Attitude
Lyricist/Songwriter, Singer, Harmonica, Jaw Harp, Kazoo and Percussion. Heeding Horace Greeley�s time honored advice, Timothy David Severns lit out for Western skies upon completion of high school and over the course of 20 years became one of the Four Corner region�s premiere backcountry guides. Surprisingly, despite the geographical isolation, he was able to nurture his lifelong passion for music as both a singer and a harmonica player. Playing to coyotes and campfires, he began to develop his own unique musical style, often crafting songs inspired by the colorful characters he encountered while traversing the crossroads and lost highways of the American West. Graduating from the campfire, he began performing in small town saloons and ski town pubs in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado and Utah with a variety of blues, country, roots, bluegrass and rock ensembles. Reacquainting himself with an old college friend, Dave Seiger while visiting Park City, Utah, he began to concentrate on writing and performing original material. Performing as a duo, Seiger and Severns played to acclaim including several high profile appearances at the Sundance Film Festival. Dave�s sudden passing from an undisclosed heart condition tragically ended their musical endeavor necessitating Timothy leaving his beloved mountains and canyons to continue his musical vision elsewhere. Timothy returned to his ancestral home, a city, not coincidentally, with a rich musical heritage: Chicago. Quickly immersing himself in the vibrant local music scene, he was befriended by many of the Windy City�s finest musicians and began their enlistment to record an album. Off all the new found alliances none were more important than multi-instrumentalist and home studio wizard, Derrick Procell. Forging a musical partnership, Derrick and Tim began to record, edit, mix and master tracks culminating in The Timothy Hay Wreckerd!. Old but new, strange yet familiar, The Timothy Hay Wreckerd! is a genre-bending hodgepodge of American music styles. It is a journey through a mythic landscape populated by the forsaken, the forlorn and the unforgiven; bootleggers, drifters, outlaws and river hobos. Recorded at numerous locations, using a trove of musicians from all over the country and a variety of sources (including some tracks featuring Dave Seiger), The Timothy Hay Wreckerd! is a tribute to America�s rich musical tapestry and those who dedicate their lives adding to it.
Influences
Robert Johnson, The Band, the Desert, Hank Williams, Allman Brothers, Bob Dylan, Flatt & Scruggs, Elvis Presley, J.J. Cale, Beer, Little Walter, Gram Parsons, Elmore James, Sonny Terry, Torrey, Neil Young, The Blasters, The Kinks, Bill Monroe, Big Star, Motown, Stax & Bloodshot Records, the Canyons, Eric Clapton, Hound Dog Taylor, The Clash, Beatles, George "Harmonica" Smith, Grateful Dead, Muddy Waters, Rolling Stones, The Stanley Brothers, Lightnin' Slim, Townes Van Zandt, Big Walter Horton, The Jam, the Mountains, Uncle Tupelo, Howlin' Wolf, Big Star, Van Morrison, White Stripes, Son House, Hot Tuna, Slim Harpo, Gun Club, Johnny Cash, New Riders of the Purple Sage, the River, Magic Sam, The Stranglers, Buck Owens, Social Distortion, Moab, Sonny Boy Williamson (I & II), Steve Earle, Led Zeppelin, Paul Butterfield, Flying Burrito Brothers