Not too many people from small towns have ever had the opportunity to record an album in a recording studio, but for two local Fruita Monument High School graduates that experience is just one of many the have expierenced.
Back in the summer of 2009, Ben Lohle and longtime friend Brandon Ruckman formed the pop/rock group The Summer Soundtrack here in Grand Junction. Lohle and Ruckman, traveled to Denver to recruit members, and then moved back home to GJ after finding three they thought were a great fit.
“There’s been a lot of member changes,” Lohle said. Currently, the band consists of Lohle on vocals, and Ruckman and Shawn Langley on guitar. Both Lohle and Ruckman collaborate on  lyrics.
“Ben and I started writing, and we’ve wrote the majority of the songs,” Ruckman said.
Although The Summer Soundtack started out locally, they’ve had the opportunity to travel all across the country touring and playing shows. They’ve played in Denver, Nebraska, Ohio, New York, Boston, and all across the Midwest and the East Coast. The band’s biggest show was in Salt Lake City, with over 500 spectators present. The Summer Soundtrack is also planning on touring this summer.
“California is our next stop,” Lohle said.
A huge accomplishment for the band was spending two weeks recording their first EP this past June in Colorado Springs.
“We recorded a five song EP called ‘This Love’ with Brad Knight in The Bakery Studios,” Ruckman said. Their EP is available on iTunes, Amazon, and wherever else you can find music online.
“We definitely want to record more,” Lohle said.
On top of having the opportunity to record an EP, the band has also landed a sponsorship with Vitamin Water, and has toured with bigger bands such as Breathe Electric and Let’s Get It. However, the band’s successes are closely rivaled by its fair share of obstacles and mishaps.
Ruckman, a Mesa State freshman has had to find the balance between school and playing with the band.
“For a long time I had to take off school to do the band, but it’s pretty manageable,” he said.
Some of the biggest obstacles for The Summer Soundtrack is the difficulty of finding shows to play.
“It’s kind of tough to play local shows because Mesa Theatre is closed until construction is over,” Ruckman said.
And since losing their bassist and their drummer a few weeks ago, touring and playing out of town shows is currently difficult without a permanent member lineup.
“Expect a show in the near future,” Lohle said.
Although the band is currently without two key members, the remaining members are doing what they can to find permanent replacements.
“We are recruiting members, go to our Facebook page and send us a private message and upload a video of you playing one of our songs,” Ruckman said.
Ruckman said future plans for the band include touring more, getting permanent members and management and just keep progressing.
“We write songs all the time,” Ruckman said, “It’s a matter of coming up with money to record them. An ideal goal is to put up a full album on a record label.”
Whatever obstacles come their way it goes to show that passion and persistence are the Summer Soundtrack’s greatest allies.