Life & Work with Wim Tapley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Wim Tapley.

Hi Wim, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve been playing music my whole life and started truly honing my craft after I graduated high school and played a bunch of bar gigs in and around DC/Virginia. This past Fall I moved to Athens, GA fairly randomly, but I quickly began to discover the magic of the music scene that’s carried so many legendary musicians to where I’d like to be. Almost immediately, Classic City’s music scene began showing us so much support, and I was able to book the 40 Watt Club, my first ticketed show, a month after I arrived in town. That night, I played solo on my acoustic and barely sold any tickets. I had terrible sound problems that couldn’t be resolved, and people were walking out while we tried to fix them. I walked offstage that night with a fire inside of me–I never wanted something like that to happen again and knew that it was time to start a band. Every Wednesday night from that point, I walked up Lumpkin with a bass or guitar and played at Boars Head Lounge, the best bar in Athens. By October, I formed the first lineup of my band that still plays the majority of my shows: Lance Rogers on bass, Daniel Miller on drums, Alex Gifford on trumpet, and Craig Rodgers on saxophone. We rehearsed our asses off and played our first public show in Athens at Flicker Bar in November. I think we sold about 45 tickets, but the next time we booked the 40 Watt in early February, 125 people showed up.

After that night, my phone still hasn’t slowed down to where it was before that show. We’ve played pretty much every weekend, and for the past two weeks I played five nights a week. A few weeks ago, we sold 350 tickets at the 40 Watt and we’re poised to begin a regional and then national tour, double down on our studio releases and music videos, sell out the 40 Watt and play the Georgia Theatre, and make a much larger dent within Atlanta. I’ll be dropping out of school this May to fully support myself through music, and look forward to supporting other bands in Athens with my new record label Cannon Records. I owe it all to the beautiful community of Athens that continues to motivate and inspire us every single day. I’ve never had so much fun playing music, but even more importantly, they’ve given us the traction and foundation I’ve always dreamed of having. We’re ready to usher in a new era for the Athens music scene, giving our favorite city the national recognition that’s been missing for a couple of decades and helping kids like me from the suburbs that didn’t have a clue about the Athens music scene see our city as a viable option to launch a music career, just like Nashville, Austin, New York, or LA.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As mentioned before, we had a few hiccups along the way, namely my nightmare 40 Watt show and getting the first few bookings under our feet. I came to Athens without knowing a single person. I didn’t know how a much more Southern scene would receive the songs I wrote in my basement in Virginia. On top of that, it took a little bit of groundwork to launch a band and record out of my dorm room. I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a singer/songwriter, producer, and bandleader for my band Wim Tapley & the Cannons. I’m a full-time musician, and I’m currently working on booking our Fall tour and fully activating my record label to support my favorite artists in Georgia and beyond. I’m proud of the mark that we’ve made in Athens, the honest music that we’re pushing, and the memorable shows we’ve played so far. We’re set apart by our enthusiasm, clever songwriting, and my favorite thing about our band–the horns! We’ve done some small things pretty well. I’m ready to take on some huge challenges.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
– Have a clear vision for what you want to achieve. If you don’t know what you want at first, that’s totally okay. At least take a few moments every now and then to think about it. Your vision will almost always change over time.

– Don’t be afraid to suck at first. It took me forever to feel confident in my voice and playing. I didn’t know how to start a record label or a band, book a show, run live sound, produce, or do any of it before I learned. Go after what you want rather than what you think will be the most doable.

– Celebrate small successes.

– Set short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals. Break up the huge stuff into smaller actionable stuff.

– Seek mentors. Play and learn from people who are way better than you. Humble yourself and relish in constructive criticism from these people. Ignore criticism from those who don’t know what they’re talking about.

– Your job is not about how good you are–it’s about how well you can connect with others. Go out and talk to people after your show instead of immediately wrapping cables and trying to jet out. Gas up your favorite local artists on social media without expecting anything in return. Give love for the sake of love and not a transaction.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: wimtapley.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wimtapley/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wimtapleymusic/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/wimtapley
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMoM0VrontqfB1UEiXVYLMQ?

Image Credits:
The ones with the kinda trippy editing (the main personal one I provided and the picture of Lance (our bassist)) are Nicole Allario, All others are Garrett Cardoso