Ex Nations : Helping the Community One Song at a Time

What began as a project at J.K Royston’s home studio in Richmond, VA, turned into a much bigger idea once Josh Reich began to sing. Reich had the dynamic qualities that one would want from a lead singer, but the band wasn’t complete until drummer Taylor Hughes joined. As the three musicians began writing and working together in studio everything became exceptionally natural, but then it came time to decide what they would call themselves. “A lot of our songs come from the place that exists between breaking and healing,” Royston explained about coming up with the band name.

​“We’ve all felt like outcasts [...] Ex Nations just seemed to feel right.” It was unique enough to set them apart from the hundreds of new bands, but it also was a name that represented their sound.

Many musicians have the initial knowledge that they want to be on stage from a very young age. Royston, however knew he wanted to become a performer and songwriter when he was thirteen after attending a Stone Temple Pilots show. “The unique opportunity to share what you’ve created with other people,” was what drew him to the stage, Royston shared, “The give and take is just amazing! With this band [...] the transition from experiment to serious project started moving pretty quickly.” That shift followed listening to the final mix of their first track, “Found You”. Though, a first song can shape the recording process, Hughes owes it to reaching out of their comfort zone. “We find ourselves wanting to push the envelope a bit more and do things we wouldn’t typically do.”

Ex Nations are currently in the process of recording a new album and are hoping for an early 2016 release, if all goes according to plan. “The hardest part about making any record is setting out to exceed your own expectations.” Royston further explained, “We hold ourselves to high standards […] Our songs go through at least three or four versions before we feel like they’re vibing the way we want them to.” Creating music with the goal of having dynamics and soundscapes trying to beat their best is an art that will never be easy.

Though it’s not all about being able to create a perfect song, it’s also about connecting and giving back to the fans, which is exactly what Ex Nations is set out to do. They knew that if they could do something to help, then they absolutely should. “We decided that we wanted to use our band as a platform to give back to our community.” Hughes expressed how passionate herself and Royston are about raising awareness. Reich

expressed that he “would love to get involved with orphanages overseas and here in the United States.”

Currently one of the ways that they will be supporting their community is through their new song “More Than Four”. “Josh’s mom runs a Childhood Cancer Awareness blog and through her we learned that only 4% of federal cancer research funding goes towards childhood and young adult cancer research.” They decided to donate 100% of the proceeds from their song to the family of sixteen year old Abby Snider, who is currently battling T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia along with acute Pancreatitis. Royston expressed, “We wanted to do something to help a family who was fighting this terrible fight and let them know that they weren’t alone." From creating an accidental project, to helping the community, Ex Nations is now on the rise to giving music to those who support them the most. They are putting their name out, not just for publicity, but to create an impact within the music scene.

For more information on how you can join Ex Nations on helping the Snider family, be sure to purchase “More Than Four” on all your favorite music distributors or if you would like to donate a little more you can grab the track on ‘pay as you want’ format from their website www.exnations.com.

For more information about Childhood Cancer Visit Josh’s mom’s blog at http://staceyreich.hubpages.com/hub/childhoodcancerawareness