There is no question that Willy Tea Taylor’s life as a singer/songwriter was predetermined – his role realized the moment he wrote his first song. His inspirations drawn from two separate wells; Living the life of a cattleman’s kid and experiencing true visionaries music like Greg Brown, John Hartford, and Guy Clark. The image of Guy Clark and friends sitting around the kitchen table loaded with ashtrays full of butts, half-smoked cigarettes, food, and booze on one Christmas Eve in 1975 burned into Taylor’s soul. Those guys, swapping songs without pretense, lit Willy Tea’s fire. And ever since, its led purpose with passion – finding a hang by curating relationships through musical friendships that get him closer to his own Clark style kitchen table.
From his early days co-fronting The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit, to singing solo in countless cowboy bars, to pitching countless wiffle ball games, Willy Tea has never lost the vision. Now Willy Tea Taylor has taken his vision of the “hero hang” on the road. and his talented traveling band The Fellership is made up of his fantastically talented buds who play Willy’s songs with a brand of reckless abandon and utter humility that spits in the face of pretense. The way The Fellership plays Will’s songs is the way they demand to be played and, in their short time together, they have been awe-ing every audience lucky enough to see them.
THE GREAT WESTERN HANGOVER
The ten-song LP features a sample-size blend of Willy’s musical influences like Tom Petty-esque rock anthems, riders of the storm rattling westerns, and bait’n tackle choir chants, while delivering the masterful songwriting that Taylor’s cult of underground folk followers devour. The Great Western Hangover features other talents like Anna Tivel, Jeffrey Martin, The Rainbow Girls, and members of Fruition, and TK & the Holy Know-Nothings.
Recorded live in a two-and-a-half day session at Our Lady of Perpetual Heat Recording Studio & Spa just outside of Portland, The Great Western Hangover showcases many sides of Willy Tea Taylor’s musical mind and songwriting prowess. Willy Tea Taylor has dedicated his life to constantly crafting the ultimate “hero hang” as an eternal seeker of Guy Clark’s kitchen table. Gathering folks betrothed to music, who ride the wave of the unknown, and strive to experience full-hearted gratitude amidst the chaotic modern world is what built the foundation The Fellership stands upon.
Some might think of it as an expanded supergroup, but in the form of Taylor’s band, The Fellership amplifies good times, supports wandering souls, and acts as defenders of a well-crafted song. Though a constantly shifting outfit, this Fellership iteration pressed in wax features Taylor Kingman (TK & The Holy Know-Nothings), Tyler Thompson (Fruition, TK & The Holy Know-Nothings), Kris Stuart (Wanderlodge, Root Jack), Dylan Nicholson (The Turkey Buzzards), and Eric Patterson (The Turkey Buzzards).
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