The Womack Family Band

Last updated

The Womacks
The Womack Family Band.jpg
Background information
Origin Norwalk, Ohio, United States
Genres Americana, folk rock
Years active2008 (2008)-2015 (2015)
LabelsFar Around Music, Untitled Records
Past membersHaley Heyman
Noah Heyman
Tony Schaffer
Cory Webb
Kevin Obermeyer
Emily Keener
Seth Bain
Tommy Christian
Cory Boomer

The Womacks were an Americana music quartet from Norwalk, Ohio. The group consisted of Haley Heyman (guitar, mandolin, keyboards, vocals), Noah Heyman (guitar, mandolin, bass guitar, banjo, vocals), Tony Schaffer (piano, guitar, bass guitar, alto saxophone, trumpet, clarinet, vocals), and Cory Webb (drums). [1] The band's unique and varied sound could be attributed to the group's three distinct songwriters, [2] which allowed a new lyrical perspective with each song.

Contents

Formation and band name

The members of The Womacks gradually came together around multi-instrumentalist Tony Schaffer, who had been performing with Americana Singer-Songwriter and fellow Ohioan Chris Castle. Schaffer and Noah Heyman started performing together as an acoustic duo in 2008, adding vocalist Haley Heyman to the line-up within six months. That same year, the trio became the featured weekly act at the Office Bar in Norwalk, Ohio, where they met bartender and drummer Cory Webb. Initially called "The Womack Brothers Family Band," the "Womack" of their name was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek nod to fans of singer-songwriter Tommy Womack and was initially coined by Schaffer and Castle as a bar-band alias. The name was changed to "The Womack Family Band" after Haley joined the group. [1] The name, which was used as the title for the band's 2010 debut, [3] would last until 2014, when they shortened the band name once again, this time to "The Womacks".

Debut album

Folk Alley named The Womack Family Band their featured artists of July 2010. [4] The group released their self-titled debut disc The Womack Family Band on September 15 of the same year, at the Winchester Music Hall (Lakewood, OH). [5] The debut record consisted of 15 songs, written by Noah and Haley Heyman, and Tony Schaffer, the group's three primary songwriters, [6] and included songs like "When The Winter Breaks", "Hold On", "Bloodline Blues", and "Sysiphus Stone". [7]

"From Chestnut" EP

The band's next release was an EP titled "From Chestnut". The entire disc was, like the debut, recorded entirely in the Womacks home studio on Chestnut Street. [8] The collection was released in September 2011 and included songs like "Sara", "Sugar Honey", and "Nothing". [9]

The Blue Room

The Womacks' second full-length release as The Womack Family Band, The Blue Room, was also recorded at Chestnut and was released in 2012. They named the album after the common room they shared in their home. Songs include "Sun Shine Down My Way," "A Silver Line of Peace," and "For Lysie." [10] [11]

"WFB," name change and "The Great American Treat"

The band's next release would mark a transition in their career. The quasi-self-titled "WFB" EP [12] would be released under the new moniker of The Womacks. Recorded in their new base of operations, a ranch the band affectionately called "Higbee" in Monroeville, OH, the EP's release was celebrated with a large-scale all-day music festival at the ranch declared "The Great American Treat." The event, which included camping, food and art vendors, and a robust lineup of other local acts, was held Fourth of July weekend 2014. [13]

Collaboration with Emily Keener

Over the course of the following year, the Womacks would collaborate with fellow local musician Emily Keener. Keener, who had performed at the 2014 Great American Treat, recruited the band to support her 2015 release East of the Sun, which would ultimately be released as her second, and the Womacks third, album under "Emily Keener and the Womacks" in March 2015. [14] Keener would become a contestant on the reality competition show The Voice the following year.

The Second Annual Great American Treat and Break-Up

The band celebrated a second year of the Great American Treat festival in 2015, once again in July, but this time with a larger two-day event. The event, once again hosting a number of other bands and artists as well as the previous year's amenities, was again held at the Womack ranch. The band's live performance, which this time included Keener, would prove to be their last live performance. On August 25, 2015, the band shared on their public Facebook page that Haley Heyman had left the band for personal reasons, and thus, because "the Womacks without Haley is not the Womacks," the band would dissolve. They concurrently announced and released an EP called "Live Treats," initially to be released at the July event, which the band described as including "the 8-member incarnation" of the band, which included the band's original four members and Keener, as well as Seth Bain, Tommy Christian, and Cory Boomer. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim "Ripper" Owens</span> American heavy metal singer

Timothy S. "Ripper" Owens is an American heavy metal singer who currently performs with KK's Priest, Spirits of Fire, the Three Tremors and A New Revenge. He first gained attention as the lead singer of Judas Priest and then Iced Earth. He took the nickname "Ripper" from the Judas Priest song "The Ripper" during his time in the tribute band British Steel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iced Earth</span> American heavy metal band

Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band currently composed of only Jon Schaffer, formed in Tampa, Florida and based in Columbus, Indiana. They were formed in 1984 under the name the Rose, then Purgatory, by guitarist, main songwriter and bandleader Schaffer and original drummer Greg Seymour. Iced Earth released their debut album in 1990 and have since released twelve studio albums, four EPs, three compilations, three box sets, three live albums and eleven music videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Shins</span> American indie rock band

The Shins is an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's current line-up consists of Mercer, alongside Yuuki Matthews, Mark Watrous, Patti King (keyboards), and Jon Sortland (drums). They are based in Portland, Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Womack</span> American singer and songwriter (1944–2014)

Robert Dwayne Womack was an American singer, musician and songwriter. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career spanned more than 60 years and multiple styles, including R&B, jazz, soul, rock and roll, doo-wop, and gospel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Schaffer</span> American guitarist

Jon Ryan Schaffer is an American heavy metal musician. He is the rhythm guitarist, bandleader and principal songwriter of the Indiana-based heavy metal band Iced Earth, which he formed in 1985 under the name Purgatory. He is also the lead singer in his political side project Sons of Liberty and, until 2021, played guitar for Demons & Wizards, his collaboration with Blind Guardian frontman Hansi Kürsch. In a 2019 poll by Guitar World, Schaffer was ranked as the 25th-best rhythm guitar player of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cross Canadian Ragweed</span> Former American rock band

Cross Canadian Ragweed was an American rock band formed in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1994. The band consisted of Cody Canada, Grady Cross (guitar), Randy Ragsdale (drums), and Choya Partridge. The group released five studio albums and three live albums from 1994 until 2010. The band was at the forefront of the rise of the red dirt music scene in Oklahoma and the Texas Music scene. After almost 15 years together, the group disbanded in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Stanley</span> American musician (1948–2021)

Michael Stanley was an American singer-songwriter, musician, radio and television personality. As a solo artist and with the Michael Stanley Band (MSB), and Michael Stanley and the Resonators (MS&R) his brand of heartland rock was popular in Cleveland, Ohio, and around the American Midwest in the 1970s and 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cory Branan</span> American singer-songwriter

Cory Dale Branan is an American singer-songwriter from Mississippi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Kimbrough</span> American singer-songwriter

William Adams Kimbrough is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.

Richard X. Heyman is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Heyman is a founding member of the Doughboys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirty Projectors</span> American rock group

Dirty Projectors is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. The band is the project of singer-songwriter David Longstreth, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's current line-up consists of Longstreth, alongside Mike Daniel Johnson (drums), Maia Friedman, Felicia Douglass and Kristin Slipp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allen McKenzie</span> American bassist

Allen McKenzie is an American musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the hard rock/glam metal band FireHouse.

Forged in Flame is a heavy metal/rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, in 2007. The band has often been described as stoner rock. The band's signature is a prog-doom-metal with a vintage Sabbath chaser. The band has self-released a four song EP “Forged In Flame” which has sold close to 1,000 copies, and a vinyl 7” split "Forged In Ohio" with The Ohio Sky. More recently they contributed exclusive song “The Underground” for Australian label Planet Fuzz Record’s compilation Cowbells and Cobwebs. The band has been compared to acts such as Corrosion of Conformity, the Cult and Life of Agony. The band is not currently signed to any label.

The Strange Familiar is an American pop rock band from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The group was originally formed in 2006 by the husband and wife singer-songwriter team Jeff Andrea and Kira Leyden, former members of the popular Akron, OH band Jaded Era. Their first single, "Courage Is...", gained them significant attention after it was heavily promoted on ABC Family to launch a brand new series. In 2012, the band was featured on mtvU, Season 3 of the hit series The Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars. Other members include fellow Ohio natives Frank Freeman (bass) and Nicholas Sainato (drums).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noah Gundersen</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1989)

Noah Gundersen is an American indie folk singer-songwriter from Seattle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jake Dreyer</span> American guitarist

Jake Dreyer is an American musician who is the lead guitarist and songwriter for the progressive metal band Witherfall and former lead guitarist for Iced Earth. He was also a touring and session guitarist for the bands Demons and Wizards, White Wizzard, and Kobra and the Lotus.

Jim Miller is a rock and roll guitarist, singer, teacher, recording artist and band leader in the “jam band” genre’. He has performed with Oroboros and his present group, JiMiller Band. He has also founded and organized several events, including co-founding the Rock & Reggae Festival and founding Lazy Daisy and DeadFall at Nelson Ledges State Park in northeast Ohio. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

Skaters was a rock band formed in New York City, New York, in 2012. The band was signed to Warner Bros. Records before going independent in 2017 and releasing their second album under Yonks Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wand (band)</span> American psychedelic rock band

Wand is an American psychedelic rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, formed in 2013. The band consists of Cory Hanson, Sofia Arreguin, Robert Cody (guitar), Lee Landey (bass) and Evan Burrows (drums).

Kenneth S. Greenberg is an American guitarist, songwriter, producer, and session musician. He is known for bringing a rock-and-roll sensibility to Nashville recording sessions.

References

  1. 1 2 Aaron Freeder, Adam Wagner, Ivan Sheehan; Ohio Authority (Cleveland, Ohio) August 8, 2011
  2. ↑ "MFT :: Band :: The Womack Family Band". Musicalfamilytree.com. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  3. ↑ Laurie Wanninger, Cool Cleveland (Cleveland, OH) May, 2011
  4. ↑ "OpenMic | Featured Artists". Folk Alley. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  5. ↑ Jim Vickers; Cleveland Magazine (Cleveland, OH) September 2010
  6. ↑ "CD REVIEW: The Womack Family Band's debut album « CoolCleveland Blog". Coolcleveland.com. May 1, 2011. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  7. ↑ &#8250 The Womack Family Band. "The Womack Family Band [Explicit]: The Womack Family Band: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. Retrieved September 27, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ "The Womack Family Band: From Chestnut — Recoil Magazine". Recoilmag.com. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  9. ↑ &#8250 The Womack Family Band. "From Chestnut: The Womack Family Band: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. Retrieved September 27, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ Jason D. 'Diesel' Hamad (September 27, 2012). "Review: The Womack Family Band: The Blue Room". No Surf Music. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  11. ↑ The Womacks. "The Blue Room on Bandcamp" . Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  12. ↑ The Womacks. "WFB on Apple Music".
  13. ↑ "The Womacks Host Outdoor All-Day Music Fest To Release New EP". Cool Cleveland. June 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  14. ↑ The Womacks. "Emily Keener and the Womacks' "East of the Sun" on Apple Music".
  15. ↑ The Womacks (August 25, 2015). "The band's public break-up post and announcement of their final EP" . Retrieved March 23, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.