Owen Mays
| Owen Mays | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Owen Robert Mays |
| Born |
November 1, 1982 Columbus, Wisconsin, United States |
| Died | July 22, 2015 (aged 32) |
| Genres | Country, honky tonk |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, guitarist |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, banjo, fiddle |
| Years active | 2007–2015 |
| Labels | Solitary Records |
| Associated acts | J.B. Beverley & The Wayward Drifters, James Hunnicutt, BanjerDan |
| Website |
www |
Owen Mays (November 1, 1982 – July 22, 2015) was an American country musician from Cambria, Wisconsin.
Career
Born and raised in south central Wisconsin, Owen Mays began playing guitar at the age of 16. After several unsuccessful attempts at bands, and musical false starts, his musical aspirations went on the back burner. In 2007, after working a string of dead-end jobs, including a brief career in professional wrestling, Mays took to the road, hitchhiking, and riding Greyhounds around America, with nothing but a backpack and a guitar, writing songs, and performing them on any patch of sidewalk he could find to try to make money off the people passing by.
In 2009, while working a summer job at a campground in his home town of Cambria, Wisconsin. Mays played a show with his friends, J.B. Beverley & The Wayward Drifters. The next day, Mays joined the Drifters for a few days on the road, taking in all of the knowledge about music, and business, that he could. That week, the seeds were also planted to record Owen's first proper album.
In October 2010, Mays flew to Richmond, Virginia, to make his first record with J. B. Beverley engineering. Backed by "Banjer" Dan Mazer(banjo, dobro, mandolin), Johnny Lawless (upright bass), and James Hunnicutt (lead guitar), the result of the recording session was the first Owen Mays & The 80 Proof Boys album, Nobody Loves You When You're Down, which, after several delays, finally saw its official release through Solitary Records in November 2012.
In March 2011, Mays set out on his first U.S. tour, which was quickly followed by a second tour that summer with his good friend, Aaron "Dog Bite" Harris. That summer also saw Mays take the stage at the second annual Muddy Roots Music Festival.[1] Mays ended 2011 with a solo tour of the eastern US.
Since then, Mays has played countless shows around the United States, both solo, and backed by several incarnations of his backing band, The 80 Proof Boys. The current lineup of the 80 Proof Boys, Angela Martin Licari (fiddle), Jesse Kaftanski (upright bass), and Eric Bestul(lead guitar and lap steel guitar) is currently working on a new album, due out in 2014.
Discography
- Red Wine and White Lines EP (2009)
- Nobody Loves You When You're Down (2012)
- Hateful Blues (2014)
Other appearances
- Y'all Motherfuckers Need Justice: Free Uriah and Quentin (contributing track: "Keep The Jackals At Bay") (2010)
- Walking The Plank Volume 1 (contributing track: "Barstools, Neon Signs, and Old Milwaukee") (2011)
- Outlaw Radio Chicago, The Compilation Volume 2 (contributing track: "I Don't Care Anymore") (2012)
- Dogwater Radio Presents, Live From The Trailer, Volume 1 (contributing track: "Spit In Your Eye w/Filthy Still") (2012)