BIO

BIOGRAPHY It wasn't supposed to happen, but it did...

As a blend of today and yesterday's sound of Hard Rock, TWOTONRHINO energizes and delivers.

Established April 15, 1994, TTR began rehearsing as a four-piece band that slowly evolved into that of a power trio. The band is fronted by Jay Cascio (vocals and bass), with Mike Hollis (lead guitars) and Megan Williams (drums) filling out the rest of the lineup.

The band began as an alternative rock band with edgy sound effects blended into music that was played in sometimes-unique time signatures. As time progressed, the band found its true identity within its own honesty and slowly began playing a more streamlined hard rock sound. Says Jay - "We never really understood what kind of band we were. We never gave the thought of 'identity' any consideration until just a couple of years ago. It took us time to understand that, but it's something we didn't know we had to understand for quite some time. If we knew it sooner, we may have progressed quicker. The band, through experience, just learned to be honest about itself, and our honesty is best revealed in the harder, grinding sound of hard rock."

Perhaps the best factors that influenced TTR where the long list of musicians that have been part of the band over the last few years. "We never found a stable drummer for the band until Richard Hutchins came along in 2000, but even he had moved on to different aspects in his career and could no longer go through the bump and grind of touring. We worked with almost roughly 5 or 6 drummers before him."

The last couple of years alone saw the band go through the most significant changes in the lineup to date. Longtime guitarist Moshe Yosef exited the band in February 2002 - just two weeks before Mike Hollis joined the group as lead guitarist. Richard Hutchins decided to pursue a career as a studio musician in addition to a couple of commitments he had with 2 other projects and last performed with TWOTONRHINO in May 2002. Megan took his place in August 2004 after TTR worked with a couple of other drummers before her arrival.

Mike's influence on the band has been profound to say the least. His sound made a huge impact on the music and his band philosophy is refreshing. "Sometimes he'll fret over material and sometimes he'll just let it flow naturally. He never, never loses his mind. He never creates stress, he never allows himself to be stressed. His attitude and approach to music is just amazing."

And how about Megan? "She's focused and meticulous in her approach to the drums. One of her strengths is her desire to exhaust every available avenue of creativity before settling on certain beats for any given song. We've never worked with a female as part of the band before, and I have to say, she's the best drummer we've jammed with since the bands' conception. I'm the luckiest musician in the world to be working alongside both her and Mike. Things couldn't be more sane or stable in the band nowadays."

Jay's own bass style is largely influenced by the sounds of hard rock and rap music from way back when. "I had an eclectic taste in music dating back to when I was just a little shit in the world. At any given time, you'd find a mixed cassette in my radio with both Guns and Roses and RUN-DMC on it. Sometimes it would be Def Leppard and Public Enemy. My preference in music always bounces back and forth." His vocal style is similar to those same influences, but possess it's own unique edge. "When I first started singing, I had no clue to what I was doing. In time it finally came to me. I learned to be more candid in my approach."

In it's own time, TWOTONRHINO has been praised as one of the best energetic, hard-hitting, melody-oriented bands by many professionals within the music industry. Their style of grooving beats, fluid bass sounds, unique guitar riffs and deep aggressive vocals is truly one of a kind and makes them stand out from the rest of their peers from within the genre of Hard Rock. Their eclectic catalog of songs bounce back and forth from hard and intense to upbeat and vigorous - complete with pulsating guitars, steady rhythm and intimate lyrics.

Their music is radio-friendly and their approach to the stage is electrifying. What once started as a band with no expectations to one with all the expectations in the world - TWOTONRHINO continues to revel in its longevity. On the musical road in which they travel, there appears to be no end in site for them.

Look for the release of their new EP, "FOUR", in June 2005.