What better place for Whiskey Myers-a rock and roll and country mix band- to perform than at Lakes Jam in the Brainerd lakes area-a music fest that unites the two music genres.
With hits such as "Early Morning Shakes," "Anne Marie" and "Where the Sun Don't Shine"-Bassist Gary Brown of Whiskey Myers, said the high energy band will get Lakes Jam fans moving when they perform at 4 p.m. June 24 on the Lakes Jam stage at Brainerd International Raceway on country night.
In a telephone interview from his home in Texas, Brown said the band has performed at festivals in Minnesota a few times and look forward to coming again in about a week. Band members are Cody Cannon as lead vocals and acoustic guitar; Cody Tate, lead guitar, vocals and rhythm guitar; John Jeffers, rhythm and lead guitar and vocals; and Jeff Hogg, drums.
A couple of the band members are rock and roll fans and the others are country fans and they blend their music genres together for the creation of Whiskey Myers. Brown said their music can get "pretty rocky at times and it gets really country at times." From music influences of Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers and Hank Williams, Jr., Whiskey Myers performs a wide range of music.
Brown said everyone in the band grew up and played ball together in east Texas. There are two sets of cousins, which includes Brown and Cannon.
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"We all used to listen to our dad's old records and we probably made our dads mad ... wondering where their records were at," Brown said. "We pulled out the old dusty eight-track. Mine was Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, Jr., and a couple of the other guys like The Black Crowes, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Led Zeppelin ... the old school stuff way back in the day."
Brown said they all wanted to play in a band so they began putting some songs together nine years ago and opened for some of the Texas acts and played as many shows as they could.
Brown said he has always been into music.
"Music can speak to people in a lot of ways that other forms of communication can't," Brown said. "It's an universal language and it doesn't matter if you're singing it in English or Spanish or whatever language you're singing it in. It still can affect people who don't speak the language that the lyrics are in. There is something really neat about that ... Every culture since the beginning of time has had music."
Brown said some of his favorite songs to perform are "Cut From a Different Mold" and "Headstone." Brown said the band just finished a record that will come out in September titled "Mud." Brown said they may do a song or two from the new record at Lakes Jam.
Brown said the band has been busy with touring at country and rock and roll festivals and performed in the United Kingdom and four different states before their appearance in Brainerd. Brown said they've been all over and he said performing on the west coast is fun, as well as performing in Canada.
"It's kind of neat to see a different country," Brown said. "We were there in the middle of the winter time and we love the warm weather. It was in the 20s and it was freezing ... We'd like to go there to go fishing because I watch Al Lindner and all those guys on the Outdoor Channel."
Whiskey Myers has three albums: "Early Morning Shakes" in 2014; "Firewater" in 2011; and "Road of Life" in 2008. "Early Morning Shakes" is a compilation of 12 songs recorded by producer Dave Cobb. "Anna Marie" on the 2011 album reached No. 1 on the Texas Music Charts.
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According to the band's website, Whiskey Myers is " a group of southern eclectics, who can neither be labeled rock nor country, are quickly becoming known in the music world for their unabashed directness and clarity. Some call it rebel music, but it's more like everyday soul. Their songs are stories with characters and situations that are immediately relatable. Stories of celebration, mourning and of trials and triumph. Through the quality of these songs, and their undeniable power in concert and on record, the band has attracted a devoted army of outspoken fans who pack venues, sing the band's praises online, and continue to make Whiskey Myers a growing word-of-mouth sensation."
JENNIFER STOCKINGER may be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 218-855-5851. Follow me at www.twitter.com/jennewsgirl on Twitter.
