Wyeuca & The Hired Guns (2009)

            This was one of the most fun recording sessions I have been a part of.  The Hired Guns EP features a handful of my friends from Kentucky playing the part of my band for a set of straight up rock and roll tunes.  My friends Trevor Willmott, Vinay Shroff, and Jonathan Beam are a band called Shivas Irons, and they provided the guitars, backing vocals, drums, and bass, respectively.  You can check out their various side projects on the (links) page.  Additional background vocals and the other half of a duet were provided by Erica Rose Olson, and violin on “A Song Across the Stateline” was done with taste and elegance by my friend Lauren Cole.
            Trevor also recorded and produced all but the last song on this EP, and wrote the song “Drive To Mars,” graciously allowing me permission to record it.  We did the whole EP in two and a half days in the Summer of 2009. Trevor, Vinay, and Jonathan had been a band for about 4 or 5 years, which is pretty incredible considering that, when we did these sessions, they all were just finishing up their Freshman year of college.  When we first all got together to rehearse the tunes, I was intimidated to say the least.  For being so young, these three are some of the most talented and intuitive musicians I have ever known, and as a trio, they are tight as they come.  I knew they could work wonders with whatever I threw at them, I just hoped that I wasn’t throwing waffle balls to a bunch of heavy hitters. But we all got together in Trevor’s garage studio, threw down, and had a whole lot of fun. Then, adding the two lovely girls Erica and Lauren—it’s the proverbial icing on the cake.  I think it’s evident in the recordings.
            The last song, “She’d Be My Wings,” was recorded late one night in March 2009 in my apartment in Wilmore, Kentucky. My friend and partner in musical crime Andrew Vickery lent me his dobro and ran Garageband on his Mac while I frantically wrote down the lyrics in a blistering moment of inspiration.  I think the song was recorded within about 12 minutes of its inception.  It’s such a cool thing when a song comes together like that, and even cooler when you’re able to get it down in the newness of the moment.
            I’m proud of this EP.  It’s a looser feeling thing than I had done anytime before that, and getting to play with so many people who I respected was an incredibly rewarding experience.  It was also a chance to try some new things (for example, playing electric guitar exclusively during a session or writing a song on dobro) and a chance to explore some musical styles I hadn’t done much with before.  I’d like to thank Trevor, Vinay, Jonathan, Erica, Lauren and Andrew for their hands in this project.  Couldn’t have done it without them.