From the quiet mountains of the California high-desert, this 4-piece assembly of artists known as Illumination Road is indeed, a rock band but also a collective of successful, dynamic creatives with their very own production world on a 140 acre ranch in historic Pioneertown.
Consisting of established songwriters, producers, multi-instrumentalists, filmmakers and engineers, the group is a new look at the modern way “bands” can create and exist. With their own production company, recording studio, record label, endless natural film sets on site and incredibly original talent they’re able to produce endless creative content from the comforts of ‘The Ranch’.
Lead vocalist, songwriter and guitarist, Chris Ayden combines the love of classic artists like The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Bob Marley with modern characteristics all his own. His truly soulful guitar playing and vocal style lends itself to emotional blues but with the aggression of new rock.
Producer, guitarist, bassist and engineer, Chad Shlosser has shared the studio and stage with some of music’s biggest names (Fleetwood Mac, Steven Tyler, Jackson Browne, and The Used, among countless others) and brings that level of production into the fold. It’s the Pioneertown Ranch that Chad calls home and hosts the studio where the band creates all of its catalog.
A multi-instrumentalist, Greg Cahill hails from the beaches of Southern California and brings a host of musical talents that has defined the sound of the band. He covers guitar, mandolin, Hammond, piano and Rhodes with a style all his own but hinting at his love for classic folk, Americana and soul.
Producer and drummer, Michael Johnson brings massive experience ranging from being a world-touring musician of platinum acts to producing records of all genres and scoring award-winning films. His style and creativity reaches across all mediums and shows during his powerful performances on stage and on camera.
The four call themselves Illumination Road and 2021 will see the launch of this new project with a hard-hitting first set of songs set to release in Spring alongside a collection of stunning music videos.
Visit www.Illumination-Road.com for all updates/releases.
Shlosser tells American Songwriter: "The Modern World" has been through a few production steps before we landed here. Chris [Ayden] and I had taken it from a very progressive rock type of track and attempted to simplify things and focus on the vocals. We then sat in the studio with our dear friend, Matt Sorum (Guns 'N Roses, Velvet Revolver) who worked on the arrangement with us which pulled the whole thing into focus. A bit more production and the addition of Greg Cahill on Hammond and piano and Michael Johnson on drums and we felt we totally nailed our sound that is now stretching across the entire album we're finishing up right now". Regarding the accompanying music video, he adds, "The video for this song came together really only because of our amazing filmmaker friends from Silver Sky. We had a rough concept in mind but they came in with the last minute vision and miraculously knocked out the shoot in a single day without sacrificing any artistic value. I think each shot is so provocative and beautiful and lends so much to what we were feeling with it. We're fortunate enough to have our home base be Escape Studios in Pioneertown, California (@escape) and wanted to showcase the beauty of this land that inspires it all so we shot the entire thing here. Shout out to the visionary, Rocco Gardner for that!"
