Music gets me up in the morning and puts me to bed at night !
I am William Jay Banwell; born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska. My music is diverse and influenced by many different styles. Currently I am putting together songs for an album project for Band Well titled War Stories.
My musical history started in 4th grade with an instrument called the recorder. Trumpet was my next instrument and I was assisted by my father in that endeavor, but the time period my career in music really ramped up was in junior high and through the support of my instrumental music teacher. He encouraged me to play in small combos with singers and we played upbeat commercial songs in front of audiences. It was also at that time I stepped into the auditorium and saw three 9th-graders playing Jumping Jack Flash in preparation for a large school assembly, and I was changed forever; those three musicians were only 14 years old and they sounded great. I wanted to make sure that I also became part of the action.
In high school and in addition to being in marching band, I started playing bass guitar in the stage band and got involved with rock and roll bands outside of school. I started working on vocals during high school and enjoyed playing at events and dances, which continued into college and slightly beyond until I became an active duty military member. I wrote my first song at about age 14 and continued writing songs into early adulthood. For well over 10 years, I have worked at song writing diligently. I am a bit unique because I write songs influenced by many different styles; from rock and roll to country to ballad to orchestral to blues and back again. Years ago I was in bands such as The Cast of Players and New Movement, which made headlines. Now, I am a studio musician.
I am excited about my career moving forward, as Band Well has been going now for approximately 5 years and I look forward to the future. It is fun to steer two different ships: Purple Look Play and Band Well; two studio bands that have some common parts, but are completely different beasts to record. If you are interested in my music, please don't hesitate to contact me and I encourage you to sign up to Band Well's mailing list and join our family. Have a great day ! Love, Jay
