So maybe you don’t care about the Ying Yang Twins. Maybe you think there’s a better way to spend the night of Sept. 17. Maybe you’d rather hear something other than rap music.

Bryan Hayes and the Retrievers are your solution.

The group, including three former UTM students, has been described by the Commercial Appeal as “a country Tom Petty”. They’ve also been labeled as “roots-rock” by others.

“I think both descriptions are accurate,” says Bryan Hayes, the lead singer. “But I think there are other influences bleeding through. I guess if we’re going to tag it, it’s Americana.”

This Memphis based group hasn’t always been about music. When Bryan was here at UTM, he had his mind on other things.

“I was more into sports,” he confesses. “I played baseball at UTM. My defining moment in music came the first time I saw “Rattle & Hum” by U2. There was definitely a cool factor. Those guys looked cool, they looked like they were having fun, and it seemed like the coolest job on the planet.”

Hayes got a late start in his music career. He didn’t start playing guitar until he was about 18 or 19. “I was always into music, but the performance bug didn’t bite me until college.”

And for those of you think nothing great ever comes out of UTM, think again.

“UTM is where I got my start,” Hayes explains. “I was a freshman in Browning Hall, and there was an exchange student from Japan living down the hall. I’d go hang out in his room and his playing just blew me away. So I started bugging him for tips and lessons.”

The band, composed of Hayes on vocals and guitars, Shannon Cooke on guitar and vocals, Gee Brannon on keyboards, Brent Wooster on drums and vocals and Clint Herron on bass and vocals, have all been together for about six months, though Hayes, Cooke and Brannon have been playing together for about two years. They’ve just released their album Just a Man, and plan to release it nationally.

“We’re currently working with a promotion company in Memphis, and we’re hoping to re-release Just a Man nationally in October.”

The group is also in the process of recording a new album. “We’ve got about 10 songs that we’re playing live. We’d like to go into the studio with around 20 songs and try to cut it down to about 12 to 14. We’ll probably release the new CD between March and April.”

Something else the guys are looking forward to is hitting the road to promote their new CD. One of their biggest goals is to hit the college towns that normally get overlooked. “I remember when I was in school, we never got up and coming bands here in Martin.”

The group has already gained notice for their music. Two songs off of Just a Man were selected as “Song of the Year” by the Memphis Songwriters Association. “Memphis is a big music city and there are a lot of very talented songwriters, so this was a tremendous honor for us.”

The band is looking forward to coming back to the town where it all started.

“We can’t wait to come back to Martin,” says Hayes. “Shannon, Gee and I all went to Martin, and we had some great times. It’s like a homecoming of sorts.”

Bryan Hayes and the Retrievers will be hitting the Stables on Saturday, Sept. 17. So if rap isn’t your thing, come check out some local plays playing some great music.

“It’s a new venue and new faces, but I bet it’s the same good Martin hospitality.”