A hard hitting 5 piece Hard Rock band. WINCHESTER REBELS were formed in August of 2009 in the small beach town of Santa Barbara, California. Singer, Nick Hunt and Bassist, John Livergood, had the idea of assembling a group whose sound would echo some of the great hard rock bands from the ‘90s, while encompassing an original sound all their own. While working at a local motorcycle shop, Hunt and Livergood came across local rider and guitarist, Nick Fitzgerald, who was also looking to expand his musical horizons. A phone call by Fitzgerald to Santa Ynez Valley childhood friend James Longoria (Guitarist) and Barry Carter (Drums) completed this new and exciting ensemble. The name Winchester Rebels came to be from a similarly-named canyon road in Goleta called Winchester Canyon that would serve as the divide between the beach community of Santa Barbara where Hunt and Livergood live and the mountains and country of the Santa Ynez Valley where Fitzgerald, Longoria, and Carter resided. We are “Rebels” because we don’t let people tell us what we “should” be playing or wearing or acting. Maybe we are ahead of the rock movement or behind, but who’s to say. We play what we like and feel and that’s why we are Winchester Rebels. FAST-FORWARD 3 years into the project, WR has played some great shows in Los Angeles at The Roxy, The Viper Room, in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Hotel and one epic outing for The Red Bull Grand Prix on Catalina Island. On their debut album “Three Sheets To The Wind,” Winchester Rebel’s sound has been favorably compared with influential ‘90’s-era bands Alice In Chains, Danzig, Stone Temple Pilots and others. The guitars are heavy and the drums are hard-hitting, the vocals on WR tunes such as “Private Angel,” “Down,” “Loaded Gun” and “Flying” inspire and carry the melodic sound of a band that demands to be heard. Winchester Rebels are a band on the rise whose time to shine is rapidly approaching. Nominated for Rock Album of the year for 2012 by The Los Angeles Music Awards as well as Male Vocalist of the year for lead Singer Nick Hunt, It’s not a matter of if for these guys – but when.
