Graham Colton Band to play B-town

Rarely do bands from out of town make an impact on the local Bloomington music scene, but recently one Dallas band has been making waves.\nThe Graham Colton Band, a group of four young musicians from Texas, is returning to Bloomington Saturday to open for Sister Hazel at the Bluebird nightclub after performing there only one week ago, Dec. 2, with Edwin McCain. This stop in Bloomington will be its fifth since first playing with Counting Crows at the IU Auditorium in October of 2002, and the members said they couldn't be more thrilled.\n"We are growing pretty fond of Bloomington and all that it has to offer," said lead singer, and band's founder, Graham Colton. "We are starting to see the same faces, which make it fun, and it makes us feel like we are among friends."\nThe band's sound combines alternative rock with strong vocals. It's led by Colton on vocals and guitar, Jordan Elder on drums, Ryan Tallent on bass and Brian "Turtle" Turton on lead guitar. \n"I was never really a fan of the Graham Colton Band before," said junior Bridget Fallen. "But the set was tight and the band was on the mark. IU's bar scene is lucky they're coming back next weekend."\nColton began his first tour outside of the Dallas area after two years at Southern Methodist University when Counting Crows asked him and his band to be part of their university tour. Although he said his early departure from college is a downside to touring, Colton jumped at the chance.\n"Touring is kind of like my college experience, and although it sounds cheesy, my band is like my fraternity," Colton said. \nHe said IU students have made visiting Bloomington lots of fun by being very friendly and taking the tight-knit band to Kilroy's on Kirkwood after their shows.\nThroughout their many visits, Bloomington has quickly become a favorite of the members of the Graham Colton Band. Colton said they enjoy meeting as many of their fans as they can after their shows. \nThe band's popularity has been growing larger on IU's campus since the highly attended Guster concert at the Phi Delta Theta house during Little 500 of last year. Senior David Rifkin coordinated the performance, and worked with the Creative Artist Agency to add the Graham Colton Band as the opening act.\n"One of the major reasons why (the band) did so well here is because their music covers a wide variety of people and they really fit the criteria of what blows up here," Rifkin said. "If someone is into hard rock they will like it and if someone is into pop they will like it too. Anybody who hears them immediately goes, 'wow they're amazing.'"\nColton said the band's sound can be compared to many other popular college rock bands such as the Wallflowers, John Mayer and Maroon 5 -- all former touring partners Colton's band.\n"We take a little piece of every band we've toured with and it has turned into our own sound," Colton said. The band members said they hope to concentrate on building up a large fan base with its new album, titled "Drive," and their Saturday performance at the Bluebird is the next step. \n"We're in for the long haul with this album," Colton said. "We hope it takes us a lot of places and to Bloomington a whole lot more." \n-- Contact staff writer Lindsay Dewitte at ldewitte@indiana.edu.