Artist: Christopher Wyze & The Tellers
Album: Stuck In the Mud
Release: 2024
Christopher Wyze & The Tellers deliver a stellar 13 track debut that is a walk through Blues and Americana with a slight hint of classic country influence peppered in for good measure. Recording in Clarksdale, Mississippi and Muscle Shoals is always a great place to find deep inspiration for this sort of music. With an impressive list of musicians on the project including Ralph Carter, Eric Deaton, Gerry Murphy, Justin Holder, Cary Hudson and Douglas Banks a home run was practically guaranteed .
Track one, Three Hours From Memphis, sets the hook for what is to come throughout the whole release. A relaxed vibe both musically and vocally that is quite easy on the ears. A true ensemble effort that delivers a pocketed groove with tasteful guitar work and storytelling lyrics that conjure images in the mind of the struggle of a musician seeking recognition. This was the perfect track to begin the record with, as it best summarizes the overall feel of the record. I suspect this one will be in the eras of a lot of new fans.
This album is equal parts Blues and Americana in many ways. Back To Clarksdale wholeheartedly embraces the crossroads where these two genres intersect. There is an intoxicating musical energy that floats in the air in Clarksdale, the home of the legendary crossroads of Highway 61 and 49 and the gateway to the delta. Head north and you'll be in Memphis, or head south to where it all began. It is that spirit that comes through in the songs on this record, blurring the lines of genres and existing where the overlap in time and geography exist. Going Back To Clarksdale to find the root of it all, but still bringing the outside influence that was born from the hotbed of creativity and soul found in the deep south delta.
A wonderful acoustic piece Soul On The Road is a great story, delivered in an almost spoken word style over an authentic slide flavored acoustic guitar. This song would be equally at home on a Willie Nelson record as it would be from Keb Mo. Again, it is Christopher Wyze's ability to straddle the styles that make this song such a compelling listen. What is unmistakable is the southern roots. It seems to be as influenced by Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings as much as it is by Mississippi John Hurt.
For fans of the classic 12 bar blues format, Money Spent Blues will scratch that itch. A medium tempo shuffle with all the right things in the right places. A lazy sweaty shuffle with the classic turnarounds and grimy guitar lead always satisfies, when played by folks that know how to pocket it and not overplay it like this ensemble. The presence of the slide guitar and rolling piano brings this track closer to the heyday of Chicago Blues that so many blues fans have gravitated to for decades.
This 13 track album is a very pleasing mix of all things "roots" music and is recorded just as it should be. The trick with this kind of music is to not over produce it, but just capture it simply as it was intended to be. Leave the guitar acrobatics at the door for the young guns to pick up and step inside to where the men are. Where the music isn't as loud and the whiskey is sipped instead of shot. Where the story IS the sweat, versus the sweat being a byproduct of acrobatics. Mature fans of slightly country flavored blues will thoroughly enjoy this release.
Check out the interview with Christopher Wyze below!
Tell us the brief history of your band or musical career.
I’ll try to keep it brief, but this is a crazy story. In the early 2000s I became frontman in a blues-rock cover band in Indianapolis. Pretty quickly I decided to learn to play the harmonica. I wanted to carry my weight with the band. I bought harps, instructional CDs, lesson books and watched YouTube videos. Within a few months I learned to play decent sounding simple stuff on stage. A couple of years later, to take my playing up a notch, I went to a week-long blues harmonica Jam Camp in the Mississippi Delta, Clarksdale. Harmonica teaching guru Jon Gindick ran the camp. His instructional CD was the main one I had learned from. I met Jon at the camp. He inspired me to get better and made it seem doable.
At camp I also met Ralph Carter, one of the instructors. Ralph’s not a harmonica guy; he’s a
through-and-through music guy. He played in the Jam band that harp students get to step up and jam with during the week. I’ll pause here to say Ralph and I became great friends in music. And a dozen or so years after we first met, he produced our new album: Stuck in the Mud. He and I also co-wrote eight songs on the album.
Anyway, I met him in Clarksdale. We seemed to be kindred spirits...had fun jamming and
sharing stories. I also learned that early in his career, Ralph hit the big time – playing, co-writing and touring with the great rocker Eddie Money. I figured I could learn a bunch from him...and man, did I ever!
I kept returning to the Clarksdale Jam camp and reunited with Ralph each time. At one point, out of the blue, Ralph said, “You and I are gonna record an album together some day.” I said, “Record what? Whose songs?” And he said, “Your songs.” And that was it for a while. Several years went by. Each time I got back together with Ralph he’d remind me of the album we were going to make and of the songs I was going to write. Yeah, right.
On November 10, 2021, I read an article about Ivy Manor at the Shoals studio, a place where musicians live-in and record. It talked about proprietor Michael Wright, who is also engineer, host and cook at Ivy Manor studio. I thought to myself, “Ralph and I need to record our album there, with Michael.” In early January 2022 I sent Ralph an email and pitched the idea. A day later he replied: “Chris!!! This looks positively awesome!” Yikes…this thing is on!
At that point in my life, I had written maybe one song. So, I went to work. Three months later,
armed with lyrics for 13 newly written songs, I drove to Memphis to meet Ralph at the airport. We headed to the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale, Miss. for three days of co-songwriting. On our last day together, Eric Deaton (who plays guitar on the album) joined us. On May 22, 2022 – I remember the day – we checked into Ivy Manor at the Shoals studio and over the next five days we recorded 10 songs. From there, the next 18 months became a blur: mixing and mastering the songs, pitching the album to record labels, and on and on. At one point, I met Jim Reilley, a Nashville producer and recording artist. He liked our stuff and recommended it to Johnny Phillips with Big Radio Records in Memphis. Johnny signed me to a record deal for the album in December of 2023. Then, in March of ’24, we recorded three more songs for the album, this time at the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
Our album released July 19, 2024, and a few days later, Back to Clarksdale hit #1 on the on the RMR Blues Song chart – and our album, Stuck in the Mud, hit #2 on the Blues Album Chart. After twenty years...we’re an overnight success!
Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
Music? Mostly classic stuff from the past: Savoy Brown, J.J. Cale, Ray Charles, Canned Heat, Leon Russell, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Junior Wells, the Mills Brothers...and the Beatles. Of course, I never met any of those guys. But I have met and learned from some great blues musicians. In Clarksdale, I met harmonica monster RJ Mischo. He became a model for me in my blues playing and singing. Lots of people know RJ as an amazing harp player but let me tell you...the dude can sing the blues. And he drips with cool! RJ helped me a ton, as did Jon Gindick, Hash Brown (Brian Calway), TJ Klay, Chery Arena and Richard Sleigh. And through it all, Ralph Carter encouraged me. He’s helped me to become a professional recording artist, performer and songwriter. In my non-music career, I’m a writer – have been for decades. When it comes to stories and writing, I’d have to say my influences are Shakespeare and Kurt Vonnegut. Those fellas could tell a story!
What album has had the greatest impact on your life as a musician?
B.B. King and Bobby Bland Together for the First Time...Live. My brother came home from
college one Christmas with that double album. I was in high school. He put it on the
turntable...and I was hooked. If you love blues and haven’t heard it, stop reading and listen!
What’s your favorite accomplishment as a musician thus far?
I’d have to say it’s been writing and recording the 13 songs on my new album and signing a
record deal with Big Radio Records in Memphis and then hitting the Blues chart with a #1 Song.
Earlier, I said I like “the old stuff” and in many ways, Big Radio Records is part of that legacy. The company behind the label, Select-O-Hits was founded in 1960 by Sam Phillips and his brother. That company, still going strong today, has been a part of more than 300 gold, platinum and Grammy winning albums, including blues hits over the past six decades, the latest being a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album for Brother Johnny by Edgar Winter. Most folks know Sam Phillips discovered and first recorded Elvis at his studio in Memphis: Sun Studios. Select-O-Hits is still run today by Sam’s son and his nephew, Johnny Phillips. Johnny signed me to Big Radio Records.
What inspires you to write the music you write?
For me, it’s telling stories. I don’t paint; I’m not a sculptor. I don’t write movies or plays or novels. I write stories, tiny little creative expressions – songs. In my non-music career, I’m a writer. I write advertising and books. (I have five books in print.) Song lyrics let me create in a form that’s faster and easier than writing a 40,000-word book. In the time it takes me to write a book, I can write a bunch of songs...a bunch. I love that about songwriting. And I’m glad I arrived at songwriting already knowing how to write. It means I get to focus on the story instead of the mechanics of writing.
What made you want to play the instrument you play?
I sing and play the harmonica; but let’s call the harmonica my instrument. At first, I probably
didn’t even know I was hearing harmonica on blues and rock music I listened to. But something about the sound grabbed me – the slurred notes, the bent notes, the warbles. To me, the harp and slide guitar are the first sounds I think of when I think of the blues. So, when I started singing in band, it didn’t take me long to want to learn it. And what I found so cool about learning harmonica was how quickly I could become OK at playing it, and even sound “bluesy” on stage. If you “get” the blues, Jon Gindick’s instructional books and CDs can teach you that very quickly. I’m now in decade two of playing harmonica, and I realize just how hard it is to become really good. Sometimes, we feature the harp in one of our songs. But often, I use it to flavor the music. Listen to Cotton Ain’t King on our new album. I play harp for maybe 10 seconds, just at the beginning. That’s not much time in a 4-minute song, right? But without that harp lick, I don’t believe the song would pull off the sound we wanted. Other songs on the album, Good Friend Gone and Wake Up, for instance, I play extended harp solos.
How are you continuing to grow musically?
I feel like I’m just starting, because, truth is, as a songwriter, I am. Funny, but I’m a “newby” at this. The Nashville Songwriters Association recognized me as a “One to Watch” songwriter late last year, and a few weeks later, I signed with Big Radio Records. Crazy stuff. But because I’m experienced as a singer, performer and writer, I know I can and will keep growing as a songwriter. And that’s where I’m focused. A while back, I thought about learning guitar and piano. Then it dawned on me: I’m just getting started as a songwriter. The best use of the music inside me is to go all in on songwriting. At best I’d become “OK” on guitar or piano. But with songwriting...who knows how far I can go?
Are there any musicians who inspire you that are not famous? What qualities do you
admire about them?
I’ll mention just one: Long John Baldry, a British blues singer, who’s mostly forgotten today. But at one time, the Beatles, the Stones and everybody else playing rock and roll looked up to John Baldry on the Charts. As a teenager in the late 1950s, he found some old American blues records, learned the songs and started busking them on the streets. Eventually, he put together a band, with Rod Stewart singing backup vocals and Elton John (Reginald Dwight at the time) on piano. Elton John grabbed his last name from the frontman, John Baldry, and his first name from Elton Dean, a sax player. I don’t think recordings of that band survived. Can you imagine how they sounded?
I mention Baldry because years ago I had intended to start a John Baldry cover band. It never happened, but we did play some of his blues tunes. If you love blues and haven’t listened to John Baldry, you’re missing out. What I admire about Baldry is the absolute electricity he packed into his singing. The guy could deliver a gut punch with the way he sang the blues.
Describe your worst performance. What did you learn from this experience?
Oh, I’ve messed things up, plenty of times. But I don’t necessarily see that as bad or “worst.” For me, music is fun and joyful, even when it comes with mistakes. It’s about entertaining the audience and even each other as a band. I love looking across stage to see a band mate smiling, totally into the music.
In every band I’ve performed with, we have a ball when we play. The audience does too. See how that works? We’ve all seen artists or bands perform and it looks like they’re not having fun. Nobody enjoys that. See how that works? I guess what I’ve learned from messing up is to remember why I’m there...to make sure people enjoy us and our music.
Do you have any anxiety about performing live?
None. Look, we’re making music...this isn’t rocket science; we’re not solving world hunger.
Keeping that in mind, I have a ball when I perform live or record in the studio. My goal is for the people who have taken time out of their day, night, or life to lose track of time. I want to take their minds off of their troubles. Doing that isn’t pressure; it’s joy. In fact, the comment I hear most often after a show goes something like this, “Hey CW, you guys looked like you were having so much fun up there...we had a ball too!” I’ll sum this up by
saying, for me, performing or recording doesn’t create pressure. It releases it. And that’s a great feeling.
Describe your creative process when you write new music.
When I write a song, the process starts by coming up with the story idea. Once that happens, I don’t struggle with the words. But producing a good blues story...that’s the real.
How do I do that? I keep my eyes and ears open to the world around me. When I pay attention, I see life stories play out everywhere, all the time. And when I do, I write it down. I scribble down a story fragment every day or two. I have hundreds of them on scraps of paper, or on my phone.
To write a new song, all I do is sit down (usually in Clarksdale, Mississippi, at The Shack Up Inn, my writing oasis) and pull out a few story fragments, randomly. I pick one that hits me in the moment, and I start writing. With that story idea in mind, I feel like my song lyrics almost write themselves.
Many of my songs deal with people down on their luck…call them losers. Not sure why, but those people – and I’ve been one at times – fascinate me. I feel like their stories are something I’m compelled to write. It’s all very weird and mystical. And then, to finish a song and see it come to life with a co-writer and then in the studio...man, that’s a thrill.
What is the best way to stay updated on current news; gigs, releases, etc.
The #1 way is to go to our website and sign-up form for updates with your email address. (Go here: www.christopherwyze.com.) You don’t even have to give us your name. When we have news or new music, videos or other updates, I write up a short email to let you know.
Remember, I’m a writer!
What's next for your band?
My dream is to play blues festivals in Europe next summer. So to our fans in Europe – and
we’re getting a lot of air play there – contact the booking folks for your favorite blues festival and tell them to book Christopher Wyze & the Tellers for next summer!
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