Featured Band: Oweda
Finding up-and-coming bands is always so fun and exciting, so we created a whole program to work with them! Check out our music Instagram page, @islandmusiccollab, to keep up with some of the freshest talent and coolest people. Every Friday we feature one of these bands on a segment called Friday Vibes, hosted on @islandcoastallager. Check out this feature about one of those awesome bands, Oweda.
What is your official band name, and the names/roles of all members? Our official band name is Oweda. Band members include Tyler Sorenson (Lead Vocals), Casey Sowder (Rhythm/Bass Guitar), Jerrett DeWayne Haynes (Bass/Rhythm Guitar), Cody Hawkins (Drums), Michael Johnson (Trumpet/Vocals), and Colby King (Lead Guitar).
What is your origin story? The band originally started out with Tyler Sorenson, DeWayne Haynes, Casey Sowder, Cody Hawkins, and our friend Sam Benedict in late 2018. Tyler and Casey knew each other from high school and used to play music in their free time. DeWayne and Cody used to play music in Alabama when they were in high school, as well. DeWayne eventually moved from Fort Payne to Chattanooga with the hopes of finding a band. DeWayne started working in downtown Chattanooga at the same place Tyler worked. Tyler’s roommate and now band manager, Brandon Henry, also worked there. Brandon started noticing everyone’s individual musical talents and Dewayne’s desire to start a band. He got Casey, Tyler, DeWayne, and Sam to spend the day playing music at the Oweda pool house. After that, the rest was history. DeWayne called Cody, who plays drums, and he was up there to practice the next week. We had our first show at HiFi Clydes on Dec 8th, 2018 in between Jess Goggans and haven’t looked back. We went on to add Michael Johnson who plays trumpet and sings backup vocals in the early part of 2019. We have recently added Colby King as lead guitarist, who grew up playing music with DeWayne and Cody in Alabama.
What is your favorite genre of music to play? Our favorite genre is Southern Rock, but we branch out and tap into different genres for covers.
Do you write any of your own songs? We write our own songs with 20-30 originals. Tyler and DeWayne write all of the lyrics, while the entire band helps with the music.
What is your favorite place to play? Could be a venue, studio, or just a place where you vibe.
Our favorite places to play include Songbirds (which is unfortunately shut down due to COVID-19), the Oweda house kitchen, Breaker 17 Studio, HiFi Clyde’s, JJ Bohemia, and The Basement Nashville.
What are your goals and dreams for Oweda in the future? We want to keep pushing forward and spread our music. We want to travel around and play on some of the biggest stages like Red Rocks, Bonnaroo, Shaky Knees, etc. We also want to inspire people who might have the itch to create music to go for it and do what they love.
How have you guys kept positive and successful during the pandemic as a relatively new band? As mentioned above, we just keep pushing forward. You have to work on your craft every day if you want to reach the goals you create for yourself. Even with everything going on in the midst of the COVID pandemic, nothing should stop you from creating goals and seeing them through. We have also used this time to record music. We will have our second EP coming out Dec 11th. Then, our first album will be out in 2021. We have also been fortunate enough to play some socially distanced shows in a couple of cities, which has helped with our craving to play live music.
Follow along with all things Oweda at @owedamusic on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube. The band can also be found on all major streaming platforms.
