All the Little Pieces

By Blake Hannon - Contributing Music Writer

"As long as I can remember" — That's often the reply when people are asked how long they've loved something they are passionate about. The members of Lexington-based band All the Little Pieces could each echo this sentiment when it applies to music. But depending on which member you talk to, "as long as I can remember" has totally different meanings.

That's because the ages of All The Little Pieces' members vary greatly when you consider its guitarist is almost 50, its rhythm section is a couple of 20-somethings and its lead singer, guitarist, keyboardist and songwriter hasn't started high school. But its multi-generational lineup and often eclectic take on modern rock is gaining an audience, and frontwoman Rhyan Sprague (age 13), bassist Billy P. Thomas (24), drummer Chris Jones (27) and guitarist Thomas P. Suggs (49) are all happy to be along for the ride.

"It's kind of funny. We call ourselves All The Little Pieces because we're so different and we bring different things to the table," Thomas says. "I wouldn't have it any other way as a band."

All the Little Pieces started when one member wanted to find the necessary pieces to live out a musical dream. Rhyan started out singing in church, but her first musical influences included Norah Jones and Cyndi Lauper. She began taking vocal and guitar lessons, and at 8, she had recorded her first original song. Her guitar teacher at the time, Demian Gover, forwarded it to Jones, who was a bandmate in the Lexington group Lot-13.

When Rhyan was 11, she really wanted to get a real band together. Jones got the first call and was on board right away. She decided to put an ad on Craigslist to find the remaining members — with her parents' permission, of course.

"I know that sounds scary, but there was a screening process," she says, laughing.

Via email, Rhyan and her parents corresponded with potential bandmates, who then came by to audition. A few were taken aback by her age, at least before she began to sing.

"There were definitely some skeptical people that we auditioned," Jones says.

"When I initially got the email from (Rhyan's mother, Toni Karpinski), she said, 'She is significantly underage,'" Thomas says. "When we got together and played music, I was like, 'Holy crap, she might be the real deal.'"

All the Little Pieces started off as a cover band before Rhyan began presenting her demos to the band members, who helped turn them into original songs. When performing at the LexJam open-mic shows at Natasha's Bistro and Bar, they played with Thomas Suggs, who joined the band when its original guitarist departed.

"I thought what they were doing meshed pretty well with what I wanted to do in my own head," Suggs says. "It wasn't really an issue for me how old anybody was. I didn't think about that. I just listened to what they played and how they played, and that sold me on it."

With the current lineup, All the Little Pieces released its debut album, If You Fall, in 2013 and have played shows in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana and Ohio. The first album was delightfully schizophrenic, using a foundation of alternative rock to hopscotch to elements of country, blues, Americana and jazz from track to track. Now, with the release of the band's second album, Broken Little Soul, All the Little Pieces has gelled even more and is finding a signature sound, and Rhyan is crafting lyrics that are less abstract, more personal and take on emotions.

"I'm 13, so obviously, I'm not writing about love. That wouldn't be real and it would be real weird to do that," she says. "I think as I'm getting older, I'm dealing with more stuff as a teenager and I think I can channel that into my music. I think with that, it became more personal."

After playing an album-release show at Willie's Locally Known last weekend, All the Little Pieces will play its second-album release show this weekend, an all-ages show at 8 p.m. Saturday at Buster's. The band will continue its goal to be one of Lexington's premier acts and expand its popularity beyond the Bluegrass, but everyone involved agrees that it couldn't have a more interesting band dynamic — or a better one.

"There was never really a sound or style we were going for," Jones says. "We just played the way we played, and it fell into place. I think it's been a steady progression with dedication, rehearsal, and, ultimately, we are a family and that's what's made it so strong. It's been an incredible experience."

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/entertainment/music-news-reviews/article44521299.html#storylink=cpy - Lexington Herald-Leader

Rhyan Sprague got her start in music, like many, in church. She has been writing music since the age of 8 and at 14 is fronting her own band All The Little Pieces. Sprague admits it is different playing with other people but says the most important factor to her moving forward, is the band.

“My age has never really been an issue and being in a band, it’s different obviously it’s a different situation, but it always worked and so I don’t think that if it hadn’t just kind of worked and our personalities hadn’t just meshed, I don’t think it would have gone very far.”

Sprague started All the Little Pieces in 2011 and the group has performed in town and regionally. The group has delveloped a sound around her original songs. When I asked her about the process of putting together the songs Sprague said that she’ll present what she has and then let the band go wild.

“I write the lyrics and I write the melody and then I put it into Garage Band as a demo and I take it to them and I kind of let them experiment with it and you know, do what they want, but I do take the song to them.”

All The Little Pieces have released an album called Broken Little Soul that was recorded at Sneak Attack Studios in Lexington. When recording music for some bands it is a challenge to recreate a live sound in the studio. For Sprague it was not so difficult as she says the band was already on the same page before they stepped foot in the studio.

“I think we had sort of achieved that in practice, we already kind of had what we wanted to get across, I think we already had that together, as far as kind of obsessing over getting it to sound right, I think it is very easy to do and get very perfectionistic, but I think overall we’re all happy with the way it turned out.”

Rhyan Sprague performs with All The Little Pieces. More information about Sprague and the band including the album Broken Little Soul can be found here. - WUKY : DeBraun Thomas

All the Little Pieces was one of the two winners of the Race to the Top campaign and will be at the top of the bridge on race day. The band will also play later in the day at the Palmetto Brewing Company in Charleston. The band will be performing from 4 to 6 p.m. as part of the Palmetto Unplugged series.


This is the first time performing in Charleston for All the Little Pieces. Lead singer Rhyan Sinclair performed solo sets at Awendaw Green’s Barn Jam and at the King Street Grille in 2015. The rest of the band includes Chris Jones on drums, Thomas Suggs on guitar, and Billy Thomas on bass.

The band released its second album in late 2014, and Rhyan released a solo, three-song EP as well. In 2015, Rhyan was nominated for three individual Lexington Music Awards, and the band was nominated and won the award in the Rock category. It is nominated again this year, and Rhyan was nominated and won the solo award for Best Pop. - Moultrie News