High Treason

The sleepy mountain town of Woodland Park, Colorado was not a likely place to produce a gritty rock and blues band. Indeed, one was more likely to grow up listening to George Strait or Clint Black than Muddy Waters in that small town. Just the same, two local teenagers found that they had similar taste in music: namely, the blues. It was dirty, gritty and raw, but it somehow mesmerized Bryan Smith and John Kellogg, and they swapped tapes of the stuff while they tried to absorb what they could. They had started a band before they even really knew how to play instruments, only understanding that they wanted to duplicate what they were hearing. As time went by, their band also started to incorporate other influences, such as the hard rock sound of the 1960s and 1970s. The likes of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple started to rub shoulders with Sonny Boy Williamson and Skip James in their developing sound.

The two moved on to college and further tried to refine the music of High Treason. Subtle acoustic textures were used to give them a more lush, rounded sound. The band went through several lineup changes as the core element of Bryan Smith and John Kellogg got more experimental in their presentation, creating a grander vision for what they wanted to accomplish.

They were later joined by Russ Wilbar, himself a successful singer/songwriter. Russ added even another element to the band, with songs that were as smooth and emotional as Bryan and Johns were hard-edged and fast-paced. Suddenly, the band had a powerful dynamic. Bryan and John brought the barroom-ready rock and swagger to the table, while Russ added the ingredient of powerful vocal harmonies and flawless musicianship to the already-interesting gumbo of High Treason.

So what do you get with High Treason? A band as capable of blasting testosterone-fueled rock, as it is of getting the crowd boogying to ageless blues, or switching gears again and delivering dramatic, powerful songs with memorable melodies. It's truly unpretentious rock and roll wrought with palatable emotion and striking originality.

The Members

Bryan Smith Bryan started in High Treason as the lead vocalist. By the time the First album was recorded in 1995, he was also playing the keyboards and harmonica for the band. Sometime later, he picked up the guitar. When the first and second incarnations merged, Bryan picked up the bass part-time.
Instruments: Lead and back-up vocals, Rhythm and lead guitar, harmonica, bass guitar.

John Kellogg John started High Treason with Bryan as the sole guitar player. After the first album was recorded, John left to pursue other interests. He and Bryan reunited to record a second album as High Treason in 2000, and in 2003 came back to the band for good. Welcome back!
Instruments: Rhythm and lead guitar.

Russ Wilbar Russ had been playing guitar and writing songs for some time before meeting Bryan in 1997. Together, they formed the second incarnation of High Treason, an on-again off-again band plagued by an inability to find reliable members. They did manage to write a lot of great songs together, although live shows were minimal. In 2003, when the two incarnations merged, Russ picked up the bass part-time.
Instruments: Lead and back-up vocals, Rhythm guitar, bass guitar.

Dave Benitez
(no photo) Dave had played with High Treason in its various incarnations off and on since 1995. In early 2005, High Treason was found wanting for a drummer yet again, and Dave came on full time. The most musically accomplished in the group with a degree in music, Dave adds as much in the way of direction to the band's music as he does with his innovative, jazz-influenced drumming style.
Instruments: drums and percussion.

Bryan Smith	Bryan started in High Treason as the lead vocalist. By the time the First album was recorded in 1995, he was also playing the keyboards and harmonica for the band. Sometime later, he picked up the guitar. When the first and second incarnations merged, Bryan picked up the bass part-time. Instruments: Lead and back-up vocals, Rhythm and lead guitar, harmonica, bass guitar.
John Kellogg	John started High Treason with Bryan as the sole guitar player. After the first album was recorded, John left to pursue other interests. He and Bryan reunited to record a second album as High Treason in 2000, and in 2003 came back to the band for good. Welcome back! Instruments: Rhythm and lead guitar.
Russ Wilbar	Russ had been playing guitar and writing songs for some time before meeting Bryan in 1997. Together, they formed the second incarnation of High Treason, an on-again off-again band plagued by an inability to find reliable members. They did manage to write a lot of great songs together, although live shows were minimal. In 2003, when the two incarnations merged, Russ picked up the bass part-time. Instruments: Lead and back-up vocals, Rhythm guitar, bass guitar.
Dave Benitez (no photo)	Dave had played with High Treason in its various incarnations off and on since 1995. In early 2005, High Treason was found wanting for a drummer yet again, and Dave came on full time. The most musically accomplished in the group with a degree in music, Dave adds as much in the way of direction to the band's music as he does with his innovative, jazz-influenced drumming style. Instruments: drums and percussion.