The THOMAS WILBY GANG play some good old swampy raw but country blues rock tunes, that can be heard on what else, their debut full-length album titled "Backwoods Crackin'" out now! The band took sometime to disclose the details behind the album, their music and some input on themselves as well.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
We have Guy Thomas on vocals, guitar, harmonica and getting stuff done. Liz Walne on vocals and shaking percussion stuff. Becca Thomas on bass, backing vocals and snacks. Gaz Wilby on drums, joints, backing vocals and the occasional lead vocal. Tony Wade on everything cosmic and keyboard related. And finally me, Si Askew, just guitars. The band started in 2012 when myself and Guy realized that we both had a liking for Americana and blues based music, so we got together and got some ideas down, liked what we had and started putting the band together. Various members had previously played in other bands together, so it came together pretty easy. Liz was forced to join the band after she was heard singing karaoke at a family party. Tony was the last to join, he glued everything together nicely.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
I thought it would be good to name us after a crazed, narcotic fueled outlaw from the Wild West. I couldn’t find one, so I made one up from our band members surnames. I think it was just a temporary name, but it stuck.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
We are based in and around Wakefield, which is in the U.K.’s finest county, Yorkshire. The music scene is good with lots of great bands. There’s too many to list here, but some favorites to check out are The Sourheads, Dark Horse [which Tony plays in], The Magic Droids Band and Sux Blood [Gaz plays in both].
4. How would you describe your style?
Blues, rock, Americana, taking in influences from the Stones, Taj Mahal, Free, Fleetwood Mac, right up to newer artists such as Howlin Rain, Phil Cook, Dan Auerbach and The Black Keys.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
We released our debut album on CD and download in 2016, called Backwoods Crackin’.
Hopefully you can expect some damn fine music that will stand the test of time and go with you through your life..
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
The new album is ready and is off to be pressed at this very moment. It’s taken quite a while because we decided to build a studio and record it ourselves! The studio is based around a Calrec analogue desk that Guy got from the BBC in London, hopefully listeners will appreciate the months of rewiring that went into and the beautiful analogue sound! The album will be available on cd, download and double vinyl. The first 100 copies are on limited colored vinyl, so keep your eyes peeled. We’re also writing music for the third album and we have a live set to mix and that’ll be available as a download.
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
I don’t think we’d be able to do any intensive touring, most of the band have families, so would probably prove difficult. It would be a pretty huge tour bus! We’d like to do some choice gigs and festivals though, maybe support some more well known bands. We’ve done some great local gigs, supporting artists like Temperance Movement and Marcus Bonfanti. We’ll be doing a few shows to promote the LP.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
Keep on doing what we’re doing, making good music and to get to a point where we can make a living out of it, with a bit of luck.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Play, Deezer, Youtube, Soundcloud. Also on www.thomaswilbygang.com, we’ll be updating our media in the coming weeks with the new LP tracks.
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
That they wanted to listen to it again.
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