Wayland – On The Way

By starrymag | March 7, 2024

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

 

Q) How would you best describe your sound? 

A) Heartfelt, blue collar, American rock and roll that definitely reflects the heart and soul of the Midwest.

Q) Who are your Top 3 musical influences? 

A) Tom Petty, The Black Crowes, The Eagles

Q) Tell us the story about creating your recent single “Other End.” 

A) After being on tour three hundred days per year for seven years, I (Phill) was going through a divorce and took some time off the road to reflect. He rented out a cabin in Northern Michigan for three days of solitude and wrote the song. The band recorded it in Joshua Tree, CA at our home studio about a year later during a time of experimentation and really stretching ourselves to nod to all their influences, which is why the song starts out almost folk or bluegrass and ends up as loud rock and roll in the end.

Q) You recently released a music video for “Other End.” How did you come up with the concept for the music video? 

A) My best friend and lead singer Mitch is a huge fan of film, and he jumped at the opportunity to write the treatment. Knowing the backstory and what the song was written about, he wrote a story of the motocross star that has to be on the road and away from the person he loves.

Q) Since its release, what has been the overall reaction from fans and listeners to the song? 

A) I think it’s been the best reaction we could have asked for and that is that the listeners can hear the honesty and sincerity in the track and people have been really surprised how it goes from one dynamic to the other.

Q) “Other End” and “Way Back When” are singles off your upcoming album On the Way, which is slated for a March release. What are some themes you will feature on the new album? 

A) The themes of this album are definitely reflection of life experience, lessons learned, understanding that people come in and out of our lives in seasons and no relationship is black and white.

Q) Which tracks on On the Way hold a special significance for you and what makes them so close to your heart? 

A) “Waters” was such an amazing experience writing and recording the song in Joshua Tree, CA and it has turned out to be one of our favorite songs to play live. “Drive Away” was the first song we recorded for this record in Joshua Tree, and “Sorry About Your Heart” is a phone demo from the same day we wrote the song at my parent’s house in Michigan with a really good friend and amazing songwriter, Michael Gurley.

Q) What message do you hope listeners will take away from listening to the new music? 

A) We hope that when you listen to this record you realize that all these songs are about the relationships in our lives and that the people we choose to spend our life with make up our entire experience. We hope to remind people to choose wisely and that they can choose differently, as often as they’d like. You’re allowed to change your mind at any time.

Q) With the upcoming release of On The Way, are there any plans for an upcoming tour to promote it? 

A) Tour dates are being added right now.

Q) To date, what has been your favorite venue to play? 

A) The Florida Theatre. We played with Blackberry Smoke in Jacksonville, FL.

Q) Back in 2022 you had the chance to be on “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” and I am a little jealous! What was it like to be on the show and if you had the chance to go on again, where would tell Guy Fieri to check out next? 

A) Guy and his production crew have become such great friends and supporters of the band. We’ve had so much fun meeting up with them at random places around the country and of course eating the best food not only on Triple D but on “Guy’s All American Road Trip.” I’m not sure if Guy is looking for our recommendation when it comes to food, but I’d like to see Guy visit my favorite spots in West Michigan, there’s so much great food in Grand Rapids.

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters of your music? 

A) First and foremost, we want to say thank you for listening to the music, coming out to the shows, and buying the t-shirts. We are so lucky to have the Wayland Warriors in our corner.

 

 

 

All Questions Answered By Lead Guitar Player Phillip Vilenski