Same State

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Founded in 2008, Same State is an alternative Christian Gospel band, relying on jazz, heavy metal and percussion to spread the Holy Word around. Hailing from Kansas City, Same State consists of Dalton Diehl, Darren Harms and Ryan Lytle, on the vocals, guitar and bass respectively. There is an entourage providing sound mixing and other percussion but the essence of Same State lies in the trio who consider spreading Biblical phrases their calling in life.

Background

As incredible as it sounds, Same State initially started as a college worship band at the Mid America Nazarene University, in Kansas, where Diehl, as worship leader, took it upon himself to ensure that there were drool-worthy songs at the choir. He initially collaborated with mates, Darren Harms and Blake Leoni to create Same State that performed exclusively at college during their sophomore years. Leoni had to quit in order to join as a pastor at a community church, while he got replaced with Ray Wyatt and then Ryan Lytle, who remained with the band throughout.

After playing it safe for the three years in college, Same State decided to test waters at the music genre and released a single ‘Hurricane’ in 2011, which was opened to rave reviews, a huge applause and critical acclaim. The debut peaked at no 33 on normal Billboard ratings and on number 13 at the Christian Gospel Billboard ratings.

Encouraged with the response, the band went ahead and created an entire album ‘The Alignment’ that had many other singles, out of which ‘Shadows’ released in 2012 became a craze with the youth. Though it did not substantially peak on the radio and Billboard, the song seems to grow on the listener and is declared as moderately successful, on account of the various copies sold across the world.

It is not high profile lyrics, foot-tapping music and overwhelming vocals that make the band tick. Rather, each of their song is very simple, focuses on hope and the dream of a bright future, and God’s love. Diehl has to say this about his entire Same State experience, ‘God has chosen this calling for me. Though I was drawn to it initially through School, the University was just a medium for His blissful communication.’

Each of the members of Same State grew up in various environments and all that cultural ethnic has added to the versatility of the band. They tour extensively too, and recently were a part of the Family Force Tour, with several bands. If you’d like to know how to access their tour schedule, take a look at their online portal.