Drawing on diverse influences ranging from The Faces to Black Sabbath and Yes to Deep Purple, Barrie’s psychedelic outfit The Mystics say they will bow down to whatever sound the song deserves.
Their sound runs the gamut: “Classic rock, psychedelic and southern blues with some funk vibes,” lead singer and rhythm guitarist Josh Lucas tells BarrieToday.
“We are really focused on great songwriting and let the music reflect what the tunes need," Lucas says.
The band includes Lucas, Thomas Roy on lead guitar, Sean Worster on keyboards/synth, Alex Ruth on bass and Jeremy Hucking behind the drum kit.
Hucking rhymes off a long list of distinguished musicians that have helped pave the band’s collective musical path: Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac, The Who, The Guess Who, The Doors and the Beatles.
“I mean, the list goes on and on,” he says.
“We really like to draw our influences from classic rock ‘n’ roll,” Ruth chimes in.
The band officially formed in January, but really started to come together once Lucas joined the fray.
“Before our lead singer, Josh, joined, we had actually gone through numerous membership changes, so we were a band for about a year and a half prior,” Worster tells BarrieToday. “We were ready to go make a proper career of it and were looking for someone to take us to the next level.”
The band has a single, Desert Ritual, on local rock radio, which was released last Sunday, and there is also a video for the track on the group’s website.
The Mystics have a regular following at the Foxx Lounge in Barrie (“our friends and fans were screaming and we put on a kick-ass show,” Roy says) but for now, it’s onward and upward. They will be performing at the hallowed Horseshoe Tavern in downtown Toronto tonight, where they plan to perform Desert Ritual.
Lucas says the band is ready to take their show on the road and hit more and more cities with their sound.
“We will be playing with some great emerging bands and are excited to grow our value and let other venue owners and promoters know we are a professional touring band that pulls a crowd,” Lucas says.
The band’s next steps include more performances around Ontario and continuing to write new songs.
“Our main goal is to build a team as we continue to play shows, write tunes and put out good music,” Lucas says. “We are booking shows for a winter tour and are set to release an album in spring 2019.”
For more information on The Mystics, visit www.themysticsmusic.ca.
To hear Desert Ritual, click here or check out the video.
