Wayward Sway

Traditional acoustic instumentation has passed through our history in a constant state of stylistic reinvention. From the solitudes of the hills to the disenchanted howls of the urban songwriter, there are always those whose artistic sense follows the lines of the past and draws them together in a tributary act of original creation in the present. It is here, in our current day, that we find Wayward Sway. All time is now, and all pretension is left behind in a cloud of dust and abandon.

Wayward Sway was formed in the early winter of our year 2003. They played and sang by themselves for quite awhile. Finally, they ended up playing for people in bars. They were applauded. Their music entwines folk, country, rock and traditional influences, played by people who have no business doing so. Their songs range from dark, off-kilter campfire sing alongs, to ballads of unrequited love and stomping tunes inspiring nightlife debauchery.

The delicate balance of instrumentation includes acoustic guitars, banjo, mandolin, dobro, bass and an occasional electric guitar. These are all held together with the clunking, pounding and crashing of bottles, pots, pans, washboards, gongs, cymbals and drums, which are collectively known as their junk percussion.

The band tips a collective hat to the sounds and influences of Tom Waits, Echo and the Bunnymen, Gram Parsons, Love and Rockets, Leonard Cohen, Marc Ribot, The New Lost City Ramblers, John Fonte, Townes Van Zante, and Ennio Morricone.

As Wayward Sway continues to play and sing, they can be found in our current year residing in the San Francisco Bay Area. The lines and the songs of the past have come together in the music of Wayward Sway, and their sound is nothing but their own. Acoustic strings, junk percussion, and a chorus of vocals fill the air, while stories of the dispossed are spun for your dancing pleasure.
They stomp their feet and sing with their hearts.
Sometimes they are out of tune.
Sometimes they are out of touch.
Still they persist.

Let them.