BIO: EGO
Ego is a solo project by Ernest Grice.  Ernie is a life-long songwriter/music veteran who has found a love in recording and producing music.  His love for music started at the ripe young age of 4 when he first heard The Beatles. He taught himself to play guitar at the age of 12 and can play many instruments; although he considers himself to be a master of NONE!  Fast forward and his musical tastes, influences and abilities are vast and diverse!  Over the years, Ernie has played in regionally successful bands in the Midwest (Sahara Jack, Haphazzard, 89 Mojo) to name a few. He has played in front of thousands of people and opened for critically acclaimed acts.  That was then… Now, his passion is writing and recording.   For his sophomore album, EGO: ERNEST ARIAN, Ernie wanted to record an album that had a classic rock/alt-rock/indie rock/power pop rock flare and pay tribute to his influences.  The GOAL of this album was to strive to search for the perfect hook and write and record a rock opera.   He partnered with his long time songwriting buddy Grant June (89 mojo) and Nick “Rad” Radovanovic (Skies fall Studios) for this monumental task.  For his “Rock Opera”, the goal was to write a 10 minute + song, with different keys/different tempos/different time signatures, blend several songs within the song seamlessly together and tell an Epic Tale while paying tribute to those who have done this before (Queen, The Who, Meatloaf, Led Zepplin, David Bowie, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Radiohead).  The result is “Feast of all Saints”.  This song tells the tale of the Antichrists journey in Revelations from a first person human perspective.  At this juncture in his musical journey, Ernie is happy to trade the cheers of the crowd for the solitude of his home studio, which consists of a supped up Apple computer and some AMAZING software. 
     
Influences – QUEEN, RADIOHEAD, Beatles, Stones, The Who, Bowie, ELO, Zepplin, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Peter Frampton, The white stripes, Ray LaMontagne, Portishead, Butch Walker, Marvelous 3, Elvis Costello, Jeff  Buckley, Fun., Jellyfish, Rick Springfield, Spoon, Sponge, The Strokes, The Ramones, The Clash, Vampire Weekend, STP, Velvet Revolver, Will Hoge, Gavin Degraw, Foo Fighters, Fall out Boy, The Black Crowes, Billy Squire, Hall and Oates, All American Rejects, Ted Nugent, Neon Trees, The Killers, U2, Bon Jovi, INXS, Kings of Leon, Lenny Kravitz, Maroon 5, Muse, Dr. Dre, Nine inch Nails, P!nk, Guns and Roses, Spacehog, Iron Maiden, Dio, The black keys, Meatloaf, Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Patty Labelle, Marianas Trench, Oasis, Dashboard confessional, The doors, Elton John, Billy Joel,  Greenday, Kenny Loggins, Harry Conick Jr, Ray Charles, and the list goes on and on….  You name it and he’s got it, loves it and has dissected it! 







While bands usually require an element of compromise between its members, solo projects allow a musician to fully express their vision and draw from all facets of their life to make a representation of themselves in musical form. Take Stephen Lacy Sullivan, guitarist in post-metal band Alluvion and former drummer in Virginia sludge metal band Lord - his eponymous solo work is several steps removed from the aforementioned bands. Drawing from indie, gospel, and lo-fi electronica, the upcoming début release under the new name* showcases Sullivan focusing in on his faith on Portion in the Sky.
Lead single “Testimony” starts proceedings off on a relatively mellow note, pairing playful guitar work influenced by Townes van Zandt against the uhn-tiss of electronic drums, and Sullivan’s own strained tones on top. “I’ll disappear in your glory tonight,” he delivers in a melodic drawl, as one of many choice lyrics touching on Christianity throughout the record.
As we move further into the record, certain left-field elements emerge unexpectedly - turntable scratching in Lady Erin, unconventional percussion in “Within Reach” - but the cherry on the surprise-laden cake is the dark “Consuming Fire”, where tortured synths resemble screaming, and Sullivan practically snarls in his delivery to match the fire-and-brimstone style sermon that is chopped up and remixed into the meat of the track.
Portion in the Sky is a new chapter in Sullivan’s musical development, and one which will surely pique the interest of those who enjoy such genre-melding exercises - if 90s indie meets lo-fi electronica is of interest, then these 20 minutes are absolutely worth your time.

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