PureVolume

Members: Bobby G., Costas Likakis, & Phillip Tompkins

History
In August 2004, the duo of Bobby G. & Costas Likakis formed Graffik Nature. In May 2004, Bobby G. was the original drummer/vocals for the pop punk rock group Japan 4, with members Chris Wyman as lead vocals/guitar and Shaun Witriol bass/bkrg vocals. He decided it would be best to start his own group, after playing his first show, with his then band at the Recher Theater in Baltimore, MD. A year before, duo was calling themselves the Unusual Suspects, but had to change there name two more times when they discovered it was in use, before coming up with Graffik Nature with some of their friends.

In 2005, the newly named group began penning several songs and started playing open mics with various lineups of players at places like the former Mojo Room, 8x10, UMBC, and Blonde Shows. The band soon built up a small following at UMBC. The duo became a full band of five players by late 2005, consisting of Bobby G. lead as lead vocalist, Costas Likakis as MC/trumpet player, Phil Tompkins as trombonist, Ben Kaye as lead guitarist, Garrett Long on bass, and Aaron Kowitz on the drums.

They were making a name for themselves playing gigs at 8x10, Fletcher's, Red House Tavern, Mac's the Club, UMBC, Brass Monkey, and Towson University throughout 2006. In the summer of that year, they competed in Emergenza's Battle of the Bands. They ended up losing the first round, but scored very high that night among the judges, losing to Fools & Horses 49pts. to 44pts. However, they were asked back by the judges to play the semi-finals. By the semi finals in July 2006, the band began experiencing major difficulties with the rhythm section, which became even more apparent when the band began to record an EP. The breakdown came after the show with Bobby G., Costas, and Phil opting to leave the remaining three to go their own way and begin a new group.

Amidst the band's successful start, the tensions caused by the breakup allowed Bobby G. & Costas to finish up college and graduate with degrees. During the rest of 2006, the three pondered if they would ever pursue music again.

Phil Tompkins actually left the Baltimore area for West Palm Beach, FL in early 2007. He shortly came back several months later and started rooming with Bobby G in his newly bought house (purchased in 2006). All three began writing and playing again shortly after, realizing they missed the scene. Currently, they are writing new songs for their very first album and expect to hit the scene to promote it.

Reviews
Graffik Nature's sound is totally original. "It's like Linkin Park meets Sugar Ray"-quote from Power Chord Magazine ( Click here to read). Rob & Costas have managed to create a unique tradeoff between the vocals, while utilizing ska & rock feels from the other members to create their own blend of ska, rap, and metal. They have coined this new project as "skrap metal". Could this be the new face of ska music as we know it? The birth of a 4th wave?

Listing of collaborators for this project:
*Miguel Vasquez-Songwriter/Vocalist/Guitarist

Stay tuned for what's to come...like some new tunes, the demo, more shows, etc. Get Ready!!!
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