VOICE MESSAGE
LOCATION
Dallas, TX
GENRE
Christian & Gospel
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Addison Road
Addison Road’s self-titled INO Records debut is proof enough that great things happen when people put their heads and hearts together toward a common creative goal. In fact, the Dallas-based pop-rock band was ‘invented’ on the fly in 2001 when then dating Baylor students Jenny and Ryan Simmons (now married) were offered $500 to ‘bring their band and play’ for a large Disciple Now gathering. The only problem: Jenny and Ryan didn’t have a band.
But $500 was a great motivator. So Jenny and Ryan pooled some student loan money, snagged their friend Ryan Gregg, who played in another band, recruited Travis Lawrence to play bass and tapped Jeff Sutton to play drums. With barely a rehearsal under their belts, this rag-tag group of fledgling musicians played that $500 gig, and by the time school was out, necessity’s invention found the doors of opportunity wide open.
“To be honest, when we started, we didn’t really know what we wanted to say,” says lead guitar/vocalist Ryan Gregg. “It’s been a really long process… at times very frustrating and intense, a refining process. But God’s opened our eyes to what He wanted from us…Some of the best songs came in the last two weeks in the studio…”
In music and in community—online or on the road—Addison Road takes that call to action seriously, as enthusiastic supporters of Village of Hope in Uganda, a ministry to women and children ravaged by poverty and AIDs. Through Mocha Club, the band raises funds and awareness for this ministry. “We’ve always believed that living beyond ourselves is essential. One of the first things we did as a band was look for an organization that we could get behind as part of our mission, to use what small influence we might have to encourage others to reach out,” Ryan Simmons says. Addison Road hopes to travel to Uganda in the near future to experience Village of Hope community in real time. In the meantime, this band of podcast-loving, worship-minded artists will continue creating music born in the reality of life infused with real hope—fulfilling the mission behind their music.