There was a point, when vocalist Billy Osborne auditioned, that everything changed. For nearly 3 years, guitarist Roderick Vesper had been trying to piece together the puzzle that would become 6 Hours to Kill. “There was a clear shift when Billy came on, this was no longer my project, this was our band. Everyone just clicked together, musically and personally. It felt like a family.”

Interestingly, Billy almost didn’t even audition. For one thing, he had never been the lead singer for a rock outfit before: “Something hit me in my heart to audition. So I listened to the push that told me to try it out.” He felt driven to write lyrics that would revolve around his personal spiritual battles with the hopes that his message would bring hope and understanding to others who were struggling or trying to find direction in life. Once the others in the band expressed an openness, and even desire for that lyrical approach, he knew he needed to give it a shot. “For me this band is allowing me to use my voice for the greater good of the message. We’re creating an intriguing sound that will have people opening up to the positive message. It’s a gift and I’m gonna use it till I can't anymore.”

The current lineup took some time to pull together, but now things are moving forward at a blistering pace. Bass player Adam Cornell explains, “Our lineup works so well and we have been coming up with new song ideas like crazy.” The most recent release, Strange Things, is the first with Billy on vocals, but you can anticipate several more in the near future. “We currently have about 10 songs that we’re really excited about and dialing in for recording, and getting out in front of an audience,” says Roderick. A couple of things have played into this sudden burst of output for 6 Hours to Kill. One is that there was a solid collection of song ideas that Roderick had written along with the other founding member, Adam Cornell. The other was “the energy and work ethic that Mike and Billy brought when they joined.” 

Mike Schmidt was glad to have the core of Roderick an Adam to build around. “Being the veterans of the group, Rod and Adam play so well off each other. It’s a challenge to come up with grooves that complement their style, and I have fun with it every day.” And that seems to be a key to what drives 6H2K. They genuinely love working together and creating music. But the music isn’t the only thing they have fun with. Roderick, Adam and Billy all have backgrounds in creative fields which means they love to spend time working on the visual presentation of their work. That includes video production, as well as light and video presentations for stage shows. “We hope that what we create is an entertainment package beyond just great rock music.”  

Keep your eyes and ears open for more music over the next few months as production plans are being formed for a string of songs and videos leading up to a more traditional album release in 2018.