Rockin’ to the beat of IVC
For many songwriters inspiration comes around at anytime or in anyplace.
Wingman, a local band of students attending Irvine Valley College found inspiration while sitting in class.
“I was bored in class so I started writing lyrics,” said Jon Carrol, 21. “We named it addiction at IVC, it’s a funky song, kind of a shoutout to the students.”
The members of Wingman write songs about college life and typical events that happen when out with friends or spending time on campus.
The band consists of Jon Carrol, 21, leisure studies, on vocals, Donald Gray, 21, English on drums, Warrick Leigh, 21, mechanical engineering, on guitar and Adam Sedano, 23, firefighter, on bass. During the three years they have been together the band has combined their influences to create their own sound called “groove rock.
“It is essentially a foundation of classic rock with heavy blues and a reggae influence,” said Gray. “We make the music we make because all of us are sick of listening to the same kind of music. We are bringing back the old school with a new school twist.”
These four musicians are also very close friends. Each member of the band has taken time off to leave the country. Throughout living together in a house near IVC and traveling the world Wingman has stayed together.
After a long process of choosing a name Wingman opted to utilize the title of one of their songs.
“We decided to use the title of a song and it works, it describes the music, the music is the wingman,”Carrol said. “Never leave home without your wingman.” The band has more than 60 songs and a demo of four songs was recently made to send out to record labels.
As for the future, Wingman would like to take their music as far as it can go.
“It’s something we all love doing and wouldn’t mind doing for the rest of our lives,” Gray said. “I think one of the biggest things is a good connection while we are playing. We were all really good friends before the band so it all just came together, we are also multi-cultural.”
Upcoming shows include, coffee shops, the Roxy in Hollywood, Hogue Barmichaels and some venues in Huntington Beach.
“We play for all ages, from high school students to our parents, it’s versatile. We are geared towards college students because our songs are about typical college life,” Gray said. “Beer pong has been a big influence on the band.”