Bryce Dicus & The Mercenaries are an Oklahoma based band that features Bryce Dicus on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, J.T. Hubbard on lead guitar, Brookes Dowler on bass guitar, Will Davis on rhythm guitar, and Jason Dobbs on drums. The band released their self-titled EP, “Bryce Dicus and The Mercenaries,” on September 28, 2018. The EP is a follow up to the band’s 2015 release, “The Road & The Radio,” which is an absolutely brilliant first release. “Bryce Dicus is an Oklahoma boy making his way into the Texas music scene.”

Bryce Dicus & The Mercenaries live from The Mercury Lounge Tulsa. 1/18/19

Growing up in small town Catoosa, Oklahoma, Bryce was a church-going young man and an athlete. He was given his very first guitar by his grandfather when he was twelve years old. Music for many musicians, past and present, have been started under the roof of many churches across the country. For Bryce, his beginning is no exception, as he began his musical journey at his local church, playing in the youth group band.

As an athlete in high school, Bryce enjoyed competition and wrestling consumed a great deal of his time. “Athletics was a big part of my life. My high school wrestling team was ranked top 10 in the country and I went to college on a wrestling scholarship. I was traveling so much that I did not play music much my junior and senior year”-Bryce Dicus. Music would once again find Bryce, but not under ideal circumstances. His grandfather passed away one week before he was to leave for college. “…I found a guitar at his house. I took it to school with me and began playing again”-Dicus.

The self-titled EP, “Bryce Dicus and The Mercenaries” was recorded in Fort Worth, Texas at the world class recording studio, Fort Worth Sound. The album was produced and engineered by the award-winning Bart Rose who has 25 years of experience in the music industry. The EP consists of six original songs, five of which are written or cowritten by Dicus and one song, “Gypsy Soul” was written by Leith Loftin, a songwriter from Mississippi. The studio album features guest musicians Jerry Reynolds on fiddle, Mark Belding on the pedal steel, Sarah Hobbs provides vocals on the track, “Behind Closed Doors”, and Kenzie Coppin with vocals on “Ain’t Slept Since Texas.” “The rest was me and the Mercenaries. We are very proud that it was all of us and not studio musicians. We were able to make the songs sound exactly how we wanted and made the album even more valuable to us”-Dicus.

Album art by Christina Whitley with Whitley Designs

The album kicks off with an upbeat, fiddle filled mix of 90s classic country and Texas Red Dirt tune titled “Good as Gone.” This original song was written by Bryce Dicus and lead guitarist J.T. Hubbard and is about a young high school football star in a small, one stoplight town. The song tells the story of the athlete signing with a college football team and leaving to chase his dreams. The third track on the EP was previously released as a single on August 30, 2017 titled “Gypsy Soul.” The song is written by Vaiden, Mississippi singer/songwriter Leith Loftin. “Gypsy Soul is the first song I have recorded that I did not write. Leith Loftin is an awesome songwriter out of Mississippi. I met him one night in Nashville and we swapped numbers after. A few months later he came to Oklahoma to play a few and stayed at my house. One day he played the song for me and I said, “how come I’ve never heard that one? I really like it. He said, well why don’t you record it”-Dicus. Even though Dicus struggled with recording a song that he did not write for the first time, this tune absolutely belongs on this album and is a must hear. The final song on the album is “Behind Closed Doors.” The tune is written by Bryce and best friend Dustin Herring. The song is a magnificently written piece about how couples in a relationship may appear to be perfect on social media to others but have major issues behind closed doors. “The plan was for it to be a happy love song, but I love sad heartbreak songs and so does Dustin. It is about a couple who everyone thinks is perfect but behind closed doors it is nothing but pain. It is very relatable. A lot of people post on social media all the good stuff but never show the bad. It is one of my favorite songs I have ever written”-Dicus.

Video Courtesy of Kelsey Smith Photography. www.facebook.com/kelseyphotographs/ https://www.kelseysmithphotography.com https:/ https://www.instagram.com/kelseysmith_photography/

For more information and tour dates please check out:

https://bryceadicus.com

Go follow Bryce Dicus and The Mercenaries on all Social Media Platforms:

https://www.facebook.com/BryceDicus/

https://www.instagram.com/bryce_and_the_mercs/

https://twitter.com/BADicusMusic

https://www.snapchat.com/add/BADicus89

Listen to the EP on Spotify!

https://open.spotify.com/album/0atbONTLyZ32ql42jvu7Zu?si=7IHVoD2tQCudodJ5-zaBnw