After his acrimonious 2011 exit from  and subsequent legal battle with frontman Benjamin Burnley over the band name, guitarist Aaron Fink has resurfaced in the new group Gentleman East.

Also in the band are guitarist Bret Alexander and bassist Paul Smith, who recently departed the long-running Pennsylvania rock band Badlees after 20 plus years. Violinist Nyke Van Wyk and drummer Ron Simasek round out the lineup.

"Just got the call from my long time friend Bret Alexander to fire up my amplifier and start working on writing some brand new future classics," Fink says.  "Can't wait to re-unite with the boys and make some noise! Stay tuned folks…"

"I am very proud of the work we did with The Badlees over the years," says Alexander. "There was lots of great music and memories. But I'm really looking forward to an extremely prolific period coming up, both in the studio and on stage. I've already started putting new music together, it’s going to be great."

Smith chimes in, “I'm excited to start working on new music with a new focus. I've been a fan of Bret's writing for years, and after having been on both sides of the glass, I can tell you it's a thrill to continue the creative process. After 23 years with The Badlees I feel fulfilled, however it's time to move onto new things. This change for me, feels right.”

Gentleman East are currently writing new material for their debut release, and plan to play some live dates as well in the near future. You can keep up with their activities on the band's Facebook page.

More From Rock 108