“Rusty Shipp sounds like Nirvana trying to play a Beach Boys song right after hearing Dark Side Of The Moon.”
“Lyrically, the song illustrates the band’s potential at creating more philosophical material about nature and destruction.”
The New album from the Nashville-based nautical rock n’ roll band Rusty Shipp is one of their most ambitions endeavors to date. After the success of 2017’s Mortal Ghost and band transitions that left singer Russ T. with an entirely new lineup, the new crew is stronger than ever, mixing hard rock and grunge with those nautical surf vibes that we all know and love once again. The new EP, Liquid Exorcist, is as driven and promising as ever.
Manning the helm of the Shipp and the man responsible for the nautical rock n’ roll subgenre itself, Russ T. finds himself most at home when exploring a new soundscape or finding just the right twists and turns to put into his haunting yet movingly lifting lyrical melodies. Russ T.’s obsession with songwriting sprouted from a love of the Beatles, but grew into a way to reach people and connect in a way he never thought possible. The more the band has grown, the more this has become apparent, and that only helps to fuel Russ’s already fiery obsession even more.
See the guy on stage, shredding on the flying V? Yeah, that’s Eli, along with his pride and joy. Starting with an acoustic at 11, Apperson quickly found his true love just a year later with a flying V he still carries around as a backup—a few years later he made a transition to the cream-colored V he rocks today. He’s definietly a rocker through and through, with some of his licks on the new album taking inspiration from the likes of Children of Bodom’s Alexei Laiho; but don’t let that fool you—Eli cut his teeth on old bluegrass licks and blues progressions, going to jam night after jam night to hone his skills. That, added in with a few EDM-based side projects of his own, makes the Dap App an aresenal of creative sound-force, and one that helps complete the sound of the Shipp.
From banging on pots and pans as a toddler to middle and high school band to angsty teenage garage bands and now now rocking out with dangerous and nautical intent, drummer AJ has always had a taste for the finer things in life—if you were to define “finer” as “anything percussive,” that is. On top of his affinity to loud and violent noises, AJ has also been known to possess a kind and gentle soul, along with enough elbow grease to perpetually keep his joints in well-working condition until he keels over behind his set. His work ethic is always the same, whether he’s on stage, in the studio, behind a laptop, or going all-in to be the best husband he can to his loving and supportive wife, Maraysa. AJ provides the backbone for the Shipp in more ways than just one, and everyone seems pretty happy with that.
Speedy was the last piece of the puzzle that Rusty Shipp didn’t even realize they needed. After going through a slew of bassists that all ended up leaving for their own respective reasons, the band finally found the Speedster, who was more that happy to come aboard with the rest of hte crew. As someone who’s had a passion for all sorts of music, he surprisingly didn’t pick up a bass until he was 16—at the request of his high school best friend at that (you know, the whole “let’s start a band” phase). He quickly found his home on the dad guitar, though he’s been known to foray into Eli and Russ’s six-string playing from time to time. In the meantime, he holds down the Shipp with a nimble and quick low end others can’t hold a candle to.
