Batons

In the Summer of 2015, Justin Emile moved to Portland, Maine seeking a better life for himself. The appeal of Maine’s slogan, “Vacationland,” and the promise of a slower life appealed to him. With a notebook full of songs, his guitar, and soon to be wife, he left his home of over a decade, Boston, Massachusetts, behind him. As fate would have it, one of Justin’s former bandmates, Mike Medina, and his partner in music, Andy Gaudette, both left Los Angeles for their home state of Maine. It wo...

In the Summer of 2015, Justin Emile moved to Portland, Maine seeking a better life for himself. The appeal of Maine’s slogan, “Vacationland,” and the promise of a slower life appealed to him. With a notebook full of songs, his guitar, and soon to be wife, he left his home of over a decade, Boston, Massachusetts, behind him. As fate would have it, one of Justin’s former bandmates, Mike Medina, and his partner in music, Andy Gaudette, both left Los Angeles for their home state of Maine. It would take two years for the three to finally come together as the newly formed indie rock outfit, Batons.   Boston is where Justin truly blossomed as a musician. Behind the drums, he toured with the likes of Blackbutton, Aloud, and Big East. All along, on the side, Justin wrote his own songs and honed his craft as a songwriter. Concurrently, Mike and Andy spent their time in L.A. sharpening their skills on the drums and bass respectively. Together, the three refined the songs Justin had written over the course of many years and quickly got to work recording their first record in the summer of 2017.   On January 26, 2019, the Batons boys will unveil the fruits of their labor as they release their self-titled record to the public. The songs offer a glimpse into the personal and social narratives that songwriter Justin Emile experienced and observed over the past decade. Being that the songs were constructed over such a long period of time, the music and lyricism vary in style and substance, but Justin’s voice effectively acts as a kind of glue that binds the works together. Stylistically, the record forray’s into indie rock, power pop, and gritty blues numbers as the lyrics explore the ups and downs of personal relationships to social injustices. With each song flaunting it’s own stylistic identity, there’s sure to be something for every aficionado of rock ‘n’ roll.