About OOR

 

Band Members

Gram Messer, Ben Messer, Matt McKee, Mike Harris

Influences

Jars of Clay, Audio Adrenaline, Matchbox 20, Stevie Ray, Van Halen, Mozart, Train, and so many others… we would get Carpal Tunnel just listing them.

History

Out Of Ruin formed in 2003 with brothers Gram and Ben Messer. Their first album, the e.p. “Black To White,” was produced in Nashville by independent producer Joe Mazza.  After touring as an acoustic duo around the southwest for a year, they went back to Nashville to record the “Dreams” e.p. with Joe Mazza producing once again. The album had a more acoustic/piano feel that was a natural progression from touring as an acoustic duo. They spent the next year touring all over the west coast with drummer Mike Harris from Nashville and bassist Matt Mckee from the bands hometown of Lake Havasu AZ.

Mike Harris was introduced to Ben and Gram by a mutual friend in Nashville, and after playing a couple shows together in Southern California, they decided to make him a more permanent member. The story of Matt Mckee’s induction to the band was a little more serendipitous. On the way to a local gig Gram said to Ben “wouldn’t it be awesome if we met a really cool bass player!” Ben hesitated and said, “not likely, but you never know”…knowing how hard it is to find good musicians in Lake Havasu! Well, God must really like Gram, cause that night they met Matt and formed an instant friendship with him. Not one to jump into things to quickly, Ben asked Matt to play something on the bass just to make sure he was good enough, and after he played for about 5 seconds, Ben was convinced.

The band spent much of their time on the road writing for their first full length album “Mosaic Soul.” After the end of their 2005 tour they decided to go back into the studio with the 20 songs they had written. They were looking for a producer that was more local, and Ben had always admired Ken Mary of SonicPhish productions, and suggested him to Gram. After hearing their first two e.p.’s, Ken took on the task of producing “Mosaic Soul.” They started recording in October of 2005, and it only took about three weeks to record. The project was released in March of 2006, and once again they headed out on the road touring mostly on the west coast.

In the spring of 2007 the band signed with record label “VSR music group” and re-released the C.D. under the title “What I Can’t See.” They went all over the country in support of the label release, touring colleges as well as churches.

The band decided to take some time off the road and self produce their next record. Starting in January of 2009 the band spent the next year writing and rewriting the songs for “Slow Down This Hurry.” The process was often difficult, and at times stretched the band further than they wanted to go, but they believe God used this testing to make sure their motives and purpose were in the right place. “The lyrics on this album reflect a much deeper walk with God, and we hope they’re a blessing to those that feel they have no hope” says Gram. One of the highlights for the band was recording the song “Be Gracious To Me.” The song was written by Ben and Gram’s dad during a dark period in his life, and is based off the first few verses of Psalm 57.

After the year long process of recording “Slow Down This Hurry” it finally released in May of 2010. Returning to their independent roots the band made the decision to leave the label to pursue their career with more control.

The band has released the first single “I Am Yours” to radio where it quickly jumped to number one on the Christian Radio Weekly charts. Out of Ruin plans to tour in support of the new album.