Wayword Sons
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Wayword Sons

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"Review of Poor Boys Delight and The Wayword Sons"

Review of “Poor Boy’s Delight” by The Wayword Sons
Review by David Smith for KDUR Radio and The Colorado Bluegrass Music Society

"Benny Galloway has been riding the great train that is America. From the south land of Louisiana, across the vast plains, running smack dab into the canyons and high peaks of Colorado. Along the way he’s seen the landscapes and met the people that have become his songs. And now the band has formed, The Wayword Sons.

The Wayword Sons are a long time coming, and now established, hopefully they will be a long time sticking around. The band is made up of Robin Davis and Anders Beck, formerly of the award winning bluegrass band, Broke Mountain, with Gregg Andrulis on the keyboard, and Benny “Burle” Galloway rounding out the quartet on the standup bass. The Wayword Sons combine waltzes, driving numbers, surefire solos on guitar, Dobro, and keyboard, and true-to-life vocals. Robin and Burle handle the majority of the singing, trading nicely between Burle’s signature low end storytelling style and Robin’s clear lead; the harmonies between the two are a natural fit. The addition of a keyboard into what some would assume is a bluegrass band brings out a sound that proves how different this ride is going to be. Altogether, The Wayword Sons have all reached the level of musicianship that allows for their influences to meld into a beautiful background, while the foreground is created with each note of originality.

Over the last year the band has matured through weekly gigs at Durango’s own Diamond Belle Saloon, a few festivals here and there, as well as some very unique shows playing with the likes of Jeff Austin, Dave Johnston, Vince Herman, and Shawn Camp. With every show they treat the crowd to Burle’s original songs (songs that grow in popularity as surely as rivers rise in the spring.) But they are by no means locked into the Benny Galloway original canon. From old standards given the Wayword twist, to material from Anders and Robin, as well as from the vault of songs written by their friends over the years, The Wayword Sons take their listeners on a ride through Colorado acoustic history. It seems like this train isn’t pulling into the depot any time soon.

And now there is an album. Produced by friend and musical mentor, Sally Van Meter, “Poor Boy’s Delight” is just what your ears are needing. They are joined throughout the album by friends and legends such as Adam Aijala, Jeff Austin, Sally Van Meter, Eric Thorin, and Stuart Duncan. Many readers may be familiar with Burle’s mighty fine songwriting. It’s been recorded over the years by Runaway Truck Ramp, Fret Knot, Drew Emmit, Jake Schepps, and of course, Yonder Mountain String Band. Those who are familiar with Burle and new fans of what is becoming known as “Burlegrass” will both be pleasantly surprised by the newly recorded material. There are never heard before Burle gems such as, “Believe It” that features Jeff Austin singing a rarely heard falsetto part, adding greatly to the groove of the piece. Galloway’s beautiful Appalachian waltz (and the title track), “Poor Boy’s Delight”, is not only a perfect example of how well Burle can write a song with truth and grit like few others, but it is also a wonderful highlight of Duncan’s exceptional fiddle work. Another nice surprise on the album is the tip of the hat that Burle gives to the band members and friends with the inclusion of Ander’s Dobro piece, “Roberta”, and Robin’s, “The Numbers.” “Bound for Tennessee”, was written by Travis Book, now the bass player for The Stringdusters out of Nashville, TN. This song represents another important side of Burle and The Wayword Sons: that of friendship, building roots, and working on songs together with instruments in hand and pencil to paper. These songs, and the final product as a whole, show that The Wayword Sons are by no means, “Benny Galloway and the Great Backup Band”, but instead a tight knit group of friends that are ready to bring their music to audiences and stereos across the land.

And as for that train traveling on from festival, to saloon, to front porch, let’s end with a line from, “Beyond the Blue”. As Burle says, “When I’m so far gone I’m gonna roll this baby on.” I for one am looking forward to the ride."

- COlorado Bluegrass Music Society


Discography

"Poor Boy's Delight" Street Date: August 8th, 2006
Hamshack Records, Red Distribution
Produced by Sally Van Meter
Special Guests include Stuart Duncan and members of Yonder Mountain String Band

The Band also has two shows (and more coming out every month or so) at Compact Disc On Demand (www.cdodlive.com). These are high definition live shows recorded on multi tracking machines and sold at the end of the show that was recorded and then on the internet after the fact.

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Bio

The Wayword Sons is one of the most exciting new bands in today‘s music scene. Combining the critically acclaimed songwriting of Benny Galloway, whose timeless songs have been recorded by The Infamous Stringdusters, Drew Emmitt, and Yonder Mountain String Band (Benny has songs on each of their albums to date and their 2003 album "Old Hands" was a colaborative effort and featured only songs written by Benny) and stellar musicianship within the unique instrumentation of keyboards, dobro, acoustic guitar and bass, The Wayword sound is truly something special.

Though the band is newly formed, many music fans find familiar faces and sounds in the Wayword Sons. Benny’s musical association with Yonder Mountain String Band, whose 2003 recording, “Old Hands” features only songs written by Benny, has made him a cult hero among Yonder’s multitude of fans. Benny has handpicked a cohesive unit of some of the finest young musicians in the country to play his music the way that it should be heard.

Calling upon traditional bluegrass as a jumping off point for musical experimentation, the Sons create a sound that is jammy, yet tight, lyrical, yet improvisational, and tender, yet rock solid. Bound by the love of songs and the chance to play them together, The Wayword Sons’ genre-bending live sound is an unlikely combination of old and new, sweet and salty, … as creative and unique as it is hard to define.
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Since forming in the fall of 2005, The Wayword Sons have made a large impact throughout the country. In the band’s short existence, they have been from coast to coast and have been invited to play such reputable festivals as The Telluride Bluegrass Festival, where they wowed the audience with their mainstage set and sold out a nightgrass show in town, The Northwest String Summit, and The Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, where they were called a favorite new band to the festival’s huge, diverse audience.

While fans are falling in love with the live sound of the Wayword Sons, musicians and peers are also taking note of the creative and inherently musical nature of the band. When Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band needed a band to fatten up his sound for a headlining festival set in the spring of 2006, he called upon The Sons. Later that fall, Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon did the same for a run of shows in the Southeast.

The band’s first album, “Poor Boy’s Delight” (Hamshack Records, August, 2006), being distributed nationally by MRI/RED Distribution, debuted in the top ten of Billboard Magazine’s bluegrass charts and is a diverse collection of original songs. Representing a combination of soft, tender tunes that spill into intense jams, this album speaks to The Wayword Sons’ success and showcases their ability to play host to a fusion of many new sounds. Commenting on the band’s first album, Galloway looks to the future: “To think that we all met in a small town out in southwestern Colorado is right around mind bending. Chance, luck, or fate and you hold in your hand this collection of songs and stories we call Poor Boy's Delight. I can only imagine the next batch of ideas rendered to melody at the hands of the Wayword Sons.” Boasting energy from their newly formed success and celebration of their new album, The Wayword Sons continue to amaze audiences and enlarge their rapidly growing fan base.
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About the members of The Wayword Sons:

Benny “Burle” Galloway has been one of the best-kept musical secrets in the country. His songs sound like they are a hundred years old, yet connect with the listener on a level that few songwriters achieve. Burle writes songs that are both complex and simple, songs so powerful that the Yonder Mountain String Band, after putting at least one of Burle's songs on every one of their albums to date, chose to make an album with Burle, consisting only of tunes by Burle, with special guests like Tim O’Brien, Jerry Douglas, Sally Van Meter, Darol Anger, Casey Dreisen and Dirk Powell. This album, billed as “Yonder Mountain String Band and Benny Galloway”, “Old Hands”, debuted at #5 on the Billboard Bluegrass Charts and is one of Yonder Mountain String Bands best selling albums to date. As a performer, Burle puts everything he has into his soulful singing and playing, whether he is on the upright bass electric bass or guitar. His most recent success was with The Infamous String dusters, who recorded Burle's song, "Poor Boy's Delight" on their debut record and have noted that it is by far their most requested song and is currently getting the most radio play.
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Gregg Andrulis plays the keyboards. He is a musician who can fit into and expand any realm of music he chooses to. Thankfully, he chooses to play “Burle tunes“. While in college, Gregg was the keyboard players for Tosh