t boys you’d want to leave her alone with.

These rock n’ roll renegades have no regard for political correctness or even common courtesy, just like the true rock idols of times past. And like those real rockers, Chasing Layne plays music that’s raw, undeniable and just what you’ve been looking for to fill in what’s missing from today’s radio.

Hailing from Mt. Hermon, Kentucky, Chasing Layne’s roots show through in their music as a blend of southern undertones mixed with a strong reverence for the classics, plus their own modern rock interpretations. It can almost be guaranteed that Chasing Layne doesn’t
sound like any band you’ve heard lately, and that’s just the way they like it. 

“In rock today a lot of people have a problem with just letting the music be music,” says guitarist Justin Myatt. “We don’t worry about a song being radio-friendly or becoming the next single. This is rock n’ roll, and it doesn’t have to be a perfect 3-minute sound bite; it just has to be natural and powerful.”

If the music itself wasn’t enough, seeing Chasing Layne command a venue during their live show is a spectacle not soon forgotten. It is a firestorm of diatribes and offenses hurled from lead singer, the marvelous one himself, Chris Clines, into every direction. He may be
out of control, but couldn’t care less, and neither does the audience. 

This reckless disregard is echoed in the music. Songs about strippers, the devil, a Hoodoo priestess, and filthy minds in general are a staple of their set list, but to show their softer sides and appease the ladies they also throw in a few “panty droppers,” as they have coined them, to which the whole crowd sings and sways along. At any given point in the show, the music will either have the crowd head banging, dancing, or just standing at attention to the honest lyrics of Clines meshed with the rhythmic thumping of the bass by Evan Harper, old school guitar styling’s of Kevin Groce, mesmerizing hair-slinging and guitar picking of Myatt, and thundering groove on drums by Chase Blakely.

With the  release of the aptly titled Sin and Regret, the boys of Chasing Layne feel like they are onto something with this, their second album.

“We have really been able to take our time with this record and come together as a band,” Myatt says. “We meticulously crafted the songs and tried a lot of different things. Our writing has dramatically improved and so has our level of musicality, and the production is top notch.”

This group of loud, aggressive and in your face rock n’ rollers have already had spots on the bill with national acts such as Cold, Nonpoint, Drowning Pool, and Black Stone Cherry. With the completion of Sin and Regret, Chasing Layne plans to hit the road and make a name for
themselves that puts them at the level of those bands, and beyond.

“We’re coming for you,” said Clines, “In your mouth or for your children. But mostly for your ears. Don’t even try to escape from the Layne.”