Sustayn Vying for Awards

~by Boris Ladwig

Recently formed Brown County-based rock quartet Sustayn is vying for some national awards by the International Singer Songwriters Association that will be announced this summer in Atlanta, Georgia.

The band’s co-founder and lead singer, Amanda Webb, said Sustayn is among the finalists for band of the year, album of the year, single of the year and video of the year, while the band’s drummer, Jared Asher, also is up for sound engineer of the year.

As with many bands, Sustayn’s creation came about partly through coincidence and a bit of good fortune.

Webb’s band was playing a gig at Hard Truth Distillery, and the audience included Asher and his wife, Nicohl, who had originally come to Nashville to see Blues Traveler at Brown County Music Center. As the Blues Traveler show got postponed, the Ashers went to the Hard Truth instead.

Webb’s band drew a capacity crowd that night, and the Ashers ended up sitting with Webb’s mother, Pam Boer, who got into a lively conversation with the couple and introduced them to Webb after the show.

The Webbs and Ashers hit it off and, shortly thereafter, the couples jammed together.

Webb, who has performed regionally with her band and in the blues community for about seven years, said she was looking for a new project.

Thanks to their immediate rapport and similar musical interests, Webb and her husband, Brian Webb, and the Ashers decided to form an original rock band, with Amanda Webb on vocals, her husband on guitar, Nicohl Asher on bass, and her husband on drums.

Webb said the band members chose rock in part because they all had an affinity for the 1980s rock with which they grew up.

“Just because you’re older…doesn’t mean you can’t rock out or that you can’t have new music influences in your life,” she said.

The band invites fans to sign up for updates on its website with the words, “Join the Rebellion.” You can sample their songs at the site.

Webb describes the band as a femaledriven AC/DC that takes inspirations from such acts as Heart and Halestorm and produces rock songs about love, perseverance, and dreaming of rock stardom.

The band’s single “Born with the Horns,” plays into that theme, with the video showing kids pretending to sing the song, a throwback to how the Webbs and Ashers, like many, dreamt of rock stardom when they were young.

“We’re still like that,” Amanda Webb said. She said the performers’ different personalities mesh well and enhance the others’ stage presence and composition capabilities.

Webb said her husband played guitar in many groups and many genres, including blues and country, but really enjoys playing fast riffs with Sustayn.

“It gives him a place to let loose,” she said.

Brian Webb grew up in Brown County, and Amanda Webb has lived here since they got married 20 years ago. The couple, who have five boys ranging from age 13 to 22, live within a five minute drive from the Bill Monroe Music Park and Campground. Jared Asher hails from Martinsville, while Nicohl Asher grew up in places including Utah and California and moved to Mooresville when the Ashers got married.

Todd Cramer, a fellow musician, said, “Two married couples coming together to make a four-piece, original band—that says a lot about each of their characters. Individually, you would have four different sounding bands, but they are writing together from different perspectives and I think people will find it appealing to hear what they offer.”

Cindy Hiland-McNalley, who runs a central Indiana consulting business, said she lives next to Sustayn’s studio and has the opportunity to hear them on a weekly basis.

“I have followed them to many venues and events,” she said. “I have purchased many items of merchandise in support of their endeavors. I have invited many over to experience their music and vibe. They have a unique sound with a raspy voice and heavy rock.”

Amanda Webb said the band is raising funds to support the band’s trip to the ISSA in August and to defray expenses related to recording.

As of late May, Sustayn had garnered more than 60,000 streams on Spotify this year.

You can support the band by making a donation or you can buy music and merchandise: .