Virginia is the home to Will Gunnell. It is one of the 50 states of the United States and is one state that has a long history ringing with music. It was home to the Carter Family, one of the many roots of country music in America. Today it proudly is the home of the Crooked Road – a trail celebrating heritage music in Virginia.
In the centre of this wealth of musical history you will find a multi talented musical artist, This is where Will Gunnell grew up. It was in a musical household with all kinds of music playing at any given time. From classic country to rock, southern gospel, bluegrass and church hymns. They all provided the fertile bed that nourished his various skills as a musician, producer, entertainer and song writer.
He was first drawn to drums, which was the first instrument he learned to play. Later he learned to play guitar, starting with a few chords and then progressing to teach himself guitar and bass.
His musical curiosity did not end there. Most of us may be content to learn the words or tune of a song but when Will Gunnell heard a song he had a different approach. He would try and record the song and it was how he started in recording music. Gunnell told us “I got interested in recording when I heard records that I felt like could be better. I started with two cassette players, gradually moving up to my studio setup.”
Gunnell has created a wide repertoire of music, if you listen to his catalogue of recordings. They grab you by the ear and beckon you like a siren calling a boatman. The lyrics or tune or some other aspect of the composition demand that you engage with them. It is not a command, you are after all beguiled by the music. Gunnell said that his “main focus in songwriting is to make it believable, relatable, catchy and hopefully differently familiar.
So where do the songs come from? For Will. “a lot of the songs I write come from ideas that just pop in my head. Sometimes they come from a word or a phrase in a popular song or TV show. Sometimes they come from real life like some titled ‘Ain’t No Whisky Worth That’, ‘Live Simply’, ‘Just Because I’m Country’, ‘Country Side of the County Line’, and a few others.”
A new release from Will Gunnell, Shine is an example of his talent. Falling in love is a popular topic for not only country music writers. With an abundance of songs released over many years you could be thinking how would it be possible to write something new. Yet here it is from Gunnell. Take a listen to Shine and you are taken back to the feelings, the joy, the mystery of this human experience once more.
Will Gunnell’s, Shine can be heard on Radio Southern Skies.
LINKS to Will Gunnell
You Tube – Will Gunnell, Live Simply
Sound Cloud – Will Gunnell
Radio Southern Skies 