When Ricochet officially formed in 1993, core members Heath Wright and brothers Junior and Jeff Bryant wanted to find musicians with whom they could get along.
"We tried to find personalities that fit with ours," said Junior Bryant, the band's fiddle player, during a phone call from Glasglow, Mont. "We looked for guys who could play and sing well, but we also thought about riding in the bus during tours."Last year we toured for 300 days," Bryant said. "When you're in a bus for that long with 13 other people, including the crew, it's tough. And if we were in a bus with people we couldn't get along with, I could see where that would get nerve racking after a few shows."
Luckily, the nerves will be intact when Ricochet plays at the Salt Lake Community College's Alder Amphitheater, on the Redwood Road campus, 4600 S. Redwood Road, Tuesday, Aug. 5. The music begins at 7:30 p.m.
Wright (vocals/guitars), Junior Bryant (fiddle), Jeff Bryant (drums), Greg Cook (bass), Eddie Kilgallon (keyboards) and Teddy Carr (steel guitar) - collectively known as Ricochet - have been surfing the wave of success the past couple of years.
Ricochet's self-titled debut garnered praise from music insiders and fans to the point the band was nominated as Top Vocal Group and won Top New Vocal Group by the Academy of Country Music. In 1996, the band was named Group of the Year by Radio & Records magazine's reader's poll, which was subject to votes by program directors, music directors and air personalities across the country. The band was also Billboard Magazine's No. 2 new Country Artist.
Rocochet's new album, "Blink of an Eye," is a certified Top 30 release.
The fiddle-slinger said the band takes the awards and recognition in stride.
"Winning the ACM award really blew us away," Junior Bryant said. "Here we were the new guys looking up to all those country music greats, and they honored us. It was really exciting. The band is lucky that we're all doing what we want to do. And the recognition just makes us want to work harder."
The Bryants were introduced to music through their parents. Papa Jim Bryant played keyboards for Roy Orbison and Waylon Jennings. Their mom was a bass player.
"We couldn't help but not get excited about music with all the instruments around the house," Junior Bryant said.
When it comes to making music, he said there's a fine line between what the band wants to do and what the fans want to hear.
"While we pretty much make the type of music we want to, we always keep the listners in mind," he explained. "Because a song really isn't complete until someone hears it. And if there's no support, we have no job. The fans are a major segment of our jobs."