In the fall of 2012, Georgia Southern students Andrew Brantley, Nickalous Benson, LeeGuentert and Kyle Russell established a mutual interest in creating and performing their own music, and decided to come together and form the band known as The Orange Constant.

The majority of their early work was composed inside one of their homes, and in order to help muffle the sound of their rehearsals, they covered the windows with egg crates which refracted sunlight and consequently engulfed the room with a constant orange glow, hence the name The Orange Constant.

In the spring of 2013, the band introduced Will Goggans on bass guitar, and began touring around the state of Georgia shortly thereafter. The band began a transformation, releasing an EP in 2014 and quickly broadening their horizons as a result.

In a span of just three years the band has evolved from a local attraction to a sharp and refined group with a full-length album and plenty of opportunities to perform at venues all across the southeast, including a recent debut performance in the state of Alabama.

“We’re looking to be a full-time touring band by this time next year,” said Andrew Brantley, lead vocalist and guitarist.

Although the band’s members are quick to acknowledge their own distinct musical tastes and backgrounds, they cooperate within an open-minded framework and always encourage input from one another. The band carries a tremendous amount of respect for the legends of the industry, but rather than imitate those legends, as flattering as that may be, prefer to interpret the great works of others on a level which allows for natural creativity as a response to that influence.

The band members take additional considerations, not only in terms of what has worked well for others, but also for what hasn’t. They spend time reading biographies and have taken note of external and internal factors, such as drug abuse and egotistical personal conflicts, which have led to the demise of other bands.

Their style of play is difficult to contextualize in terms of a specific genre due to its diversity, but it’s a bit of a mix between psychedelic and jam band rock n’ roll, with a clear integration of jazz as well as the blues. Drawing influence from super-groups such as The Beatles and Phish, The Orange Constant look to synthesize an upbeat and uplifting rhythm with insightful lyrical content in order to provoke a multitude of positive emotional reactions.

This style of play drives their success in live performances; while the music provides for a pleasant and kinetic atmosphere, the lyrics offer an opportunity for the band to send a message.

Their live shows maintain a fair balance between original content and unique covers of classics such as Mary Jane’s Last Dance and I Will Survive, as well as contemporary hits like Pumped Up Kicks.

With three of the four members having recently graduated from Georgia Southern and one finishing up, The Orange Constant’s future endeavors depend entirely on the aspirations and pursuits of its members.  When asked about the future of the band, they responded simply by saying that they are taking it as far as they can.

Given the immense level of support from their family and friends, an expanded touring schedule including a rooftop performance in Athens, Georgia as an encore to Umphrey’s McGee (a progressive rock band with an online fan base of almost half a million), and a debut album recorded with Grammy nominated producer John Keane (the former engineer for REM and current engineer/producer for Widespread Panic), they appear to be headed in the right direction.

The Orange Constant’s aforementioned debut album, Time to Go, is available on streaming services Spotify and SoundCloud, with MP3 digital downloads and physical copies of the album available for purchase on their website.

For a chance to see them perform live, stop by Gnat’s Landing’s annual Halloween Bash on Saturday October 31th.