10 Quick Ones with WILL THOMAS REED – July 2018

According to a recent press release: “Nashville based country music artist WILL THOMAS REED’s single “Home Is Where the Bar Is” had originally premiered in Country Music News and is continuing to be well received.Nashville-based, Virginia Native, Will Thomas Reed has been cutting his teeth in the music industry since the age of 13. Being a lover of all music, Will left East Tennessee State (on a Bluegrass Scholarship) to spend several years touring full-time with the Grammy Award Winning Rock Band 12 Stones; when they disbanded, Will moved on as Lead Guitarist for the popular rock group Throwing Gravity before fronting his own project, the Will Thomas Band and hitting the road with a multitude of major label acts.” We get Will Thomas to discuss new music, influences, and more in our 10 Quick Ones…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release. What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

The album To Whom It May Concern… is a manifestation of songs that have been either in my head, or weighing on me in some way over the past few years that I just needed to get out. There’s lots of fun guitar… Brian and I had a really fun time sliding in little pieces here and there that you might not hear at the first listen… we really went for a vintage vibe. We wanted that 70’s warmth on the record. Think a cross between Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and George Jones. But it was important to both Brian and I to bring a fresh twist to that classic vibe… we wanted this to have modern appeal but still retain all the goodness that made those 70’s records sound so good. ⁃ To achieve that, we had to take the record to Sam Phillips Studio to be mixed. It was so cool to have these tracks run through all of Sams original analog gear, with Matt Ross-Spang at the helm, mixing this record.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

The moment I realized it was riding down the road in my dads pickup truck when I was about 7 years old listening to Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty. When “Running Down A Dream” came on, that was a exact moment I knew playing music was going to be predominant in my life.

3. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Tom Petty, George Jones, Grand Funk Railroad, Led Zeppelin, Dwight Yoakum… in no particular order, depending on my mood.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be?

The Heartbreakers.

5. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before?

Something you can sit down and listen to with your parents and both fall in love with… from old to young, from Rock’n’Roll to Country, something everyone can enjoy. A classic blend of good’ole Country & Rock’n’Roll with a modern spin.

6. What’s the best thing about being a musician?

There’s nothing else out there that fulfills me like music does. It’s the only place that I feel I’m in my true element.

7. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Everyone shares cooking responsibilities. With a bar tending background and being a Whiskey Ambassador, I definitely get the drinks going. And I usually crack out the acoustic guitars first as well.

8. If you weren’t a musician, what would be your dream job?

There’s really nothing else out there that could fulfill me the way that music does.

9. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”?

Every step has lead me to where I’m at right now and I couldn’t be happier. Every wrong turn has been a lesson learned.

10. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose?

Houses of the Holy by Led Zeppelin. To be in that Castle up in the moors recording those songs undoubtedly would be incredible. To be a fly on the wall watching Bonham track drums in that stairwell would have been like a religious experience.

WILL THOMAS REED LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

Category: Interviews