Oklahoma alternative rock band releases its first single
Picture your next-door neighbor, unmistakably talented, quietly charming, unique and remarkably friendly. You watch him grow up in the home beside your own, nurturing a deep adoration for music, learning to play the guitar or drums, later beginning to sing, encouraged by his parents to chase an exploration of soundscapes and declare them as his own. Years pass by and one day you look out your window and come to realize the little boy next-door has become a flourishing musician.
That is the story of Skyler Taylor of Cordell and Shadow Stephenson of Binger. The Oklahoma masterminds behind Wisher. Wisher is an alternative/rock band based out of Oklahoma City. Together the two have released the band’s first song “Who Were You Thinking Of” on Friday, Nov. 19 and the official music video launched on Friday, Dec. 3.
While growing up in Cordell, it was at age 10 when Skyler got his first guitar. However, it wasn’t love at first strum in the beginning. “I hated it. I thought it was stupid, I sucked, I’m never going to be able to do this and it hurts my fingers. I stopped and for whatever reason I picked it back up and haven’t put it down since,” illustrated Skyler. A memory so crisp and clear for Skyler is the first time he heard the album Enema of The State by Blink 182. It was in that moment in the backseat of the car on the way to Walmart that he knew he wanted to play the guitar.
Living the small town life in Binger, Oklahoma, a town of only 616 people, Shadow grew up surrounded by music. “I’ve been playing drums and guitar since I was 13 or so. My dad was a drummer so we’ve always had drums, guitars and stuff in the house. I didn’t grow up singing, but I started singing more in high school. I’ve always done music production and recording. The more comfortable I got recording the more comfortable I got singing,” explained Shadow. Ultimately, Shadow taught himself how to play the guitar and is able to play with both his right and left hand. An ambidextrous talent many musicians can only dream of acquiring. Skyler and Shadow both attended college at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford where they met. Initiating what has developed into over a decade long friendship. “We’ve been brothers ever since we met,” said Skyler. The two have experienced a multitude of escapades together, from being in previous bands to having a record label with Ronald Records. Unfortunately, due to life decisions and circumstances, their previous band decided to part ways after completing their two month long tour in the US.
After a few years passed, the two of them decided to start writing music again and created Wisher. “I feel like we both can’t do this by ourselves. Shadow has such a vast imagination and so much creativity that I think that kind of hinders him at times and that’s where I come in and say let’s do this one or this is really good. So I kinda hold him together because he’s just a big ball of creativity,” explains Skyler on why they chose to form Wisher. “Who Were You Thinking Of” was written prior to the pandemic and after a little over a year long delay, production of their single was able to continue. “It felt super isolating not being able to play together during the pandemic and I was planning on doing some solo stuff. But the more isolated I felt the more I needed another person to help me and push each other to make better songs. This means a lot because we started it and had a lot of momentum going, then the pandemic hit and the whole world locked down. To see that and come to this moment a year or so later is huge,” mentioned Shadow on his opinion of how this year is going compared to last year during the start of the pandemic.
“It feels different when you’re writing with somebody. It’s another level of creativity that happens and it’s kinda like magic,” said Skyler. Shadow and Skyler combined their talents to write this song together. Skyler explains the song as being open to interpretation. “Basically it’s about insecurity in a relationship, whether that’s a new one or an old one. It’s about not knowing if the other person is in it all the way or losing interest. And then later on in the song it starts to be like maybe I’m the one projecting my own feelings in regards to that,” explains Shadow.
Shadow is the producer, drummer, guitarist and lead vocalist. Skyler is the guitarist and the person behind the band’s artwork and music video. With the recent launch of their music video only two weeks after the release of their single, Wisher couldn’t have expressed more gratitude for the amount of support and feedback they have received thus far. “It is super exciting and it feels cool. I honestly felt like we wouldn’t even get this far so it feels absolutely incredibly exciting,” exclaimed Skyler. “All of the feedback that we’ve gotten has been positive and has just blown us away. It means an incredible amount to me. I just want to get my creativity out and this is an avenue to do that. I couldn’t be more thankful and fortunate.”
The inspiration behind Wisher isn’t set in stone to one specific band or musician. “I listen to older music. I just love art, I love music, I love writing music and playing music so that’s my driver. I just want to keep writing songs because it makes me feel good,” expressed Skyler. Their exposure to an immeasurable variety of genres and artists has consequently become the driving force behind their new music. “I just like getting my creativity out and writing different genres and different styles,” said Shadow. New music is in the making with hopes of releasing a new song in January. Beginning in mid to late spring Wisher hopes to start playing live shows and have new band members aboard. Opportunity continues to arise for the band as they pursue more ways to grow and gain exposure. The two band members are also involved in Dead End Film House, a horror film production. Skyler and Shadow developed the scores for the recently released short film, Terry and Avery.
As previously stated, Skyler and Shadow grew up in particularly small towns and are striving to accomplish their goals and aspirations everyday. Wisher’s advice for anyone coming from a similar background is this, “Just go for it. It’s never been easier to make homemade songs, the startup equipment is cheaper and [more affordable] and just use YouTube. YouTube whatever you can. That’s how I got started,” said Shadow. In conjunction to what Shadow said Skyler stated, “Go for it. Who cares. Don’t listen to other people because I think that’s super easy to get sucked into. We live in such an advanced technological world right now that you could remotely write a song that could get a million views. So I would say don’t listen to anybody or anything good or bad just do what you want to do." You can follow Wisher on their upcoming endeavors and stay up to date on new music on Instagram and YouTube. Listen to “Who Were You Thinking Of” available on all streaming platforms.