We’re excited to be speaking today with acclaimed music artist and guitar samurai Tom Wavra; greetings and salutations Tom and welcome to Vents Magazine! Before we dive into the Q&A mosh-pit, how would you describe your indelible musical stylings to a new fan just discovering you and your music? Listening to your music, we can hear the undeniably sweet refrains of classic rock and even a little folk, but would you count yourself as a classic rock or folk artist per se?

Thank you for the opportunity. I’m definitely a classic rock guy.

Congratulations on your beautiful new EP Back in the Day! Starting at the top, can you talk about what inspired one of the best EP releases so far of 2024?

Actually what inspired the start of the project was my first trip to the Sturgis bike rally back in 2012. I was asked to perform at a beautiful campground in Deadwood South Dakota. It was such an amazing experience that I had to write a song about it.

On the road to completing Back in the Day, you had to contend with both a worldwide pandemic as well as the passing of producer and keyboard Svengali James Walsh. Can you speak to how these very big adversities and losses altered the trajectory of the new EP and ultimately made it into what it is today?

Once I recorded Deadwood I decided to expand the project and recorded the rest of the tracks at Winterland Studios. This was 2014. Then life got busy raising a family and a busy business career. I kicked the project back into gear in 2019 to add additional tracks and overdubs at F5 Soundhouse. It laid dormant again due to my own procrastination until the passing of James Walsh in March 2023. It was a shock. I just finished a solo acoustic gig when I got the news on my Facebook news feed that he had passed. I said to myself right at that moment that I must complete the project and get it released. We added additional instruments and harmonies in May of 2023. Completed the final mix at F5 Studios July of 2023. We then completed the mastering of the recordings for release March 2024. It was quite the journey.

We’re big admirers of the tune “Summer in the Delta” which is off of the new EP! What’s the story behind this gem of a ditty?

Its an instrumental song that I had in my back pocket for many years. I considered adding vocals but melodies were so strong that I just left it as it was. I did add the steel laptop guitar which really added to the vibe. It has a cool summertime feel to me. I think when people listen to it they each will have their own visualization in their minds eye.

Can you introduce our ever-inquisitive readers to the amazing musicians who contributed to the album?

James Walsh played keyboard and harmonies, Ryan Wolowski on bass and harmonies, Brad Rebers on drums, Bill Davis on electric guitar, Shane Akers on steel laptop guitar and Maggie Wuollet on harmonies. It was such an amazing experience to bring the songs to the table and see the songs bloom with everyones contributions.

In your humble opinion, what differentiates the Back in the Day EP from the other music on the 2024 music scene?

For me its really the classic rock vibe. Its i grew up on and its reflected in the music.

Who are you inspired by, musically-speaking?
I really love all genres of music with a few exceptions. If I had to pick just once I would say Led Zeppelin. What I loved most about them is that they didn’t lock into one style. Its brilliant because people wont categorize your music because your jumping around from the very beginning.

In the wake of the release of the new EP, can fans look forward to a possible LP release from you?

Most definitely but this time I’ll keep the timeline a little tighter if you know what I mean.

What does your touring/performing dance card look like in the coming weeks and months?

I’m currently keeping things local but who knows what tomorrow might bring.

Thank you for spending some time with us today, Tom! Any final thoughts you might like to share with readers about your freshly-minted new EP Back in the Day? Where is the best place to go for fans who want to stay up to date with your music?

Just that I’m very proud and grateful on how the whole thing turned out. If you want to check in with me just friend me on Facebook.

https://www.tomwavra.com/
https://www.facebook.com/tom.wavra.7

INTERVIEW: Tom Wavra

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