Written by Alexis Faye. 

The anxiously awaited first EP “Sometimes It Rains” from Huntington’s own Creek Don’t Rise will be released on Friday, March 23, 2018. The album follows an extremely busy and successful 2017 for the band, which describes its sound as a combination of blues, rock, and soul.

Creek Don’t Rise consists of Marcus Oglesby on vocals, Jerry Brooks on lead guitar, Rebecca Harrison on bass, and Hogan Bentle on drums. I got to have a conversation with Jerry about the EP itself along with pretty much everything Creek Don’t Rise.

Alexis Faye: So first off, let me ask how did CDR come to be?

Jerry Brooks: We met on Tinder. But really though, in January of 2015, I was at the V-Club for the Huntington Blues Society’s monthly meeting and due to car trouble, I ended up staying late and catching some of the open mic crowd. I saw Marcus play and ended up connecting with him on Facebook not long after. We debuted the band as a duo in April. We picked up Rebecca later in the year while she was playing some gigs with Holly and The Guy and Hogan has been with us since late last year, but probably a third of the shows we play are still just me and Marcus.

AF: What about the band name? How did you pick it?

JB: We chose the name Creek Don’t Rise because we felt like it really reflected what we were trying to put out there, it reflected the style of music we were making, some Appalachian blues, soul, and elements of rock.

AF: What was the first show you played together? What was the reception like?

JB: Our first show was Porch Unplugged in Huntington. We played as a duo, doing some covers and a few original. I feel like it had a good reception. There were a lot of familiar people there.

AF: What is the band’s creative process like?

JB: As a band, we will work out arrangements, tempos, stylistic embellishments. But they begin as just acoustic guitar and vocals with Marcus.

AF: How do you feel about how heavily musicians rely on social media?

JB: It can be a really positive thing just based off the fact that if it weren’t for social media and Facebook, me and Marcus probably would’ve never connected and this band wouldn’t have even happened. On the other hand, there isn’t enough focus on the real world. Everything is mostly done through Facebook events, there’s not enough actual promoting happening, like when people used to hang up actual flyers or do radio promo. It’s just a constant challenge to stand out with Facebook events and other bands.

AF: What would you say your biggest challenge as a band has been?

JB: Over the past three years, its really taken some time to get all the pieces to line up. From finding serious band members to commit to our schedule to just really refining the sound and what we’re doing. We’re finally at a point where we feel prepared and ready to play bigger stages and venues. A major obstacle we’ve faced is just getting the stuff out there, getting it heard. Our biggest obstacle currently is just cracking into the next level.

AF: You guys played a lot, a lot, of shows last year. Can you pick a favorite?

JB: Yeah absolutely. We played the Chautauqua Festival last year in Virginia where we opened for the Marcus King Band and that was a really great opportunity. It was also just fun to get to talk guitars and gear with him.

AF: Do you have a favorite venue to play?

JB: The V-club in Huntington, no question. We really love the vibe there, it’s just a great venue overall.

AF: What about other local bands? Who do you guys dig?

JB: It’s a broad spectrum. We like stuff like Chocolate 4-Wheeler, Laid Back Country Picker, Sean Whiting, Qiet, Tyler Childers, Chris Sutton, Tony Harrah, there are so many more.

AF: So tell me about the EP ‘Sometimes It Rains.’

JB: Well, we started recording it in December of 2016. The guy recording us, producer Eddie Ashworth up in Athens [Ohio], donated studio time for a flood relief benefit in 2016 and we bid and won. We ended up recording a song with him then just decided to do the whole thing [there]. We finished that up the next fall. It’s just really something we’re all proud of. It was our first time working with a producer, he had a lot of input and really good ideas and just kinda brought out the best in us as a band. We’re gonna have the EP up for streaming, digital download and of course we’ll have physical copies too.

AF: Is there anything else you wanna say about the EP?

JB: It’s good! Buy it! But really, we’re all really proud of it.

AF: What’s next for CDR?

JB: We plan to spend this year playing as many shows as possible, in as many states as possible and hopefully doing more festivals.

AF: Any special acknowledgments?

JB: Oh definitely the Huntington Blues Society for being a major catalyst in making this band, Eddie Ashworth for all of his work on the EP, Freddye Stover, Dorris Fields, and everyone who donated to the Indiegogo campaign for the EP.

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If you’d like to catch CDR live, they will be performing a couple of songs at the Huntington Blues Society Presents show at the V-Club on Wednesday, March 21. The full show will run from 7:30 p.m.-10 p.m. They will also be headlining a show at Bobby G’s Past Times in West Huntington on March 28. That show will run from 8 p.m.-11 p.m. and admission is free.

To purchase a copy of “Sometimes It Rains,” contact Creek Don’t Rise through there Facebook page HERE.