Indiana Boys embrace new album

In 2004, the band the Indiana Boys was a loose concept — different musicians flowed in and out of the group on a consistent basis.

Each time, however, one man stayed at the center. Dick Gist, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, began pulling in the rough edges of the group, along with Kenan Rainwater, another vocalist and songwriter.

Now, the band has five stable members: Gist, Rainwater, Joe Bolinger, Barry Todd and Dan Bilger.

“The music business is multi-faceted and can absorb more work per band than a Sham-wow chamois,” Rainwater said. “It really comes down to making a living at what I enjoy, where I enjoy myself most. There is no telling what the future holds for this band.”

After years of searching for the right guys for the band, Gist and Rainwater finally created the current Indiana Boys.

“Everything you do in life has been inspired by something,” Gist said. “We all came from very different backgrounds, and music brought us together. Hearing each others’ stories inspired the songs we play.”

Todd, also one of the founding members of the Indiana Boys, plays the mandolin and occasionally provides vocals.

Keeping the group’s sound together as its “rock-steady” bassist, Bilger holds up his end by playing the guitar, mandolin, keyboard and violin.

Bolinger, who joined the band after being asked by Rainwater, plays the banjo, writes songs and occasionally does back-up vocals.

“The Indiana Boys have existed, in some form, since 2004,” Bolinger said. “After finally getting pulled together, we’ve had the great opportunity of being a band for a little over a year now.”

The Indiana Boys recently recorded its first album, “Muddy Boots,” and plans a release party for it at the Muddy Boots Café in Nashville. The album was named after the café.

“We have one cover on that CD,” Bolinger said. “The rest are all originals. We each wrote songs, so I would say that we contributed at least two apiece. We went into the studio and recorded it right before Christmas where we had a solid week of recording and editing, but we got it done. Now, it’s ready for its spring release.”

Funded by the Muddy Boots Café and recorded at Farm Fresh Studios by Jake Belser, the album is to be released on March 16.

“We’re gonna try to get as many people as we can to listen to it,” Bolinger said. “We all have family and job commitments, so we aren’t planning on trying to go national with this or anything. We just want to make a name for ourselves in the area. We’re trying to be as professional as we can by doing shows in and around Indiana, and we hope that the CD will be enjoyed by a lot of people.”

Though sales of the album might bring some profit to the Indiana Boys, they said what they really play for is the enjoyment the music brings.

“Who knows what the future holds for us?” Gist said. “Honestly, if we don’t make a lot of profit from the album, it’s not going to bother me. All I can ask for is to be happy playing music and enjoying every moment of being in the band.”