Playing raucous, strutting hard rock with a classic sense of style and a contemporary sweat and swagger, American Bang are a four-piece band from Nashville who prove there's still room for rock in the world's capital of country music. American Bang were formed in mid-2005 by members of two busted Nashville rock acts; lead guitarist Ben Brown and drummer Neil Mason had worked with Llama, who released an album for MCA in 2001 that largely fell on deaf ears, while lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Jaren Johnston played drums with the Kicks, who released an album for TVT in 2004 before splitting up. Johnston has been writing songs after the collapse of the Kicks, and invited longtime friends Brown and Mason to help him put them into shape; teaming up with bassist Kelby Ray, the four friends began playing Nashville rock clubs as Bang Bang Bang, and were packing 300-capacity venues within months of their debut.