KALAMAZOO, MI — Ryan Hurd and Aaron Eshuis were teenagers when they began writing and recording music together in Hurd’s childhood basement in Kalamazoo.
They recorded their first CD there, one they had trouble giving away.
They played subpar sets at Bilbo’s open mics and at the bygone Rocket Star Cafe, Eshuis said. They even won a Battle of the Bands contest in Portage, likely only “because they brought a large crowd” with them, he said…