From the first notes of the album-opening instrumental song “Tornillo” off of Whiskey Myers’ sixth studio release of the same title, which came out back in July, it’s apparent that the veteran band has incorporated new musical twists into its repertoire.
Horn parts straight out of a spaghetti western open the brief title track, which then segues into the next song, “John Wayne,” where the kind of gritty mix of rock and country that has come to define the Whiskey Myers sound emerges.
And on several of the other songs – most notably on the aforementioned “John Wayne,” “Antioch,” “Feet’s” and “Mission To Mars” – robust horn lines and female backing vocals bring new dimensions without altering the core sound of the Texas-based Southern rock and country outfit.
But don’t assume that the additional instrumentation and vocals were some big calculated move.
“We never really do that much thinking about it; Usually we just go in and make a record,” Cody Cannon, Whiskey Myers’ frontman and main songwriter, explained in a recent phone interview. The band is currently on its Tornillo Tour with support from the Read Southall Band and has stops at the Fox Theater in Pomona Nov. 15, The Novo in Los Angeles Nov. 18 and a sold out show at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay in San Diego Nov. 18.
“This time, it was a little bit different,” he continued. “We’d been wanting to do horns for awhile. I guess during the writing process, I was hearing like horns and stuff behind certain sounds. It was in the back of my mind. So I guess that was different this time. We try not to put that much thought into it: trying to find the perfect sound. But I knew on this record I didn’t want to do the same thing. I wanted to do something different.”
That rather spontaneous approach to making music has served Whiskey Myers well throughout a career that now stretches back 15 years.
Formed in 2007 in Palestine, Texas, the band — singer-guitarist Cannon, guitarists John Jeffers and Cody Tate, drummer Jeff Hogg and bassist Gary Brown (replaced in 2017 by Jamey Gleaves) – wasted little time getting its career started. A year later, Whiskey Myers released its debut album, “Road of Life,” and began playing shows in Dallas and on the Texas red dirt country scene.
As subsequent albums were released – “Firewater” in 2011, “Early Morning Shakes” in 2014 and “Mud” in 2016 – the band expanded touring beyond Texas, playing shows across the United States as its grass roots following grew as the band racked up positive reviews for its brawny mix of rock and country.
By 2018, Whiskey Myers’ career took a significant upturn when several of its songs were used in the first season of the hit television series “Yellowstone.” The band even did a cameo in the fourth episode of season one.
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At the time, Cannon said, he and his bandmates didn’t think a whole lot about their involvement in “Yellowstone,” but he now realizes what a major moment it was.
“Just us being an independent band and never really trying to write radio songs or take them to radio in any certain way, we had never had a platform to reach millions of people like that at once,” Cannon said. “That was the first time we ever had that happen; a platform like that to reach those people.”
Almost immediately, album sales, streams and crowd sizes at Whisky Myers concerts took a jump. When the band’s self-titled fifth album arrived in September 2019, it topped the Billboard country album chart and landed at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band went into the pandemic-forced break from activity more popular than ever. The band was even invited out to play the Palomino Stage at the 2019 Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio that year.
Now comes “Tornillo,” and the band is poised to reach an even larger audience. Like the self-titled album, “Tornillo” was self produced by the band, which is fitting for a group that’s been an independent act since day one.
Cannon said going the do-it-yourself route seemed like the only viable option for Whiskey Myers, and having turned down overtures from labels in the past, he doesn’t foresee a scenario where the band would benefit from signing a label deal.
“It’s like why wouldn’t you do it yourself and own it?” he said. “Now we’re so far into it, like hell, why would I want to do that now? I don’t want a boss. That’s what you’re essentially doing, you’re working for somebody. It’s kind of a partnership, but not really. They’re telling you what to do and giving you deadlines to make stuff. I’m not interested in that stuff at all.”
While out on tour, Cannon said the group would be mixing a few of the new songs off of “Tornillo” into the set, but won’t neglect the fan-favorites.
“We’ve kind of learned that process by trial and error,” he said of curating a setlist. “You know, back in the day maybe you were excited to show people new material and stuff and you put four to six in the set and people just kind of stand there and look at you with a blank look because they don’t really know what’s going on. But we’ll be playing some new stuff.”
Whiskey Myers
When: 7 p.m. Nov. 15
Where: Fox Theatre, 301 S. Garey Ave., Pomona
Tickets: $37.50-$79.50 at AXS.com
Also: 7 p.m. Nov. 17 at The Novo, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles. $35-$85 at AXS.com.