Homemade Wine

KNOXVILLE — On the verge of its debut release, Knoxville-based Homemade Wine is on a mission. Already featured on a slew of local and satellite radio stations, the band draws monstrous crowds to its frequent out-of-town gigs and is set to appear at a number of coastal festivals.

With a strategy in mind for the upcoming album's promotion, the six-man group (not including guest musicians) may soon reach the status of the bands it currently covers.

Homemade Wine markets itself as a beachy, trop-rock band but would be remiss to describe itself so simply. The band also incorporates plenty of country, a pinch of Southern rock and a jam band mentality, but points out that the sounds explored on its imminent release "Music for the Salty Soul" are merely a modest introduction to the group's dynamic abilities. By leading off with an album that puts a decisive emphasis on tropical sounds, Homemade Wine is able to justify trips to coastal towns throughout the Southeast where it has been accruing regional support at an impressive rate.

"Our style of music is somewhere between Zac Brown, The Allman Brothers and Jimmy Buffett," describes vocalist/guitarist Ryan Sheley. "We're a country, beachy, jammy Southern rock kind of band. It's kind of a weird blend.

"We actually have a bigger fan base in Charleston (S.C.) than we do here, and that's saying something. ... Charleston is almost a second hometown to us in a lot of ways. They've really been supportive of us. I think a lot of that is because we're more of a Nashville style band. I think when you're in Knoxville, you hear a lot of country music, and you know Nashville's only a couple hours down the road, so you're not that impressed. But you go to Charleston - we're fresh meat. The further away from Nashville we get, the better the reception for our style of music."

The group admits the album is deceptively laid back compared to the live show but also points out that the versatility of its songwriting allows for a number of possible live interpretations of its songs. In addition to being able to improvise several stylized versions of its material, by interweaving crowd-appropriate cover tracks Homemade Wine is able to customize its sets for any audience. The band caters many of its out-of-town shows specifically to fans of trop-rock, Parrot Heads specifically. By providing a party atmosphere to beachgoers, the group is making friends and contacts it will continue to use even as its style evolves to a funkier, Southern jam sound.

"We're not trying to stay tropical nuts or anything," Sheley explains. "My style is more blues and country, but from a business perspective that's the way to do it. The next album in a couple of years will try to appeal to a wider audience. If I had to put money on it right now I'd say the next one will be very Meters, very Neville Brothers, very Zac Brown as far as there being two or three songs with radio-friendly, catchy hooks. That's very important. The rest of the album, whereas this one has more of an acoustic vibe on the laid-back songs, it will probably have more of a jam funk vibe, as in that New Orleans style groove."

"We're very blessed to have the trop-rock people backing us," adds percussionist Tod Sheley. "It jump starts you ahead of the average band just starting out. The cool thing about the trop-rockers is they become your friends. When I came back to music after six years I wanted to come back to the world of trop-rock because I have great memories of traveling the country and meeting people and becoming friends. They truly support you."

Homemade Wine is set to perform 7-10 p.m. Thursday, July 29, at The Spice Rack Cantina. On Friday, July 30, the band will celebrate the release of "Music for the Salty Soul" with a show at Latitude 35. This show also will feature music by Kate Oliver. The group will follow that up with a West Knoxville gig at Irish Times on Saturday, July 31, before hitting the road in support of the album.

n Super novum: Nomen Novum joins The Royal Bangs and Cool Runnings for a gig at Pilot Light on Saturday. The show is slated for 10 p.m., and admission is $5.

n Faux real: On Tuesday night Preservation Pub hosts Zunimar's monthly Stripped Down Showcase emceed by Kevin Hyfantis. This month's show will feature acoustic sets by Faux Ferocious and Jon Worley. Music kicks off at 9:30 p.m. - The Knoxville News Sentinel