The Waymores
This Blog is about a recent Husband & Wife duo I discovered on the internet. They go by The Waymores, it is made up of Willie Heath Neal & Kira Annalise, They hail from Georgia. Because of a very dear friend of mine, I have been finding lots of “Real Honest Country” musicians. The Waymores definitely fall into that category with some “Honky Tonk” feel to their music. Let’s start with the style, like I said it real Country music. Which seems to be dying on the radio. But if you really look hard & deep you can find lots of Artist still playing this amazing music. The Waymores are definitely keeping the tradition alive. Willie’s voice is a husky baritone, which really puts the Country in their songs. When I listen to Willie sings it reminds me of David Allen Coe & Johnny Cash combined. It has that whisky drinking sound to it, which produces that Honky Tonk feel. Kira’s voice is such a great tone for Country/Honky Tonk music. Kira has an amazing control of her vocals, where she can put the twang in, plus she has the ability to also put a great vibrato to her voice. I have been trying to think a Country Female singer to compare and I can’t, which is a great compliment. Now if you have been following for any length of time. That I am a huge fan of Female Singers, especially ones with very unique voices. Kira Annalise has that voice. She has a solo EP & Album; I have to say I just got them from Kira and has listen to them at least 10 times along with the two from The Waymores. Now that we talk about each of them, let’s talk about them together. All I can say is that when Kira & Willie met and formed The Waymores, it was a magical thing. Cause the music these two play and write is nothing short of amazing. Their voices together are basically Honky Tonk Heaven. When they sing in harmony it just gives me goosebumps. They have an EP “Weeds” & a full length album “Stone Sessions”. I am going to start with the EP, The first is “Matches” this has to be my favorite from the EP. My next on the EP is the title track “Weeds”. Now on to the full-length album, This album has 10 really good songs on it. The first song I really like is “I Don’t Like The Liquor” this is just a fun song and I think their harmonies are really good. The next one I like is “Heart Of Stone” this song is just well written; the melody is very catchy. Another one is “Even When” this song is something that we would love to say at least once in our lives… So, you can probably tell by my Blog that I really do like this Duo. Mainly because they write & sing real honest music. So, I highly recommend you check them on the links I posted below. As always I was able to ask both Willi & Kira some questions and here are their answers. https://www.thewaymores.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@The-Waymores 1.How long have you been playing music? Willie has been playing for about 32 years. He first started playing in bands in the Navy. His first live show was on a rooftop in Singapore. He was instantly hooked. I sang in a band with my brother in 2006 but didn’t start playing guitar and creating my own music until I met Willie in 2007. We’ve been playing together as The Waymores since 2013 but we didn’t get serious about this group until 2018. 2. How many bands have you been in? Willie has been in 7 bands. Socrates Greenhouse, Big Red Rocket, The Eugene Swank Atomic Honky Tonk, The Modern El Dorado’s, The Damned Ol’ Opry, The No Count Palooka’s and now The Waymores. I have been in 4. The Flop, The No Count Palooka’s, The Trainwrecks and now The Waymores. 3. Where were you born? Willie was born in Gwinette County but grew up in Rome GA. I was born in Decatur GA but grew up in Marietta GA. 4. Are you self-taught? Yes, we are both self-taught. Some people think that’s a blessing or a bragging point but we both wish we had been taught as children when your mind isn’t so full of other garbage, and it can better absorb things. We both struggle with our limitations in both playing and singing. 5. Who are your biggest influences? Elvis, Waylon Jennings, John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earl... This list could go on for days. 6. What style of music do you consider yours? We call it Honky-Tonk and we have good reason behind it. The original meaning of “Honky-Tonk” referred to a style of ragtime that emphasized rhythm more than melody or harmony. The original meaning also referred to an establishment where the patrons were loud and rowdy. We make our living in dive bars of such and we think the description is a fitting one. 7. What was your first gig and how old were you? Willie’s first show was on a rooftop in Singapore. He was a 20-year-old Navy sailor, stationed on the U.S.S Kitty Hawk. He and some buddies on the ship had a punk band and they managed, through the help of the USO, to get a show at a bar in a foreign port. To hear him tell it “We were terrible, but they went nuts and they loved us. There was no looking back for me.” My first show was far less thrilling. My brother worked in a restaurant, and they needed a band for their 20th anniversary party. My brother is a crazy talented musician. I agreed to sing with him and a buddy of his and I hated it. I vowed never to get on stage again. They talked me into one more show and something happened on that one. I don’t know what it was, but I was a lifer after that. 8. What advice do you have for someone starting out in the music business? Be authentic, travel and do not stop. 9. Do you write your own songs? We do. We both had written our own stuff before coming together as The Waymores and it was our first time writing with another person when we wrote together. Luckily, it went well... for the most part. We’ve since written with peers and continue to write together as often as possible, which is never as often as we’d like. 10. What would people be surprised to hear that you have in your personal record collection? Herb Albert and The Tijuana Brass and maybe some Thin Lizzy 11. What would you be doing if playing music wasn’t an option? Willie: Dying. Music is my religion. It’s saved me in more ways than I can count. I honestly don’t know how long I’d survive if I wasn’t playing music. Kira: I thought about being an attorney at one point. I was in college studying Macroeconomics when I met Willie. I don’t think I had much of a plan until I saw him on stage one night, and it all clicked. I, too, would be at a loss without music. 12. Besides your own songs, what is your favorite song to perform? This changes all the time but right now, Willie’s is Lonesome On’ry and Mean and I’ve been on a real Loretta and Conway kick, so mine is You’re The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly. 13. If you were strictly a songwriter, who would you like to see sing your songs? Willie: Willie Nelson Kira: Sierra Ferrell
1 Comment
Jon Sexauer
1/19/2023 07:42:47 pm
Mike, this is another fantastic interview piece and writeup. Thanks for the introduction. I am now off to go check out their music. Not sure how I have missed out on them.
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AuthorHello, My name is Michael. I am into music, have been for over 48yrs. Big fan of all kinds of music, right now it has been the Blues for the last 10yrs. I do not play any instruments, But I very interested in the recording aspect of the industry. Have messed around with it a little and always learning new things about it. I have met many wonderful people because of Music.. Hope you enjoy my Blogs... In the last two years I have been producing House Concerts. I also in the past 2 years got to produce and engineer an album for a very good friend of mine from Sweden "Magpie". Archives
February 2024
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