Band Battle third-place winners see studio time as key to moving up

When Christian rock/pop quartet Which Ways Home performed at the 2008 Battle of the Bands held at Big Mama’s Karaoke Café in Seymour last August, they were contending with sizzling weather. While lesser bands might have lost their enthusiasm in the heat, the Knoxville foursome found ways to feed off the infrared energy.

Drenched with sweat and nearly exhausted after their high-voltage performance, vocalist Ryan Kinser said “When the crowds going and you’re trying to drive them – when you get done, you feel like you’ve accomplished something great.”

Bassist Tyler Kinser concurred. “It’s a great feeling getting up on stage and playing with the guys in the band.” He summed up the energy following the performance succinctly.

“I felt extremely sexy,” he said, tongue firmly in cheek.

They’ll tap into that same dynamic as they hit the studio for the sessions they’ve won as part of the third-place prize package awarded them in the Garage Band category of the 2008 Battle of the Bands.

“We have written three new songs, did a side recording in my basement, trying to get in a little practice for the big studio, and we’ve played a couple of shows out, and won South Doyle’s Battle of the Bands as well,” Tyler noted. “We’ve been working really hard getting tight and getting our material down in preparation for putting the tracks down in the studio.”

The band has readied twelve tasty tunes for mass consumption, which they hope to get on the disc. Choosing the songs and writing them is generally a democratic process for the members, although they note that the ultimate arbiter of what goes and what stays comes from a higher power.

“I think the One who decides it all is God. He’s the leader, and we do what He says,” Ryan said.

Using their hard-won studio time will be critical to the next stage of the band’s development. They’ll use the resulting tracks and professionally-produced discs to “garner some more fans, and definitely get our name out,” Ryan said. “With a better-sounding CD, I think we could get a whole lot more interest than the scratchy version we can produce in our basement.”

“I also think it will be a big boost to our morale,” Ryan said, “having a professionally-done CD – I never thought we’d be at this point, and our confidence is going to go way up.”

The band also credited the event’s organizers for their success, and the opportunity to reach even greater heights.

“Big Mama’s did a great job putting everything together,” Ryan said. “It was really a professionally put-together thing.”

Which Ways Home MySpace Page myspace.com/whichwayshomerock

Which Ways Home performs at the 2008 Battle of the Bands