April 2005

Louisville Velocity
April 13, 2005
Between Two Lions is Three Best Friends
by JOSHUA HAMMANN

There's not much clamoring out there for a one-man band.

It's tough to walk with that bass drum on your back, and well, clapping cymbals between your knees will never beat out a steady rhythm.

So Brent Engle recruited two of his best friends to turn Between Two Lions from a notion in his head and a collection of songs nobody had ever heard into a legit band.

Engle, along with drummer Eric Moore and bassist Todd Corley, have been playing and performing under the name Between Two Lions since late 2001.

All three guys, and manager Scott Estes, grew up together in New Albany.

In 2001, the three had been called Thieves, and included guitarist John Stein. Stein, however, moved to California in 2003.

It wasn't until the band was whittled down to a trio that it was able to play out.

Engle, Moore and Corley went into the studio about this time last year with Faulk Audio engineer Tim Haertel manning the board. As is the case with most young bands, money and studio time were short, so the band had just a week to record a nine-song EP.

"It was as much fun as playing out, if not more so," Engle said of his maiden voyage into a real studio. "It gave us time to be creative together, and it was a good experience for us."

The self-titled EP is nothing more than gentle, guitar-driven pop. Engle's voice, especially on "Thieves," is warm and intimate, and artfully takes the lead over his clean guitar lines and a steady, bouncing rhythm.

"Our sound has evolved a little bit," Engle said. "We were looking for the folk-country flavor in the beginning, but it's something a little more poppy and gentle now. It's basically pop and roots rock."

"The plan right now is to go back into the studio this fall," Engle said. "We have an enormous amount of new material to record. Hopefully, we'll have something by the end of the year to shop around. That's our goal right now."

Until them, you can check out Between Two Lions live April 27 during the Roots of Rock Battle of the Bands at Jillian's.

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