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Soul Doctor

Keepin' On

Tire Fire Revival

Led by country music renaissance men Joe Zelek and Matt Heusel, the Rust Belt Kings are poised to bring "the uplift" to modern music fans. A melting pot of country, rock, folk and funky music influences, the new group has a sound that channels some serious good vibrations. "That's what we're all about, you can feel what we like to call 'the uplift' in the music," said Zelek who has split time between the Nashville, TN country scene and his Mt. Pleasant, OH hometown the last few years.

The brand new Rust Belt Kings band came about after old friends Zelek and Heusel reconnected over breakfast at a local diner and quickly realized they shared a common goal: to combine their love of good 'ol country music with other beloved influences such as twin harmony guitars via the Allman Brothers Band, funky soul licks of the kind once laid down by "The Colonel" Steve Cropper, acoustic-driven roots rock a la "Scarecrow"-era Mellencamp, all the while not straying too far from honky tonk heroes like Haggard and Waylon.  "We like all the good stuff, wherever it is you find it," said Heusel.

Co-writing proved almost effortless to the pair.  They quickly carved out six fresh songs with Zelek's burnished acoustic and vocal sound center of the mix and set out to put together a "dream band" of sorts to expand on their diverse new creations.  JZ's longtime friend and seasoned rock-driven guitarist Kelly Jones proved the perfect counter to Matt's loose, soulful six string style.  Groovy bassist Scotty Harkness from Matt's prior band The Trainjumpers was next on board and after a jam session with mutual friend and super funky drummer Alex Peck...Rust Belt Kings was born.

New single "Tire Fire Revival" pretty much sums up what the band is all about: down-home lyrical themes, country twang, some rock'n'roll soul, with one heck of a groove. Enjoy good people!   


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