Wyatt Corder

Kid_Wy: “See About Me”

Well, well, well…we’ve arrived at the last Song of the Day before our brief winter break. But it’s not just the final feature of 2024; it’s also a poignant conclusion to my regular tenure. Yep, after seven long years and 1,725 of these, it’s time for me to step down from Song of the Day and set my sights on some other things here at KUTX. So although you won’t have to suffer through my ad nauseam alliterations and predictable puns nearly as much moving forward, rest assured that Song of the Day will remain alive and well as a carefully-curated resource for musical discovery.

In that spirit, we’re wrapping up this year with just one more premiere. And from a real man about town, no less. Historically Wyatt Corder‘s been known as the frontman of Big Wy’s Brass Band, a horn section member of The Watters and Flyjack, and a trusty trumpet-for-hire heard on recordings from KUTX heavy rotation artists like BLK ODYSSY, Abhi the Nomad, and CAPYAC. But we gotta give Wy special kudos for kicking two more of his eponymous projects up a notch recently. See, back in September Corder helped corral the first single from Allisen & The Wy’s Guys onto streaming. And this weekend Wy concretes another COVID-era creation of his with Kid_Wy‘s debut studio offering.

It’d be irreverent to call Kid_Wy anything less than an Austin supergroup; keyboardist KindKeith, Mamalarky drummer Dylan Hill, Nané bassist Scott McIntyre, and sax extraordinaire Renuka Jayasinghe support their fearless leader in pursuit of a psych-rock style they’ve dubbed “sunshine pop”. Ready to bundle up in this weather? Kid_Wy gets cozy with a single release show 8PM tomorrow night at Hole in the Wall alongside Batooter and Mockjaw. As for the tune itself, “See About Me” is nothin’ but good vibes from the get-go and all the way through four and a half minutes of nuanced psychedelia. It radiates against a crystal clear mix (I love the way the xylophone, synth, and keys float on top of a traditional rock trio arrangement), adept instrumental interplay, and a soulful chord progression that’s coquettish, sentimental, and mellow as hell. Safe to say we’re seeing good things in Kid_Wy’s future.

As for yours truly – Jack Anderson? Guess we’ll just have to wait and…see about me.

Allisen & The Wy’s Guys: “Tell Me (Like A Man)”

If you’ve seen Big Wy’s Brass Band, then you’re already hip to the spark that is multi-instrumentalist Wyatt Corder. Furthermore, you’re probably familiar with the fact that Wy’s got high standards for the folks he plays with; if he hand picks you as a performer, it’s a real privilege…especially when it comes to pulling off Amy Winehouse covers.

This is where singer Allisen Hinojosa comes in. Corder and Hinojosa first met as DJ colleagues at KVRX, shared interests in the vintage blues-soul section, got together in 2021 to jam a few times, and soon found success with their Amy Winehouse tribute Back to Black. Back to Black’s still alive and well, but the pair have also begun channeling their chemistry into an original project, aptly titled Allisen & The Wy’s Guys.

The two best bets for which venues you’ll catch Allisen & The Wy’s Guys? C-Boy’s Heart & Soul (where they play 6:30-8:30PM every Thursday this month) and the Continental Club, where they’re staging a two-night takeover. Tonight it’s Back to Black at 11:30PM after openers The Point at 10PM and tomorrow it’s Indoor Creature opening up at 10PM followed by Allisen & The Wy’s Guys at 11:30PM for a single release show.

And the single in question is nothing short of awesome. Absolutely embodying the airtight modern flavors of Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse, “Tell Me (Like A Man)” is yet another benchmark of Austin’s overall progression from the “boring blues” of decades past to the slick, seductive soulscape it is today.

David Rosenblad: “Like a Sagittarian Archer”

We don’t want to alarm anybody…but today is the last day to submit considerations for the 2025 Grammy Awards. Congrats to everyone who made the deadline, good luck to those still watching the clock and waiting on the latest batch of masters, and condolences to anyone who plain spaced on the date.

Those in that first category find themselves in good company with David Rosenblad. Which makes sense, since David’s what you’d call “hip to the industry”; on top of his status as a longtime Austin mainstay multi-instrumentalist-singer-songwriter-producer, Rosenblad’s also an accomplished TV-film composer and sound designer, not to mention co-founder of Lotus Rose Healing Arts Center, and owner of both DRM: Sir Reel Sound and local studio Thirteenth Moon. And it’s through Thirteenth Moon (which doubles as a label) that David Rosenblad’s set to break a near-half-decade release hiatus with his next album The Sound and the Meaning.

But back to the Grammys…This morning David Rosenblad enhanced his chances with The Sound and the Meaning‘s first two lead singles: “Enough is Enough” and “Like a Sagittarian Archer”. On the latter, Rosenblad adds some healthy horns to the horoscope thanks to trumpeter Wyatt Corder of Big Wy’s Brass Band and Sir Woman for a truly lively effect. Yeah “Like a Sagittarian Archer” hits a bullseye with ’70s-esque energy reminiscent of Stealer’s Wheel and Harry Nilsson.

Grammy worthy? Without getting specific with categories, we’d like to think so.