On Friday, May 17th, Majestic 12 will perform at the Sweet Shoppe in downtown Lewisburg. Based out of Princeton, WV., this band may best be described as pop rock/indie rock sounds. Their shows include a wide variety of music (as they can play several covers) to keep the crowds happy. Their sound is similar to Maroon 5, The Lumineers, and John Mayer. The band is comprised of three members: Rob Jones on lead vocals and guitar. Brandon Gilbert performs the bass and keyboard. Eric Henderson plays the cajon drum. Get to know Majestic 12 with our q&a.

“Dude I cannot thank Brandon enough for getting in touch w/ me I friggin’ your style! Good honest acoustic music is what I live for. Mad love over here for Majestic 12. I hear a strong David Gray influence in vocals, very nice. I like your sound a lot.” – D. Sheads, via facebook.

How did you come up with the name, Majestic 12?
This is one of the most common questions we get. It always comes up when Brandon does booking, usually under the pretense of, “Is there twelve people in the band?” The name Majestic 12 comes from the annals of government conspiracies. More specifically, Majestic 12 refers to the group of twelve specialized individuals assembled into a team
 charged with undertaking the research and understanding of the Area-51 crash.

What is your history with the Sweet Shoppe? How did you start playing there?

Rob started playing shows with another local artist Andy Crawford. Eric also played at the Sweet Shoppe a few times with Rob before there was a band formed. That’s how Majestic 12 got their foot in the door at Sweet Shoppe.

What do you like most about performing at the Sweet Shoppe?
More than anything I think we can all three agree that we like the atmosphere. Being a traveling band we encounter different crowds, many who just want to hear the same covers. The cool thing about the Sweet Shoppe is that we can play our originals and test them out on an open crowd.

“I have never in the 7 years I have done music had a favorite local artist. … Rob Lee Summers-Jones and Majestic 12 take that position. “Ghost of You” is a million dollar song. I know the feeling of this song 100% there’s nothing like losing the most important thing that you had in your life. But still #noregrets” – Flow RFW, via facebook.

Get to know the band members:
Rob Jones has been involved in a love affair with music his whole life. It’s only been in the last 4 years that he became serious about creating music instead of just listening to it. Upon meeting Brandon and Eric on a radio remote when he was an on air DJ at Star 95 in Princeton, he decided it was time to pull the trigger and form a band. Rob toured the area with local favorite Andy Crawford, meeting new people and playing opening sets to become more comfortable performing in public. Majestic 12 played their first show in February of 2013 and has taken off like a rocket ever since.

Brandon Gilbert, who also does the PR/Advertising for Majestic 12, has always been driven by a passion for designing & music. He may credit his early raisings on music to his mother who would listen to popular bands such as AC/DC, Kiss, and others in the car with him as a young child. Brandon started playing guitar at 13 and has developed his own style since. After meeting Rob at Macados, the two quickly became good friends and in 2012 Rob asked Brandon about joining him with Open Mic Nights at a local nightclub. Shortly after that, Rob and Brandon started playing together at various shows at Leo’s Pub & More. Rob had been working on original music and Brandon was an advertising/graphic designer. Rob asked Brandon if he would do the album artwork for a demo he was working on himself. One night while Brandon was working on the album art for the demo, the two decided to collaborate on the album. Ever since, they have been performing more venues, have written more songs, and have concentrated on building the Majestic 12 brand with a strong social media presence and flyer designs. If you’re interested in booking this band for a private party, event, or bar/restaurant, etc. contact Brandon. He handles the band’s social media, marketing and advertising, booking, and PR.

“You guys are awesome! Just got home from seeing you at Serendipity Cafe! Wish you the best and come back soon!” – K. Zeiler, via facebook.

Eric Henderson was a session guitarist and songwriter before going to Full Sail University in Florida. After college, he joined the horror punk band Cryptidz. Following that, Eric landed a job as a guitar-tech for the band 12 Stones. During that time he made contacts with bands like Papa Roach and Puddle of Mud. Soon after, he got a gig with the band Kopek playing lead guitar. That job included being the opening act for Papa Roach, Hinder, Saving Abel, Five Finger Death Punch and Staind. After moving to West Virginia for family reasons, he got a job at Star 95.9. Now he is just another musician with wild dreams.

What other shows do you have coming up?

We have 26 shows booked throughout the year. Generally, we play Wednesdays, Fridays, & Saturdays every week. This is the only job the three of us have, so we’re committed to treating this as a business. I’d recommend to anyone who’s interested in catching a show of ours to check out our website or Facebook page for the full list of dates and locations; booking is a never-ending job so any given day new shows can be added. We are hoping to get a chance to play at The Irish Pub soon. We are in the works of getting some casino shows booked near Gulfport, Mississippi. We’ll be traveling to Gulfport soon to record an official album with Pardoe Productions. We’re also hoping to plan a few shows along the way down there and back, a southern “mini-tour”.

“Fantastic writing on these tunes guys… LIKING you here as well as on RN” – M. White, via fb

How can fans find you online?
We just launched an official website within the past month and it includes show dates, videos, press photos, news, booking info, and more: m12official.com
Also, find us on social media:
facebook.com/m12official
Twitter@M12official
reverbnation.com/m12official

Thank you for taking the time to interview us LBSPY! Come see us at the Sweet Shoppe this May 17th!

– Christina Entenmann. LBSPY #32. (May 6-20h)

Photo of Majestic 12 by Chris Tilley and beckleywvonline.com>