2C plans to rock Main Street

By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Local band 2C plays at Relay for Life on June 3. They will be playing downtown next to Security Federal Savings Bank this Friday beginning at 7 p.m. (Charles W. Johnson photo)

The younger crowd better be ready to thrash Friday as alternative rock and punk band 2C takes the Main Street Live stage at 7 p.m.

Comprised of area residents Nathan McMinn, Brandon Black, Cotey Tanner, Jeremy McMinn and Bryan Brown, the band’s signature sound is a mixture of metal and punk, with some of the songs derived from Christian influences.

Band manager and drummer Brandon Black stops shy of characterizing the band as a Christian rock band in order to stave off any stereotypes of Bible thumping.

Although band members are proud of their origins after getting started at church camp almost a decade ago and have Christian values, Black said the band would like to be able to break into a mainstream circuit one day without having those limitations in the music industry.

In any case, those in search of a metallic fix might be pleasantly surprised to find such talent right here in McMinnville. The core of the band has been together since they were teens, with Tanner and Brown joining the band two years ago. They play original songs inspired not necessarily by religion, but by life.

“Basically, our music is about life in general and things people go through – divorce, drugs, hurt in general and life – pretty much what everybody goes through,” Black said. “I guess we relate to our listeners through our music and cause them to say, ‘I feel that’ or ‘I know what they’re talking about.'”

Musically, 2C, short for Second Coming, is influenced by sounds produced by bands like Coldplay, Creed, Linkin Park, Foo Fighters and Switch Foot.

“It’s in-your-face, high-energy, non-stop adrenaline,” Black said.

With all band members in their early-to-mid 20s, they may be young, but they are also no strangers to the stage, having toured the United States about six years ago. They also have a CD out that is available locally at Hastings or at their Web site, www.2conline.com. Within the last month, they have been booked for several performances and played locally June 3 at Relay for Life.

Black says a goal is to get signed with a major record label someday, a goal that developed after playing together for so many years.

“We just kept on and on and now, it’s more than a hobby,” he added. “It became a passion. We just kind of kept the magic of playing together.”