| What: Rock
band from Birmingham, formed in July 1997. |
 |
| Personnel:Rodney
Reaves, lead vocals and guitar; Michael Swann, guitar and vocals; Justin
Johnson, bass; Joseph Dorough, guitar; Jon Hornsby, drums. |
|
| Where you'll
hear them: Wayne's next show in the Birmingham
area will be at X-Fest 6 on April 23 at Oak Mountain Amphitheatre. Meantime,
the group plans to perform Saturday at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. |
|
| Discs: Wayne's
13-track debut, "Music on Plastic," will be released May 7 on the TVT Records
label. The disc was produced at Synchromesh Studios in Tarrant. |
|
| Making tracks:
"Slow Down," "Shooting
at the Stars," "Be
This Way," "Take
Me Home" and "Temporary"
are included on the disc. All of the songs were written by Reaves. |
|
| In store:
The CD will be sold at the band's shows, in major retail stores and through
Internet music sites. |
|
| Name games:
"It came from sheer laziness," Hornsby explains. "Pam Stallings, a friend
and owner of The Nick, asked for our name. Wayne is Rodney's middle name."
Still, he says the group doesn't regret its choice. "It's kind of fitting
because the band was built around Rodney's songs." |
|
| Influences:Jeff
Buckley, the Beatles, Tom Petty, Radiohead, Neil Young, the Allman Brothers
Band. |
|
| Claim to fame:
Wayne has just concluded a tour with singer-songwriter John Mayer. Also,
the Wayne original "Slow
Down" was heard last month on the WB TV series "Smallville." Another
track, "Shooting
at the Stars," can be heard in an independent film, "The Haven." |
|
| Be attentive:
Although the musicians say they are elated
about being signed to TVT Records, they remain cautious about the music
business. "We've been through so many talks with several different labels
and have had our share of build-ups and let-downs," Swann says. "The relationship
is just new." |
|
| Favorite tracks:
Reaves and Hornsby chose "Figure
It Out." "Drop D"
was Swann's pick; Johnson selected "Letterbox." |
|
| Tune in: Wayne
recently completed a video shoot for "Whisper." |
|
| Plugged in:
Before joining Wayne, Swann was a member of the Birmingham rock band Mars
Electric. |
|
| Banging it slowly:
Hornsby got involved with Wayne while
playing in the drum line of the UAB marching band. Does he miss it? "Not
one bit. It was a lot of long hours with a drum on my back," Hornsby says.
"It was fun but when it's over, it's over." |
|
| Formative years:
"I knew I wanted to be a musician around
third grade," Swann says. "I started to grow my hair out and I begged and
begged my parents for a guitar." |
|
| Best moment on
stage: "For me, it was playing X-Fest
5 last year," Hornsby recalls. "When I looked out on stage, I couldn't
see the ground because there were so many people. The fact that people
were there to hear us play was so inspiring." |
|
| Composure: These
musicians say they never get a case of the nerves before taking the stage.
"We're all comfortable and feel good in what we're doing," Hornsby says.
"A lot of the time, you're so busy and you don't have time to even think
about being nervous," Swann adds. |
|
| Wardrobe: "We're
not glamorous people wearing feather boas," Swann says. "We're just down-home
people." |
|
| Static:
"I think audiences have a pet peeve with us," Reaves says. "We don't move
around enough." |
|
| Practice schedule:
On average, the members of Wayne rehearse three times per week. |
|
| Artsy: Paintings
by guitarist Swann were exhibited in Las Vegas in November, courtesy of
the Grammy Foundation's "Art of Music" program. Other performers with works
in the show included Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Gene Simmons and John
Lennon. "Art of Music" helps to publish, license and distribute artworks
and collectibles created by musicians. "I've sold two of my paintings,"
Swann says, smiling. |
|
| Raves: The
soundtrack for "I Am Sam" often can be found in Swann's CD player. Reaves
has recently listened to music by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Dorough enjoys
tunes by Gov't Mule. |
|
| The drink's on
me: Bassist Johnson has nicknamed himself
"Cocktail." "He just came in one day and said, 'I want y'all to call me
Cocktail,'" Hornsby explains. "We're not sure about his mental stability.
So we just go right along with it ... 'OK, it's Cocktail.'" |
|
| Web site:
www.waynemusic.com |
