Farmacy will fix you right up

KELLOGG — It begins with a howl, then the pounding of drums and shredding of a guitar, followed by the aggressive and guttural, yet still melodic voice of Ryan “Big Daddy” Gaddy.

That was “Silver Valley Wolfman.”

And this is the band, Farmacy.

In a little over a year, Farmacy went from an idea to being one of the most popular local musical acts in the area. Riding that wave of popularity, they decided it was time to release their first EP.

An EP, or extended play record, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single, but is usually unqualified as an album or LP (long play).

Entitled “Medical Grade Metal,” the record will have five of Farmacy’s most popular songs including the aforementioned “Silver Valley Wolfman,” as well as “Little Bit of Magic” and “Bitch Within.”

With a vast array of musical influences spanning all genres of heavy metal and old school rock, the band wanted their music to be something people could turn to in a time of need, similar to getting medication at a … wait for it … pharmacy.

Hence the name.

The band is made up of five members, Gaddy (vocals, guitar and keyboard), Selene Soul (vocals), Mick Madness (guitar), Gary West (drums) and Ron Chastain (bass guitar).

“We cure things with music,” Soul said. “Whether it be anger or you need to dive deep into a love song, something that will touch you. That’s what ‘Medical Grade Metal’ is all about.”

“We are your one stop musical healing shop,” Gaddy added.

While much of the band has experience playing in a smaller, more intimate capacity, Gaddy has spent some time touring with the American comedy punk-rock band Green Jellÿ (pronounced like green Jell-O), which gave him a quality look inside what makes a touring band successful.

Those experiences, as valuable as they are, pale in comparison to the importance of simply finding a group of people with a matching vision and work ethic to build a band from the ground up.

That hard work comes in the form of figuring out your niche and then putting yourself out there as much as possible, which Farmacy has done in spades.

Farmacy had headlined many of the smaller venues locally and regionally, they won the Pinehurst Days Battle of the Bands, and even moved on to being the opening act at some bigger shows in the Spokane area.

Their style is one that can’t be simply defined, because they don’t want it to be.

“We want to have a diverse style that appeals to a lot of people,” Mick Madness said. “We don’t want to stick to one style or genre, we want to appeal to all demographics. We want to be able to do anything we want to do. We are all really musically dynamic and who knows, maybe we’ll release a techno remix of one of our songs before too long.”

For now, they will continue their work with Kaotic Studios out of Spokane, the producers of the EP, on Medical Grade Metal and look forward to releasing it early next month.

“We will be having a release party next month on Nov. 9, at the Pioneer Lodge,” Gaddy said. “We’re going to have all of our merch there as well, so people can come grab a copy of the EP and a shirt while they’re there. It’s gonna be a real good time.”

That release party is at 8 p.m., but Farmacy will have a few shows prior to that, including the Halloween Party at the Kings Inn in Kingston, on Nov. 1.

For more information on the band, as well as the full schedule of their shows, visit the band’s Facebook page or visit their website www.farmacyband.com.