Birth name Owen Robert Mays Record label Solitary Records Name Owen Mays | Labels Solitary Records Years active 2007–present Genres Country, Honky-tonk | |
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Born November 1, 1982 (age 41)
Died July 22, 2015
Columbus, Wisconsin, United States ( 1982-11-01 ) Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, guitarist Instruments Vocals, guitar, banjo, fiddle Associated acts J.B. Beverley & The Wayward Drifters, James Hunnicutt, BanjerDan Albums Nobody Loves You When You're Down, Red Wine and White Lines EP Similar People J B Beverley, James Hunnicutt, Jayke Orvis, Hellbound Glory, Possessed by Paul James | ||
Owen Mays History of Country Music at the Chopin Theater- pt 1
Owen Mays (November 1, 1982 – July 22, 2015) was an American country musician from Cambria, Wisconsin.
Contents
- Owen Mays History of Country Music at the Chopin Theater pt 1
- Owen mays and the last calls barstools neon signs and old milwaukee
- Career
- Discography
- Other appearances
- Influences
- References
Owen mays and the last calls barstools neon signs and old milwaukee
Career
Born and raised in south central Wisconsin, Owen Mays began playing guitar at the age of 16. After several unsuccessful attempts at bands, and musical false starts, his musical aspirations went on the back burner. In 2007, after working a string of dead-end jobs, including a brief career in professional wrestling, Mays took to the road, hitchhiking, and riding Greyhounds around America, with nothing but a backpack and a guitar, writing songs, and performing them on any patch of sidewalk he could find to try to make money off the people passing by.
In 2009, while working a summer job at a campground in his home town of Cambria, Wisconsin. Mays played a show with his friends, J.B. Beverley & The Wayward Drifters. The next day, Mays joined the Drifters for a few days on the road, taking in all of the knowledge about music, and business, that he could. That week, the seeds were also planted to record Owen's first proper album.
In October 2010, Mays flew to Richmond, Virginia, to make his first record with J. B. Beverley engineering. Backed by "Banjer" Dan Mazer(banjo, dobro, mandolin), Johnny Lawless (upright bass), and James Hunnicutt (lead guitar), the result of the recording session was the first Owen Mays & The 80 Proof Boys album, Nobody Loves You When You're Down, which, after several delays, finally saw its official release through Solitary Records in November 2012.
In March 2011, Mays set out on his first U.S. tour, which was quickly followed by a second tour that summer with his good friend, Aaron "Dog Bite" Harris. That summer also saw Mays take the stage at the second annual Muddy Roots Music Festival. Mays ended 2011 with a solo tour of the eastern US.
Since then, Mays has played countless shows around the United States, both solo, and backed by several incarnations of his backing band, The 80 Proof Boys. The current lineup of the 80 Proof Boys, Angela Martin Licari (fiddle), Jesse Kaftanski (upright bass), and Eric Bestul(lead guitar and lap steel guitar) is currently working on a new album, due out in 2014.
Discography
Other appearances
Influences
In no particular order:
Pretty much anything worth a damn!