Page 25 - Black Velvet Magazine Issue 105

BV105 pg 20-25 centre.qxp_BV105 pg 25 29/12/2021 20:53 Page 6

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what they'd had for breakfast or what their in- afloat. None of us are hugely wealthy people. Wayward Sons stuff and I'm going to play that
side leg measurement was, so the fact they The rest of the guys all have day jobs as well and I'm going to do something with that and to
were in this mystery world they inhabited was as everything else. It's not easy, let alone when go into that situation with that attitude was the
what gave them their energy. It's what made you add a global pandemic into the mix. only thing I knew. Well OK, what's the options?
me believe in it, what made me go, ‘Oh my "What you are living on every day is the I can't do a gig, we've got to cancel tours, can-
god, I want to take part in that record industry possibility of what's the next thing we are cel solo acoustic shows… I was working on a
like them.’ But now, that's all been removed; all doing, we've got gigs coming up, OK, great. film project which completely disappeared -
that mystery has gone. What's after that? OK, we'll make another that business went bust, so instead of hiding in
"We're accessible 24 hours a day. Every- album. OK, who's paying for that? Well, the a corner and crying into my beer and getting
one knows everything about everyone. There record label is, but we only have this amount fatter and fatter and more and more unfit, I
is no more mystery or idea of personality and of money, so you are constantly living on went the other way and thought ‘No, I'll play
energy contained within that. It's all changed what's going to happen next, so to have the rug songs, I'll start running, I'll write another
and now everyone wants to be famous, pulled from under our feet like that when we've screenplay,’ so rather than look at it as a neg-
whereas getting fame used to be the by-prod- got an album just out which we've not played, ative, I tried to look at it as a positive.
uct of being super-talented and having some- having just come off the European tour with "We're all a long time dead, aren't we?
thing special to give, so I think that is a big part Steel Panther, and we spent a lot of time over We're only here once as far as I'm concerned
of what has killed our rock and roll. It's killed there, to have that rug pulled out and not even and I can see, and what you do in that time is
the energy of what it was all about, this magical be able to play our headline tour was really important. And, for me, the pandemic really
thing, and you might not have known what it tough." brought that into focus, made it laser sharp
was but you believed in it. However, from the darkness and difficulty how important it was to do good stuff, keep
"There is some of that stuff still there, but of all of life's challenges Toby is once again going, keep being positive, keep trying and try
it's just been watered down and watered down able to offer a wonderful glimpse of the positiv- to affect as many people as I could positively
and now everyone expects it for nothing. Peo- ity and inspiration he brings to the world. "But and, in a weird way, that attitude was my sav-
ple go, ‘What do you mean I have to pay for the one thing I would say from a personal point iour."
music? That's ridiculous!’ Well ok, what about of view, I'm nothing but resilient", he tells us. And maybe that is the best advice, Toby,
me? Who has to make it then? It's the same "I've learnt how to be resilient over the or anyone for that matter, can offer to anybody.
old, same old and that lyric is examining that." years and smile in the face of danger and flick
the Vs, because when you are in a rock ‘n’ roll ‘Even Up The Score’ is out now on Fron-
he COVID-19 pandemic ruined the band you are on the edge of failure all the time. tiers Records. Head over to
Tband’s plans with their second record But what you do with that is you learn to take www.waywardsonsband.com for more info.
‘The Truth Ain’t What It Used To Be’, which was all the positives and I've learned how to do that,
released in October 2019. so I tried to see the lockdown as a positive and Words By Michael Coventry
“It was devastating", says Toby. "It's not an opportunity and not look at it as a negative.
easy making records, it's not easy being in a "I thought, I've got my guitar, I've got all
band, especially at the level we're at. It's a day- these songs I've written over the years, the Lit- Photos by Kevin Nixon
to-day grind of trying to survive and keep it all tle Angels songs, the solo stuff and now the

WAYWARD SONS