Local band of Rockwall High grads releases album

(ROCKWALL, TX – Feb. 10, 2016) Rockwall continues to show why it’s considered the “Music Capital of North Texas,” with local band Lasting Effect having just released its first ever album “Drift Away.”

The band of four graduated from Rockwall High in 2012: Brandon Leavell, lead vocals and guitar; Christian Pearce, guitar; Wesley Switzer, bass guitar; and Collin Hill, drummer and backup vocals. Leavell says the album consists of a mainly pop-punk sound similar to popular bands of the genre like Green Day, Blink-182 and Yellowcard.

“The album features a lot of upbeat pop punk music, and there’s also a couple of slower acoustic songs just to show a different side to the band,” Leavell said.

Leavell got the idea to form a band in 2010 when he was working at Chick-fil-A and saw a poster advertising aBattleof the Bands event atRowlettHigh School. He got together with Christian and Collin, and the trio learned a couple of Green Day songs. Later, he invited Wesley to join the group as a bassist.

The pop-punk/metal sound of the band comes from an assimilation of different musical influences, with Leavell being heavily influenced by pop/punk bands like Green Day, which he credits for getting him into music, and drummer Collin coming from a metal background and influenced by bands such as Avenged Sevenfold and Disturbed.

Leavell added that the album’s title track is a good representation of the band as a whole, one of the reasons why they chose to name the album after it.

“For me personally, when I wrote ‘Drift Away’ I had a really good feeling about that song,” Leavell said. “It describes the band really well, so that’s why I wanted to base the album off that one song and make it the title track.”

The album is available at the band’s website, lastingeffectofficial.com.

By Austin Wells, Blue Ribbon News staff writer.

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