Biography
Music at its best can move, unite, and inspire. It can tear down walls and build unbreakable bonds. That is the idea that forged tHe CoNStAnT; a Los Angeles based Hard Rock Band whose members came together from different worlds to create music as intense and powerful as it is intimate and timeless. The Music Connection describes tHe CoNStAnT as “a unique amalgam of classic, prog, glam and metal -- every inch of which rocks” and this has never been more apparent than on their latest release Sometimes Things Just Happen - a collection of 13 dark, lush, emotionally and musically intense songs that explore the universal themes of love, devotion, frustration, and loss.
tHe CoNStAnT is lead vocalist David Reed Watson, guitarist Frank Yanno, bassist Brian Rutkin, and drummer Oleg Shlyahov- all of whom come from wildly varying backgrounds. David- the newest member of the band grew up the oldest of 7 in a small New England Town, while Frank was the youngest of 7 in a blue collar family in Upstate New York. Brian comes from a middle class family in San Francisco, while Oleg grew up in a coal mining town in The Ukraine. “But what unites us” Frank says “is a shared passion for music and songwriting and a love for musicianship and its execution.” David explains, “We grew up listening to the same bands- Zeppelin, Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Rush, and later discovered STP, Radiohead, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden- you can hear all of these influences in our music.”
Oleg and Frank started tHe CoNStAnT in the midst of turmoil. “When I first met Frank, he was going through a painful divorce,” Oleg confesses “but the music he was writing was undeniable. We made an instant bond that transcended beyond just being musicians. We are brothers.” During this time they wrote and demoed off a huge catalogue of songs- many of which are on the Sometimes Things Just Happen (and the band’s next release Lost in the Everyday due out later this year). This bond grew stronger when Brian and eventually David joined. “It was trial and error for each of us before we found each other,” adds Brian “but from that moment we knew this was exactly what we all wanted. We’re family.” Besides playing all of the major clubs in Los Angeles, tHe CoNStAnT has played several clubs in San Francisco and even traveled to Moscow, Russia playing in front of 10,000 people at the Save Our Tomorrow Concert held in Gorky Park. They landed in the top 10 out of 700 bands in the Emergenza Worldwide Battle of the Bands and have written and recorded songs for Movies and Television. tHe CoNStAnT has always supported charities by performing at events including the Walk for Life, and most recently played an acoustic set for a woman who has twice survived Cancer and whose Hotchkins Disease just went into remission. They plan to release the single “On Christmas Day” later this year with all profits going to the Research and Treatment of Autism.
Sometimes Things Just Happen is an electrically charged album with a sense of darkness and hope. The mixed emotions of defeat and dedication are palpable in the single “Marigolds,” a powerful ballad with a huge hook about having to trust the one you love to the care of others. At the same time, a profound sense of loss and denial pour like blood from a wound in “November 17th,” a guitar driven song about reliving and regretting a break up. And the pounding rhythms and wailing vocals in songs like “Single File,” “Papercuts” and “Bash It Up” echo feelings of frustration and overcoming what life throws at you.
tHe CoNStAnT is finding their audience by playing their heartfelt, intensely personal and accessible music anywhere and everywhere they can. Plans for regional and nationwide tours are in the works, and their live performances will bring in more and more fans who like smart music served up hard and heavy.
Member History
David Reed Watson (Lead Vocals)
Born in North Adams, Mass
Formal Training- Served in the United States Marine Corps, Majored in Music at Cape Cod Community College and Community College of Denver, Attended the Film Actors Television Workshop for Acting
Worked as a Charity Worker and Fundraiser for Amnesty International and Greenpeace
Lead Singer for Philosopher, Fallen Innocence, Levay, Cold Fusion, Toenuckle, Fauxpas, Justin Case, Liquid, Sol3, Balance, Shallow Man Down, Iambic Pulse, Revvise, Revolution Red
Performed and Recorded with Taso Broufas, Shawn Needham, Chad Whiting, Burning Life, Chris Melekyan, Blue Bullet (UK), Chris Sundive (UK), Phil Boyd (UK)
Graphic Designer for several National Advertising Firms, Medal Winning Mountain Bicyclist
Brian Rutkin (Bass Guitar, Vocals)
Born in Palo Alto, Ca
Formal Training - BS in Music from Tufts University; studied under Geoff Stanfield (Pieces of Lisa, Black Lab), Daniel Roest, Hershel Yatowitz, Tony Steinmetz
Engineer, Session Artist for Hiphonic Records
Bass Player for Audible Mainframe, Dennis White Band, Crashing Sun, Pete Hopkins
Recorded several Songs for Television and Movies
Oleg Shlyahov (Drums, Percussion, Vocals)
Born in Stahanov, Ukraine.
Formal Training- Universal School of 3 Corridors, Served 2 years in the Red Army
Performed and Recorded with Jerry Garcia Band, Valeri Gaina, Robert Braun, Terry Smith, Marty Holland, Bob Coons, Ed Ivy, Migs and the Pigs, Oleg and No Leg, Das Butt
Recorded several Songs for Television and Movies
Highly regarded as a star in the Russian Music Scene
Frank Yanno (Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals)
Born in Mt. Morris, New York
Formal Training- AS in Graphic Designs, BFA in Illustration from the Rochester Institute of Technology
Guitarist for Luther Braque, White Widow, Das Butt, Triphammer
Performed and Recorded with Phil Naro, Valeri Gaina
Worked with David Warman (Influential Developer of Midi Technology),
Opened for Y&T, Talas, Ronnie Montrose, Loudness, Keel, Radio Fee Europe
Owner Gossamer Studios Van Nuys, Ca. Producer, Engineer for tHe CoNStAnT, Against Empire, Greg Gomes Band, Gary Leslie, Chico Rey, Paul Bradley, Howard Lubin. Written and Recorded several Songs for Television and Movies, Written and Recorded songs for Kylie Yanno, Clive Hellshayde, Dustin Penrod
Featured Actor on Clean House, Clean House Comes Clean
Graphic Designer/ Album Artist for tHe CoNStAnT’s Sometimes Things Just Happen, Lost in the “Everyday”, The Letter, NINETIMESTEN, Darkly Sunny Days, Das Butt’s Happy, Spinman (self titled), Human Horse (self titled) Gary Leslie’s Just a Little Attitude
