Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
Pilot Hayes and longtime music friend, Mikey Ferguson decided to peace out of their hometown of Charlotte, and pursue music down by the coast, in Wilmington, North Carolina. There they settled in attending music school at UNCW. One day while while meandering downtown at the Community College, Hayes ran into Chris Williams in a public speaking class. “He was putting on this presentation, this instructional video on how to play the drums….only he was playing these drums like I had NEVER seen.” He was blown away by the speed of Williams’ hands, as drummed in the video. He knew right then that the two of them would start a band together and make it happen.
Later that year after playing gigs under the name….”RadioHayes and Echopoint21″, the band added a few gooneys along. After the tragic death of their bass virtuoso, Todd Hasz, then added to the mix was rocker, Andy Kirn, who’s main influence was the shreddingness of Led Zeppelin.
The band played their first ever gig near Greenfield Lake, at a place called Legion Stadium. They were hosting a “Greater Wilmington Recycle Revival” where people could trade their stuff around for free. The Granny Band, (Also referred to as the GGB) was scheduled to open the show, but somehow was bumped down into the mix and ended up playing last and headlining their first ever concert together. “I remember some lady walking up to us after the show on the big outdoor stage and saying, “Y’all were the Best band that played ALLL day….thanks you for changing things!”, and walked away. Well I’m glad we made her day, but what about everyone else’s?” He laughed.
The GGB started playing clubs in Wilmington, slowly. Very Slowly. These guys started out lazy. Spoiled and living at the beach, they didn’t want to move. But, the more they played, the more people listened. Soon, the clubs began to fill and fill, and even sell out. Their first ever nation wide tour begins the Summer of 2013. BE THERE.
