#24: Wayland Band Speaks On The Power Of Music as Medicine

                                   

In this episode, Phillip and Mitch open up about their experience during quarantine and how they have used this time to be creative and dive deeper into their own personal growth.  With concerts cancelled and the band unable to tour, Wayland has used this time to connect even closer with their beloved fans, the Wayland Warriors, remembering that their life is one of service, and their legacy is one of love.

We dive into life on the road, their experiences living in such close quarters and how the strength of their friendship has helped them pull through some personal challenges.  Mitch opens up about his struggle with anxiety and how it led to drug and alcohol abuse as a young adult, at which time Phill’s friendship was a saving grace.

Being accustomed to euphoric highs on tour, Mitch and Phillip open up about how they manage to ground themselves off stage and how the simple joy of writing music is what truly makes them happy.  Tune in to hear more about Waylon’s evolving journey and a taste of their new song “Be The Lion”.

Every kid dreams of being a rockstar. Centre stage in the spotlight, wailing guitars, thousands of fans screaming for more.  It sounds glamorous and exciting to live a life of adventure on the road.  What will remain fantasy for most is reality for some and in this episode, we’re joined by real life rockstars, Phillip Vilenski and Mitchel Arnold from Wayland, as they open up about what truly makes them happy.

Having performed with Kiss and Bon Jovi, hitting the charts and touring for 300 days per year for seven years, Phillip and Mitch know a lot about being in the spotlight.  Since the formation of Wayland, they made it their mission to keep community front and centre in all that they did and through their years of ups and downs on the road, they are finally feeling at home in beautiful Joshua Tree, California, and ready to step into the next phase of their lives.

TOPICS WE COVER AND WHERE TO FIND THEM:

[9:00] – How the boys used lockdown to connect more intimately with their fans through their quarantine concert series

[11:00] – The intimacy of writing songs and digging deeper into more personal situations

[12:00] – The feedback that the band received from their fans around how the songs had helped them through personal struggles

[14:00] – When you’re traveling with the same people in the same bus all the time, you get to know them very well and get to know their individual struggles

[16:00] – What it’s like touring 300 days a year

[18:40] – The biggest challenges the boys faced while on the road

[20:00] – How easy it is to take on other people’s challenges when you’re in such close quarters

[23:44] – A surreal moment that Wayland have experienced throughout their career

[25:20] – How the band managed the highs of performing and then the eventual “come down” once an event was over

[27:30] – Finding the joy in the simple act of writing a song and going slower during this time

[30:45] – How mateship is at the core of everything the boys do, and why that’s so important

[32:06] – The struggles that Mitch went through as a young teen

[34:00] – The quiet calm that is Phil and how this has helped Mitch when he needed it

[38:00] – How Mitch feels about his part to play in this life

[39:20] – How therapeutic it is to turn hard feelings into songs, to help others

[42:20] – We get a little taste of Wayland’s new song “Be The Lion”!!

LINKS WE MENTIONED:

https://www.waylandtheband.com/

https://www.youtube.com/user/waylandtheband

https://www.instagram.com/waylandtheband/

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