Attendees of an Eric Woods & The Way Down gig will often be treated to some fresh takes on songs by other artists. When I first encountered them at The Juke Joint earlier this year, the fun way they work up their cover tunes and how well they make everything relate with their original material was something that stuck out to me. Songs like “Bennie and the Jets” or “I Will Survive” flow smoothly into their southern rock vibe.
“We try to take that element of the jam band side of things,” Woods said. “The musical embellishments, allowing everybody in the band to have their own vehicle to express themselves… with playing songs that everybody knows, in a way that’s fresh but also familiar enough that they can get down and groove to it.”
Woods counts this period of his career to be the most inspiring one so far. Even off stage, he’s proud to see his teenage daughter also developing an interest and talent in performing music with school groups… to see a younger generation finding that same spark as his own band continues to push forward.
“The guys in this group and the guys I’m playing with now have given me a new love for the music, not only that I’ve written but the music that I’ve been playing for years now,” Woods said. “It’s allowed me to hear with fresh ears, it’s allowed me to experience it again like it’s the first time. That’s something I take a lot of joy in, a lot of pride in.”
The band has several extended live audio and video recordings up on their YouTube page, as well as a recent high quality cut of them performing Neil Young’s “Cortez The Killer” at Ground Zero in Biloxi.
You can find them back in Ocean Springs this month at The Juke Joint on August 23rd, and at the Friday at the Fort concert series at Fort Maurepas on the beach Aug 29th. More local and regional dates are added at the band’s official website, linked below.
Keep on listening.
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Eric Woods & The Way Down
Eric Woods – Vocals, Guitar
Alex Musgrove – Bass
Blake Porter – Lead Guitar
Phillip L’Enfant – Drums
Nevin Applewhite – Saxophone
EricWoodsMusic.com
Facebook, YouTube @EricWoodsMusic
“Mud” is available on streaming platforms
Photos by Annabelle Lee, provided by Eric Woods
