Band members work together on mutual interests outside of music

by Sara Kitchen
Vanguard Staff Writer

April 21, 2008 —

While it can be hard to keep a band together these days, especially when members have work and college commitments, Take The City manages to keep the music coming.

According to the band's lead vocalist, guitarist, and pianist, Matt Ferranti, the members' lives outside the band tend to help rather than hinder their progress.

"Believe it or not, our lives are very intertwined right now," he said.

Ferranti, bassist and vocalist Jake Bunting, and guitarist and vocalist Ken Lange all volunteer at the worship ministry at Bay Valley Christian Church where Ferranti works, while drummer Brandon Taets works at Lamb of God Fellowship Church in Montrose. The foursome uses their vacation time to tour when Lange, a marketing sophomore at SVSU, is not in school.

Since its origin in June of 2005, Take the City has gone through several member changes.

"Ken and I have always been the constant variable in the situation," Ferranti said. "We have been playing music together since the sixth grade."

Ferranti met Bunting at a school of worship in Colorado Springs. Bunting, an Illinois native, moved to Michigan in August 2007 and joined the band in September. Ferranti convinced Taets, whom he had also met in Colorado and played with in a previous band, to move eastward for a job opportunity where he could join the ranks of the band as well.

Ferranti describes the group's sound as a mix of "pop, piano, and rock," and relates it to bands such as Copeland and The Rocket Summer.

"The original stuff we write wouldn't be categorized strictly in the Christian genre per say, but at the same time, our lyrics and our music is very Christian influenced," he said. "While it's at our core, we're not marketed as a Christian band. Our songs are about girls, love, life, et cetera."

Take the City's first tour commenced from Dec. 26, 2007 to Jan. 12. They loaded up their van and headed out west for Colorado Springs, stopping and playing at multiple venues along the way. In Colorado, the band recorded its first EP album, titled This is It.

Bunting recalled one of his favorite memories from the tour.

"We had an awesomely bad 11-hour drive out to Liberal, Kansas, which is in the middle of nowhere, and we were all in bad moods when we got there and found out that no one was at the venue," he said. "It was just us and one other band, and as soon as the show was about to start, about 80 kids showed up in a town of only about 500, and they ended up buying nearly 40 shirts and some CDs."

"When we're not touring, we play all over Michigan," Ferranti said. The band has played in Bay City, Saginaw, and Frankenmuth at venues such as The Loft, White's Bar, and Fischer Hall.

Take the City's second EP album, A View From Every Window, is currently available, and their newest album is scheduled to go public at their CD release show May 30 at the State Theater in Bay City.

They also plan to continue touring this summer in June and August. Songs from their new record and upcoming show dates are available on the group's MySpace page.

Ferranti mentioned an upcoming show booked at the Loft in Bay City. "On May 10, we're going to play with two other bands that are touring from out of state: Brighten and Lydia," Ferranti said. "It should be a great show."

Upcoming performances:

  • April 30 @ 7 p.m., Res Life in Grand Haven
  • May 2 @ 8 p.m., The Loft in Bay City
  • May 3 @ 5 p.m., Lamb of God Fellowship in Montrose
  • May 10 @ 7 p.m., The Loft in Bay City
  • May 30 @ 7 p.m., The State Theatre (CD release)

For more information: www.myspace.com/takethecity

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