“When I was born, I was completely blind, and while I can see now, I still have major visual issues and so music is a medium that you don't have to look at, you know? I can just hear it.”

That’s what drummer Stephen Russ had to say when asked why music is important to him, adding that it has been something he has loved since being a kid. The musician lived in Lexington from the ages of seven to 18, attending multiple schools within the county and attended college in-state at Anderson University.

Russ told the Chronicle that he first picked up a pair of drumsticks in fifth grade and from there, that was “pretty much it” in terms of what instrument would be his main.

Since then, Russ has been in multiple bands and has played across South Carolina, North Carolina and southern Tennessee. Now he lives in Washington D.C. where he met current bandmate Brian K.

Outside of playing himself, Russ is also a producer and has produced multiple albums with some being for The Restoration, Darby Wilcox, Timshel with Michael, The Prairie Willows and Caleb Caudle & The Bayonets.

The band Brian K & The Parkway have been together since 2021, and while their current members only include Brian and Russ, they are working on gaining more permanent members. 

When they met, Russ knew that Brain was talented and wrote “killer songs,” ultimately approaching him about doing a solo album.

From there, Brian sent Russ demos for what became the album and current muse for the tour, “Killing the Bear.” According to a release, the album's overarching theme is about “our ever-increasing inability as humans to deal with the source of our problems and instead, look to surface-level, near-term solutions, and then declare immediate victory.”

Russ elaborated on this, telling the Chronicle that the album name is also the title track and takes listeners through the story of a guy who has some problems and he thinks the way to solve these problems is to hunt this bear that's been causing issues. When he succeeds, the guy realizes that it didn’t actually solve his problem at all.

The album itself has multiple artists involved in making it, which even includes some Columbia musicians, adding that while they are trying to find some permanent band members, trying to find D.C. musicians around their late 30s or early 40s who want to go on tour are hard to find.

Russ shared that with the album, they did a majority of recording at home, mainly because they were keeping the album a secret, though the drums had to be done in a studio. That’s where  Zac Thomas comes in. Thomas co-engineered the album and works at The Jam Room in Columbia.

According to Russ, the Jam Room has an analog tape which allowed them to record the drums in a very distinct 70s style.

Other people who had a hand in the album included Justin Perkins, who mastered it, and Collin Derrick, who co-produced and mixed the album.

The album is set to come out March 29 with concert locations happening in Vienna, Va.; Charleston, S.C.; Durham, N.C.; Richmond, Va.; Silver Springs, Md.; Asbury Park, N.J.; Boston, Mass.; Brooklyn, N.Y.

According to a release, the album is a nine-song collection and is a nod to artists like Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Warren Zevon. The style is guitar-based, root-oriented rock and infused with soul and R&B. In the production of the album, both a piano and an organ played a critical role.

The release states that Russ and Brian dub the sound as “coastal heartland rock.”

Despite playing throughout the state, Russ has not played at either of the venues his D.C. band will be playing at, those being Tin Roof in Charleston and Curiosity Coffee in Columbia. While he hasn’t played there, Russ saw his good friend and fellow musician Daniel Machado play there. Machado, who is a professor at USC and a designer, created the artwork for the “Killing the Bear” album.

Machado and Russ actually attended multiple schools together as kids and teens.

“I joked with him that it could turn into the weirdest highschool reunion ever, which we'll see if that's gonna be the case,” Russ said. “We'll see who all actually comes out but it'll be interesting.”

Coming back to South Carolina will not be a new thing for Russ, as he told the Chronicle that he comes and visits quite regularly. Despite visiting often, Russ said that the Columbia concert is the one he is most excited about.

“There's going to be so many people there who I've known at various points in my life that it's going to be kind of overwhelming,” he said.