Soldiering on pays off for locals Otherwise

Even after the record deal and the No. 1 single on satellite radio, it was a broken-down RV somewhere in Texas that made Adrian Patrick feel like he had finally made it.

"We're doing repairs the other day in a parking lot of a Home Depot," recalls the frontman for Vegas hard rockers Otherwise, "and I'm thinking to myself, 'Any band would dream to be right here.' "

Patrick, calling from a tour stop in Houston, where the band is opening for Italian rockers Lacuna Coil, sounds both thoroughly stoked and a little relieved.

Next Tuesday, Otherwise's debut, "Love Never Dies," hits stores, a moment a long time in the making for the group, which has been among Vegas' top-drawing bands for years now.

Last summer, the group, rounded out by bassist Flavio Ivan, drummer Corky Gainsford and guitarists Ryan Patrick and Vassilios Metropoulus, was beginning to question its future.

"We got to a point where we were like, 'Something's got to pop. Are we doing something wrong?' " Patrick admits. "We were all like, 'Do we need to think about doing something different with our lives?' Then one night we were sitting in rehearsal and my brother started playing the riff that ended up being the basis for 'Soldiers,' and it was like, 'No, we're not going to quit. We're going to soldier on.' "

That song ended up being Otherwise's breakthrough, getting put into rotation on Sirius XM satellite radio by Octane/Liquid Metal host Jose Mangin after he saw the band perform here at last fall's 48 Hours Festival. That show was a turning point in the band's career but also a bittersweet one: The last gig the band members played with cousin/drum tech Ivan Patrick, who died on Halloween night. The band named its debut after a tattoo he had on his neck.

"It was crazy," Patrick says of losing a close family member. "After we experienced what was one of the worst things we could ever imagine, the greatest that we could imagine happened."

"Soldiers" became one of the biggest hits of its kind for an unsigned band, leading to a record contract with L.A.'s Century Media Records, a sizable metal and hard rock indie home to such big names as In Flames, Suicide Silence and Napalm Death.

Otherwise signed their deal at the end of December, played a packed New Year's Eve show at Insert Coins downtown, drove to L.A. the next day "hungover as hell," went straight to the studio to record "Love" and have been on the road ever since.

Next up: a tour with Hellyeah and Buckcherry.

But before then, they'll need to take a moment to hit a record store next week.

"I think I might break down and cry," Patrick says of seeing his band's CD on the shelves for the first time. "It's been a long, dark road, man."

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.