Tsheleyphotography, Knoxville, TN
The term Homemade Wine sounds like somebody might have mixed up a bunch of ingredients, sat back and waited on it to ferment, then pulled out the cork, gathered some friends together and kicked off a house rockin’ throwdown.
Knoxville Tennessee’s singer/songwriter Ryan Sheley followed that same recipe when he and his percussionist brother Tod Sheley formed the band Homemade Wine in 2009. As the two East Tennessee brothers tore up the highways playing their mix of southern country rock and jam band music, they always kept a keen eye and ear out for those secret ingredients that would push the band over the top.
The first break came when they mixed in the talents of an awesome drummer in Knoxville’s own Brad Williams, a veteran drummer who has no problem rocking out to a country two-beat or switching gears into a New Orleans style second line beat.
In 2010 the band moved Andy Westcott from bass guitar to the lead guitar position and all hell broke loose! Andy, a singer, songwriter and lightning-fast country/blues guitarist started performing when he was 13 years old and has shared the stage with notables including Delbert McClinton, Joe Bonamassa and the late Bo Diddley.
Last, but by no means the least, the Sheley Brothers added one of Nashville’s hottest bass players Rick Reese, a graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston to the final Homemade Wine mix. Rick’s innovative style is a unique blend of jazz improvisation, funk punctuation with the driving energy of rock n' roll. The list of Rick's accomplishments has been described by the press in BILLBOARD, GUITAR MAGAZINE, MTV, and CNN, just to name a few.
The band Homemade Wine has fermented, cured, blended and seasoned into a 150 proof explosion that has spread their blend of wild country jam band music from Nashville’s War Memorial Building (the first location for the Grand Ole Opry), Jimmy Buffett’s Margaretville in Nashville and a four corner path from Key West to Minneapolis....New Orleans to Boston and practically every roadhouse, club, festival and music venue in between.
Working on their 3rd album “Live from Key West” (to be released in Late Summer of 2013) Check Homemade Wine out on FaceBook: Homemade Wine the Band or go to or Web page: www.homemadewinemusic.com
