We looked up and it was raining...a band bio: Brave Tin Soldiers is a Chicago based rock/alt rock trio consisting of long-time friends guitar player and vocalist Pete Alexander, bass player Jason Kedsch, and drummer Patrick Szczypinski. BTS is much more than the preceding sentence can begin to describe. What began as a one man project by singer/guitarist/songwriter Pete Alexander in Phoenix, AZ in 2005 has since grown into an assault on conventional modern rock. Pete Alexander's unique voice, obsession with the art of the guitar, skills in composition, knowledge of music theory, and emotionally electrified lyrics form the core of BTS and were developed over many years performing, studying, and listening to music. Jason brings his classical training involving a strong focus on dynamics and concern of overall blending of sound together with great bass grooves and need to drive hard to help create balanced and thought out compositions of songs without sacrificing power. Patrick backs up the focus on dynamics and composition with a drive to hit harder where it's needed and relentless energy to truly kick some tunes where it counts. Nothing this band does is done without reason and this band actually thinks about their music. BTS is able to utilize the size of the band to their greatest advantage by allowing a good balance between melody and rhythm while not being repetitive or similar between instruments. BTS is also able to smash a barrier holding many trios and other small bands back by providing a sometimes surprisingly full sound such as you would expect from a band with a larger lineup. This is evident in both their studio work and, even more surprisingly, their live performances. Overall, the BTS sound is one where melody, dynamics, composition, lyrics, balance, and energy are all thoughtfully mixed to help create a modern rock sound as you would expect to hear from such bands as Muse, Stereophonics, and newer Radiohead while still being able to include sounds the members all grew up loving such as 90s grunge, rock, and alt. rock. The bass grooves, the guitar has unbelievable tone, and the drums wail. While BTS lives in a rock world, you should expect to hear sounds running the gamut from jazz to metal to rock (modern and classic) to classical music. “Words are beautiful but restricted. They're very masculine, with a compact frame. But voice is over, the dark, the place where there's nothing to hang on: it comes from a part of yourself that simply knows, expresses itself, and is." - Jeff Buckley