The rockers’ new CD is ‘These Magnificent Miles.’

By Guy D’Astolfo

The rockers’ new CD is ‘These Magnificent Miles.’

For a singer, Scott Terry knows a lot about diesel engines.

The frontman for Red Wanting Blue can discuss how to keep a bus running with the same fluency he displays in his life-exploring lyrics.

Being in one of the most heavily touring rock bands in the Midwest will do that.

Terry and RWB have been living on the road for about a decade. They are currently touring their new album, the aptly named “These Magnificent Miles.”

But while Red Wanting Blue has long been a favorite in Youngstown and dozens of other cities, the Columbus-based band has never signed a record deal.

Some call it the best unsigned band in the country.

Terry has heard that tag and while he doesn’t necessarily embrace it, he doesn’t run from it, either.

He knows that a recording contract may not be all it’s cracked up to be, and controlling your artistic destiny is a luxury worth keeping.

Terry spoke to The Vindicator last week from a motel room outside Milwaukee, where his band was playing at the Harley-Davidson 105th anniversary celebration.

He mused on the band’s status, discussed his inspiration .... and explained the importance of keeping a diesel engine idling while parked (it seems they run better when hot).

To be sure, RWB has had recording offers. But the band turned them down for one reason or another.

“I don’t want to be the poster child for indie artists,” said Terry. “I’m just figuring out the best way to do what I want to do. And every guy in the band feels as strongly as I do.”

But if the perfect deal did come along, how would Terry react?

“I’d probably be excited about having insurance,” he said. “I don’t have any now.

“But I’ve come to see there is nothing legitimate about being signed, insofar as it proves that you are good. Ninety percent of [signed bands] fade off into obscurity. The label tells them what to do. It controls them. [The label] can park you until they think you might be hot. You will sit around doing nothing, and lose momentum.”

Terry joked that if RWB did get signed, he would still insist on driving the bus. “I’ve gotten used to being a control freak, being in charge of everything, from pumping gas to changing tires.

“If there is desperation in this life, there is also a certain freedom, because it’s all us. We don’t depend on anyone.”

Despite all those mind-blurring miles on the road, the singer recaptures his intensity on stage at every gig.

“I am the lyricist and the storyteller,” he explained. “I would short everyone if I couldn’t perform with that passion. I can’t perform my songs any other way. The songs deserve that I give them their daily due.”

While it’s common to see people who know all the lyrics at RWB shows, women might be the biggest fans. Perhaps they relate to the slow-burn quality of the music and the depth of the words.

“Ladies appreciate the passion,” he said.

Indeed, though Terry’s lyrics spring from his heart, they remain on the tip of his tongue. He can recite them in a heartbeat to illustrate a point.

The road is a source of inspiration for RWB, and the songs on “These Magnificent Miles” spring from that life, he said.

“The stories behind the record involve relationships, traveling, life, decisions ... making the leap and going into the wild,” said Terry. “Any writer has to write what they live. Most of my life is spent on the road. It comes across on the album, and ties it all together.”

One song — “Finger in the Air” — is an anthem to unsigned bands, he said.

The Red Wanting Blue diesel bus will roll into Youngstown on Friday, where the band will headline the final Party on the Plaza of the season.

Terry said Youngstown is a special place for him.

“It’s probably my favorite place in Ohio because it reminds me of home,” said the New Jersey native.

“The food is local, mom-and-pop stuff. The town’s heyday is long gone, at least in the industrial sense. And people crap on it, just like they do Jersey. But no place are the people prouder to say where they are from.”

After a decade of visiting Youngstown, Terry knows its quirks — and its ugly side.

“I remember many nights playing there ... the Varsity Club, where the floor would shake. One night, there was a stabbing,” he said of the former Uptown rock club. “Another night, our van got broken into.

“It’s a tough town. That’s why people there connect with us. And they’re loyal.”