Local metal band shares a positive message and loves making music

Looking for a band that will “rock your socks off?” Well, local metal band These Shores of Safety loves making music and sharing a positive message with its fans in their hometown of Lovell.[caption id="attachment_6652" align="alignleft" width="430"] These Shores of Safety members Jacob Price, Koty Johnson, RJ Flores and Kenny Grant performed at the Oasis Aug. 3. Not pictured is Aaron Flores.[/caption]Band members include Koty Johnson on vocals and Kenny Grant on guitar, both from Lovell, Jacob Price of Cowley on bass and RJ Flores of Powell on drums. The band has also added Aaron Flores, also from Powell, as their second guitarist and backup vocalist.The band has been influenced by other bands such as We Came as Romans, Jamie’s Elsewhere, Of Mice and Men, Memphis May Fire, In Fear and Faith and Our Last Night.The band mostly writes their own songs, but also cover other songs from other bands.“They cover music, but they’re starting to build and do their own songs,” band manager Ashton Dickson said.When asked what their favorite song to perform is, Johnson said, “’The Ghost Inside.’ This song is about overcoming your personal fears to achieve your goals.”The band performed at the Oasis in Lovell Saturday with other bands such as local band Leaver, led by Enrique Sanchez, Live Out Love and Verities.“I was impressed,” Johnson said. “It turned out pretty well. I would like to thank everybody for coming out and keep supporting.”“It was phenomenal,” Aaron Flores said. “The feedback from the crowd was stupendous. It was a great show.”How the band startedThe band started performing shows last summer with only three members: Johnson, Grant and Price. At that time the band was known as We the Fallen. But then things started to fall apart.“We brought it back up and started playing some more,” Grant said.Later on, the band brought in RJ Flores from another band called Closure and played a few shows, then bringing in Aaron Flores as a second guitarist.“They’re back and better than ever,” Dickson said.OriginsGrant started playing the guitar when he was a senior in high school. “Last summer was when I found out I wanted to make music,” he said.Price started playing bass six months ago after formerly playing drums for the band.Aaron Flores has been playing guitar since he was 11. “I’ve been playing for seven years. It didn’t take long to get the instrument down,” he said.RJ Flores has been playing drums ever since he was little.“When I was little, I played with my dad,” he said. “Then four years ago, I started getting serious with the drums.”“I started messing around with vocals my whole life,” Johnson said. “When I was in We the Fallen I started getting serious with vocals and singing.”When asked about how he feels after a show, he said, “I feel fine. The first time when I didn’t use the right technique, my throat didn’t feel good. After I started using the right technique, then it stopped hurting.”The futureThe band is in the process of writing and recording demos and is also planning on making music videos in the future.“We have one song that will hopefully be done within the next couple of weeks,” Johnson said. “We also have a demo CD that will be out this fall.”These Shores of Safety has a Facebook page where they can post where they will be performing next and who they may be performing with while they are at a location.by Sam Smith