Royal Outsiders

You love being the first of your friends to discover new sounds and new talent – so The Chicago Lifestyle is introducing you to Chicago’s new bluesy-alt-rock band, The Central Standard. Formed just nine months ago, the band has already taken venues such as Double Door, Metro and Lincoln Hall by storm. On the verge of publishing their first album, vocalist Alex Garrison lets us in on The Central Standard’s history and inner workings.



While living in Indiana, vocalist Alex started writing music. He took the opportunity to be part of a Kings of Leon cover band, and met with a Chicago producer who offered them the chance to make a four-song EP. Paired with a guitarist, Alex would develop the lyrics and melodies, and they’d sync up to find a sound they liked. The songs are reflective of their lives, such as a snapshot of the age of 24 – living through post-college angst figuring out a world of structure and defining the next steps in life. One of their hit songs – Ghosts of Me and You – was written in a 15-minute flurry of creativity on an airplane.



With much room to grow, Alex started seeking out other talented musicians to fill out the band. Through friends and connections, the band The Central Standard is now made up of Alex Garrison on vocals, Steven Phillips on lead guitar, Manny Miller on rhythm guitar, keyboard and back vocals, Mike Bronk on bass and Jack McKee on drums. While each musician has a different taste in music, they have blended their styles to form a sound similar to Kings of Leon. Musical tastes include jazz, indie rock, synth, and finding a depth of sound by blending many different styles.



The Central Standard Band



“Our focus is on sounding great,” explains Alex, “and building our stage presence and energy. During our shows we feature our new music and throw in a few favored covers repackaged with our own sound.” Their chemistry as a band is deepening with every night on stage. The personalities are flowing together not only to put on a great show but also to come together in the creation of their first album, due out later this spring. They’ve each exposed their own talents and creativity in bringing together the best songs and sounds for the album.



What can we expect from the first album? “This album plays to our strengths – it has a catchy and approachable sound with several singles that fans will enjoy. The first half is high energy, with the latter half featuring an 8-minute jam track with guitars and atmospheric synth. The back half of the album is experimental, allowing us to show off our influences,” says Alex.



The Central Standard Band



The Central Standard is looking to engage with current fans and connect with new ones. They’ve been featured on college radio shows and their goal is to be featured on Chicago radio and television. With hopes to expand their influence beyond the Chicago market, The Central Standard appreciates Chicago as home. “There is a huge variety of music here – something to fit everyone’s taste,” notes Alex. “Chicago’s music scene is unique in that local bands can enjoy playing at great medium-sized venues that they wouldn’t be able to approach in other cities.” Their favorite venue so far? Lincoln Hall. Working with a great production company, Shoeshine Boy Productions, The Central Standard has opportunities to play with similar-sounding bands to open up their fan base. - The Chicago Lifestyle Blog

Stateside midwestern rockers Royal Outsiders are a riveting rock n’ roll that floor out vibrantly shrilling vocal amazings, fantastically flighting riff skies, ‘moving & grooving’ keyboard glows alongside ‘driving and thriving’ rhythm stardoms. They ‘absolutely thrill’ with their rock vibe and on that note, certainly has the potential in gearing excitedly the ear rock orbits of rock n’ roll/indie/alternative appreciators everywhere, ‘top rock n’ roll band’. - Forkster

"By the way, I pointed out last night that the lead vocalist of The Royal Outsiders reminds me a whole lot of Phil Mogg from UFO (hell yeah, that’s a compliment!) but further listening also reveals more than a smidge of Chris Robinson from the Black Crowes, too. He’s got “pipes”, in other words. Check them out and more new Chicago music on last night’s Local Anesthetic. Thanks for listening" - Richard Milne

Chicago based Royal Outsiders have released their new single ‘Against Your Soul’.

With a plethora of immense sounding riffs over a big vocal production, this track has an anthemic sound with a resounding chorus that is instantly likeable. As the guitar solo glides over the heavy rhythm, it is one of those songs that makes you want to hear what else the band are capable of and certainly leaves you wishing you could hear a lot more.

Royal Outsiders formed in 2014 from the ashes of The Central Standard and since then have begun to make waves in the Chicago music scene. With their new single, the band are about to make waves a whole lot further afield. The band will be releasing their debut album ‘Neither Here Nor There’ in October so they are definitely ones to keep an eye out for. - Rock And Roll Creations