Riley Stanley and his brother, Austin, were born and raised here in the Tampa area. They attended St. Stephen Catholic School in Riverview and Riverview High School, where they met Ivan Echeverry through the school’s chorus program.
“Austin and I both took theatre and music lessons at Theatre and Dance Alliance in Lithia, where we met Jivanni Grasso, whose mother taught Austin and I piano,” Riley said.
The four men joined forces to create The Outlanders, which is a local up-and-coming band.
The Outlanders had a few different lineups initially with friends coming and going, filling different roles.
“We bought most of a 1980s drum kit for $50, got a few used guitars, purchased some amplifiers off Craigslist and started to learn how to play,” Riley said. “When the final lineup of Austin, Ivan, Jivanni and myself came together, we knew we had something special. Each one of us prefers a different style of music and it is fun to use them all in our songs. For example, Jivanni’s love of progressive metal riffs mixed with my Beach Boys-style of songwriting has created an interesting new sound that can hopefully be enjoyed by a broad audience.”
The recent COVID-19 pandemic was the influence behind their new single, Don’t Do That.
“This is the first of four singles that will come out over the next few months,” Riley said. “We think it is a fun, upbeat mix of old school alternative/pop sensibilities and the strong rock sound. We’ve been told that we wrote a 1980s song with classic 1990s guitars about a 2020 topic. I think that’s accurate. We recorded our new single, Don’t Do That, in St. Pete in late July of this year, right in the middle of the COVID-19 lockdown. COVID-19 was an overwhelming presence in the process. Wearing masks and being socially distant isn’t the easiest way to write and record music, and that frustration is clear in the song. We understand that the restrictions are in place for a reason, but we felt like voicing our irritation with it all.”
Before the pandemic hit, the band was playing shows at various venues in the Tampa Bay area.
“Back in February we played every weekend in Ybor and even had the amazing opportunity to play at the Crowbar opening for a major touring act, but then COVID-19 forced all the venues to close up in early March,” Riley said. “This gave us a chance to write and record, but we have missed performing live. We don’t have any shows on the schedule yet, but we are in discussions with some venues and booking agents in Tampa and Orlando, so hopefully we will have dates set soon.”
The Outlanders will have three more songs coming out in the near future.
To learn more about The Outlanders or check out some of their music, visit www.outlandersband.com.
