Local Virginia Tech product makes great music
Ryan Yemen, CT Features Staff
April 25, 2007
The Potentials are one of those home grown bands you may have seen downtown. Virginia Tech's very own Ryan Wagner is the lead guitarist for The Potentials. Juggling a career in music and aerospace engineering is nothing short of, well, ridiculous. What would you say if D'angelo Hall was about to get a degree in our engineering department?
Wagner's band, The Potentials, is a throwback to the good old days of rock 'n roll. Wagner and his bandmates have taken their admiration for the classical AC/DC and Led Zepplin and mixed it with their modern heroes, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots (you know the era). They're not punk, they're not emo, they're not indie. They're just good old-fashioned Reverend Lovejoy style "Rock and/or Roll." Wanger and his two bandmates, Benjamin David (piano and lead vocals) and Andrew Goodwin (drums) have just released their first professional EP entitled "A Whole New Brand of Hero."
"A Whole New Brand of Hero" is a modest release and features four of the band's newest songs. This isn't a mix tape or demo. It's a professionally produced album. All of the four tracks are remarkably well played, and The Potentials deserve more of our spotlight than they currently have. Songs such as "A Whole New Brand of Hero" and "Mayday" feature Wagner's quick and precise work and an old school feel with Benjamin singing much of the song through a megaphone.
The third track, "The Next Attraction" is the powder keg of the album. Together, Wagner and Goodwin provide an up-tempo pace with lots of energy. Wagner's guitar play is nothing short of surgical, and Goodwin provides a surge of energy with his work in the percussion department.
"A Whole New Brand of Hero" is a well-done album. In sports you always want to start and finish strong. It's no different in music. The Potentials open and close masterfully. The fourth and final track, "Turbulent Skies," is fine example of that skill. This song, along with "A Whole New Brand of Hero," features wonderful "Like a Rolling Stone"--like piano introductions. However, as with every good song, the meat is in the middle. The Potentials have done a good job fine-tuning their work to deliver a clean and polished product, a complex blend of solid percussion, wonderful guitarmanship and soulful lyrics.
So, how do you get to hear Wagner and The Potentials? Well, you could look him up and e-mail him about it. They were selling their EP for $5 at Attitudes a few weeks ago after doing a set. I'm sure the band would be happy to sell you a copy. However, easier than that you can listen to it on their Myspace (myspace.com/thepotentials) page pro-bono. The band is also in the process of getting their music available on iTunes. Of course, beyond that you could also just go see them play. When the Potentials aren't playing sets here, they also spend plenty of time in Fairfax. It seems as though half of this school is from the Northern Virginian neck of the woods; look them up.
Wagner and The Potentials are deserving of our attentive ears. Wagner's about to graduate from our beloved school as will many others. Pride comes from different places; it's about time we embrace it and support it.