In an industry whose stars have long been adored for either their comforting everydayness or their reckless waywardness, Wayne Warner is one country artist that's offering something not yet seen-he does it all. He's a rising country artist (that rare kind that performs songs and writes them) that's refreshingly authentic, but undeniably against the grain. He often wears a hat, but his act certainly isn't old hat. His voice and his demeanor are gentle, even philosophical, but his music's contagious energy and get-up-and-go tempo have earned it the reputation "Turbo Twang." And, as proof of the simultaneously tough and fine stuff he's made of, Wayne has experienced some heartbreakingly close brushes with the big time, yet he's taken the disappointments in stride-with a smile even. The first time he was invited to Nashville, he recorded with producer Ray Pennington and for his sixteenth birthday he heard himself on the radio. But he came to the agonizing decision that the time wasn't right, that he'd rather be a normal kid for a while longer. The next time, he was Atlantic Records' most recently signed talent, with a Harold Shedd-produced album poised for its first single release and Wayne's big launch-and the label folded.

     This time, it's on Wayne's terms, on B-Venturous Records, with a sizzling second take: Wayne's highly anticipated second album, Doing Something Right.

     Hailed by fans and critics alike as an extraordinary artist that's destined to pierce through the clutter of Nashville's Music Row, the album moves and grooves with his unusual, kinetic blend of country, pop, bluegrass and rockabilly sounds delivered in his unique voice. While Wayne's originality is unmistakable, there are still others that swear it's his rock-solid, mainstream country integrity that's going to widen eyes and win ears.

     Whatever the source of his musical magnetism, Wayne is scoring critical acclaim that would be impressive enough for a major label artist, much less an independent. Billboard magazine calls Wayne "an artist who deserves notice . . . Warner has a unique voice, and his performance brims with personality." Music Row magazine says, "This boy turns in consistently solid performances . . . he's got a twangy blue-collar rocker's attitude with a slappin' beat. Music to make you move and groove." And frequent CMT, VH1 and A&E commentator and one of the all-around last words on the Nashville scene, Robert K. Oermann says of Wayne, "His hillbilly tenor is charming as all get-out."

     After the release of his first album, Wayne had found himself incredibly impatient for his second swing. "I love the studio, it's the closest thing in music to my emotional home. Getting back in there really lit my fire." Not surprisingly then, his relationship with the resulting Doing Something Right is like a proud papa's. "It's like a child. You've watched this thing develop in the studio with this amazing team I've assembled. Some of these songs have been coming over a period three years. But perhaps thanks to the wait, this album represents a wider spectrum of my artistic vision."

     Like a doting father, he remembers well the birthplace of each song. The title track, "Doing Something Right," co-written with Troy Lancaster, was inspired by Wayne's son Kyle. "It was one of those days that I screwed up everything. I mean everything. While sitting on the porch that night, cursing the day, my son came out and said, 'Good night, Dad, I love you.' I thought, well, I must be doing something right. The song was written that night." With the bluegrassy ode to his parents, "Chance in Hell," this time inspiration struck while on a ladder. "I decided it was a Bob Villa day, so I was painting the house. I started thinking about how much I owed my parents, and by the end of the day I had the song and the weirdest paint job in town." And as for "Turbo Twang," the idea came from the nickname his musical style has garnered. As Wayne chose songs for his album, "Turbo Twang" was left in the maybe pile. As Wayne was getting on the bus to travel to Nashville for the final recording session, his sister ordered him to go back in the house and get the demo. "The song has become something of a rogue phenomenon," explains Wayne. "Before the album had even been released, it had been downloaded, emailed, burned to CD and spread around the country. I don't want to be forever known as the 'Turbo Twang guy,' but it is flattering."

     Things done as right as Doing Something Right are no accident. In many ways, Wayne's background has been the perfect pedigree for an aspiring country music artist. Thanks to his upbringing, Wayne is thoroughly schooled in country classics-with some square dance and polka numbers thrown in to boot. By the age of six, he was already cutting his teeth performing live country music with the family band on the local circuit. By his teens, Wayne was enthralling crowds in the dance hall his family opened, Warner's Dance Hall, the largest club in Vermont. "I'm hillbilly to the bone," laughs Wayne, "From way, way back." When he speaks of heroes and influences, he reverently utters the names Cash, Haggard and Emmylou. But he feels obliged to add in the next breath, John and Stewart. Elton and Rod, that is. The common thread? "Artists that do it their way, who stick to their gift as it was given to them, without conforming to the powers that be."

     "There have been times for sure when I felt like the milk bucket under the bull, you know what I mean?" says Wayne of the unusual convergence of influences and experiences that make him who he is. Fortunately for Wayne, it's a bucket brimming over with not only uniqueness and talent, but with an infectiousness that draws other incredible talent to him. First was legendary producer Harold Shedd, a driving force behind the careers of Alabama, Shania Twain and Billy Ray Cyrus, who decided to produce Wayne's debut album the moment he heard his first Wayne demo.

     Another piece of great fortune was meeting producer guitarist Troy Lancaster, who plays on both Wayne's albums and, along with Wayne, co-produced Doing Something Right. Because of people like Harold, Troy and the rest of the all-star session musicians that Wayne is indebted to, and because it's the spiritual home of what he lovingly terms "Our Mother Country Music," Nashville will always be the place for Wayne "to stock up my cupboards on inspiration, kinship and creativity. Then I go home and pig out."

     As grateful as Wayne is for team he's assembled in Music City, he's even more so for the one back home in Vermont. There, in his "little piece of heaven on earth," are the most important things that will ever wait for him: his wife, his two adopted sons, the rest of his family and friends, and the relaxation his garden and treadmill give him. It's the place that loves him, grounds him and has given him the majority of life's most invaluable lessons.

     Performers will often say they've been doing it for as long as they can remember, For Wayne, it's no cliché. His life has been quite literally inseparable from music performance and entertainment. Every single weekend from the time he was inducted into the family band, Wayne would take the stage. "Among my earliest memories are of falling asleep on stage in my dad's big old Gibson guitar case," says Wayne. "Like a lot of boys, I aspired to be like him, to emulate him. It wasn't long before I did," Wayne laughs. "My dad still plays, and every now and then I'll sneak up on the stage and perform with him. To me, he'll always be the leader of the band."

     For Wayne, life is all about lessons, and then using what you've learned to help others. He can't possibly put a dollar value on all he's learned and he wouldn't trade a minute of any of it. His dance hall past is the reason you won't hear "beer-slinging songs" in his repertoire. He's just seen too much of the bad that can come from alcohol. "I've got nothing against that kind of song," says Wayne, "but there's plenty of others that can do them. It's just not right for me, that's all." His past is a reference, a tool, for everything he'll do in the future. "My shoulders are too scrawny for regrets," says Wayne. "I can't carry that kind of stuff around. I choose to live life looking out the windshield rather than in the rearview mirror. But I do make use of what I have, what I've experienced and what I've learned, so that I might leave the world a little better than I found it. Hopefully my music can give me the platform to do so, and I intend to always be moving forward with that, too"

     With Doing Something Right, it's quite clear that Wayne Warner is headed in the right direction.

     DISCOGRAPHY
Album - Wayne Warner
Singles -
     "I Wanna Do That Love Thing"
     "10,000 Tears Ago"
     "My Piece Of Heaven On Earth"
     "Slip'n N Slide'n"
     "Doing Something Right"
     "Turbo Twang"

     MANAGEMENT AND BOOKING:
Chuck Thompson
615-333-0288
cthompson@thompsonentertainmentgroup.com