About:
"Leading Music Performers and Legends | Pioneers of Paducah's Music Scene since 1979 | Fostering Community and Inspiring Expression through Live Performances | Featured at Top Regional Festivals and Charitable Events"
Who are The Wheelers?
The Wheelers are not simply just a music group: they have become an integral part of the Paducah community.
Since their formation in 1979, they have served as a source of inspiration for countless artists, musicians, and individuals alike. Their influence extends beyond the music scene, having shaped the cultural landscape of Paducah and its surrounding areas. With over four decades of experience in music, they remain at the forefront of their field.
Their dedication to inspiring others and delivering top-notch entertainment sets them apart as leaders in their industry. The Wheelers continue to set the bar high with their commitment to promoting creativity and fostering a more positive world through their music.
Wheeler Underwood
(Original Member)
The Wizard is an original member and possesses proficiency in various instruments including guitar, keyboards, bass, and vocals. Was a member in the band MC2. Additionally, he is skilled in the use of nun-chucks and samurai swords. You'd have to see it to believe it!
Kenny Martin
(Original Member)
Talented singer and songwriter proficient in guitar and bass. Kenny's unique tone sets him as the main vocalist. His impressive performance background includes being part of renowned bands such as Signal Thirty, Mrs Frazier, MC2 and Drooling Idiots.
Jay Grace
(Original Member)
At the age of six he started playing the drums and had aquired one piece each year at Christmas and started in the 6th grade Rorrin Glory Band. He has also been in bands such as Drooling Idiots, MC2, The Wate, Dark Star, Vicious Circle, Eyeballs In A Row and more.
Daniel K.
Joined in 2015.
He is a skilled guitarist and vocalist, with a natural sense of rhythm. He is constantly channeling his creativity by constantly creating new songs and exploring fresh ideas. When he can, he dedicates time to practicing his vocals while driving his car around town (when the thing works!)
Daniel Morrow
He is a highly skilled guitarist with lightning-fast fingers, known for his exceptional talent. In addition to his prowess on the guitar, he also produces experimental guitar music and collaborates with numerous local bands on recordings.
The Wheelers Haven't Stopped the Music
BY GENEVIEVE POSTLETHWAIT
gpostlethwait@paducahsun.com
"Anybody who enjoys the local music scene we have in Paducah now, they owe it all to The Wheelers," said Nathan Brown, Solid Rock'it Boosters bassist.
"If you go to Paducah Beer Werks or Dry Ground or Maiden Alley or JP's, and you hear the Savage Radley or Chris Black or Bawn in the Mash or the Solid Rock'it Boosters playing original music that people young and old, hippies, punks and hipsters alike enjoy, it's all thanks to Kenny Martin, Wheeler Underwood and Jay Grace."
Brown and Las Vegas native Daniel K will be joining the original Wheelers -- Martin, Underwood and Grace -- on the Paducah Beer Werks stage Saturday night at 8, ending an eight-year hiatus to put on a weird, wonderful and Paducah proud rock show with openers Canes Bellum (metal) and the Hi Fi Ninja (punk).
"There are other great shows going on in Paducah Saturday night, amazing shows," Brown continued, "but somehow, fit this in. These guys have been instrumental in the original music scene here since the '70s, and their music is still relevant. It may have been written decades ago, but it sounds like it could have been written yesterday. It's just great music."
"They're not like anybody else," added Ronnie McCoy, guitar-shredding frontman of the Hi Fi Ninja. "You hear people say that about other bands, but these dudes really are unlike anything you've ever seen. I wish everybody in the U.S. could experience The Wheelers, but at the same time I'm glad Paducah gets to be the only place that's got these guys. They're legendary."
Starting the spark
Brown first saw Martin and Underwood play in their pre-Wheelers bands Signal Thirty and MC2 at the Jaycee Civic Center across from Hannan Plaza. He remembers standing there "slack-jawed, bright-eyed." It was the early '80s and he hadn't started playing music yet. To him, bands were groups like Cheap Trick, Def Leppard and Journey -- huge, famous things a kid from Paducah just couldn't touch.
But then he saw that show.
"When I heard MC2 and Signal Thirty, it changed everything for me," Brown said. "I thought, 'Well, I can do that.'"
These guys were incredible musicians, Brown said, but they were also approachable. They welcomed people to their practices, handed instruments to kids like Brown who had never played a lick of music, and encouraged them to make noise. The Wheelers made music about personal expression at a time when most local audiences only wanted cover songs.
McCoy first saw the Wheelers in '94. From the way they interacted with the crowd to the way they did their sound, McCoy was in awe. He was a 14-year-old punk fan, and though the Wheelers' sound wasn't quite punk, their attitude was about as punk as it gets. They did their own thing, they did it all themselves, and they didn't care what people thought, he said.
When McCoy finally worked up the courage to talk to The Wheelers after a show, their kindness almost took him by surprise.
"The first guy I went up to was Wheeler, and he makes you feel like you've known him your whole life the minute you meet him," McCoy said. "It's just impossible to be in a bad mood around that guy. And he can play anything that makes a sound."
McCoy said he's just as excited to hear The Wheelers and Canes Bellum Saturday as he is to play himself. He's really hoping Underwood will break out the nunchucks and samurai sword, just like the old days.
Never gets old
As excited as Brown, McCoy and their fellow Wheelers fans are for Saturday, the Wheelers' excitement just might trump them all. Martin, Underwood and Grace may have stopped playing shows, but they never stopped the music.
They met Daniel K through mutual friends last year, and his addition to the band gave their music new life, they said. Brown's bass-playing skills solidified their sound. Together the five musicians have made The Wheelers' classic material new, though it never really did get old.
It doesn't feel like all that long ago that they were playing shows to empty halls or getting turned away by bar managers that only wanted cover tunes.
"People around here didn't know what to think about us at first," Martin said. "We had to win over the audience every time we played."
"If we reached three or four people, that was cool enough for us," Jay added.
By Thursday 100 people had RSVP'd to the event page on Facebook, and nearly 200 more saved it to their "interested" list.
They might be a few decades older and a few shades grayer than when they came together as The Wheelers in '79, but they're still just a group of friends looking to get on stage, make some noise and say something real.
As Underwood said with trademark charm, "When you've got music, you never grow old."
On The Importance Of Paducah's The Wheelers
BY NATHAN BROWN
Paducah Life Magazine
The Wheelers is not just a band.. It’s a Paducah institution. To put a finer point on it, band members Wheeler Underwood, Kenny Martin and Jay Grace have shaped the way almost every independent musician in Paducah have approached music, either directly or indirectly. Their passion for their art and their “Do-It-Yourself” work ethic has entertained and inspired countless western Kentucky musicians since the late 1970s.
At a very young age, my first live punk show was at the old Jaycee civic center on Lone Oak Road. The bands featured were Brain Dead, Signal 30 and MC2 (MC Squared). This show immediately had an impact on me, and illustrated perfectly that if anyone... even a kid like me… had something to say and a desire to perform, anything was possible. There was no need for parental permission, no dress code, and basically no rules. Yet somehow, in the haze of smoke, loud music and poor lighting, it was clear that everyone there was wrapped up in a joyous, peaceful celebration. There was a freedom in that place that I never knew existed. It was the freedom gained by doing things your own way and by building it all yourself.
Wheeler, Kenny and Jay have always been so kind and encouraging to me as a musician. As a young teenager, I looked up to those guys because the were creative, cool and always approachable. Now, as a middle aged man who has made a lifetime of memories playing music, I respect them even more because they have not changed. They continue to get together for their weekly jams or the occasional gig. Not for admiration. Not for critical acclaim. Certainly not for money. They are all about the joy music brings to life. Our friend (and Paducah music legend) Dave Phillips said it right… they are, and forever will be, the “Brothers In Jam”.
These guys have some serious mojo. They have been making their style of music for over 3 decades and it has never gone stale or out of style. In a world where music seems to change with the flavor of the month, The Wheelers have stayed true to themselves. I am honored to be playing bass in the band.
I’ll do my best to keep up! As a kid who played his first “Hall Show” with Wheeler and Jay’s “MC2” and Kenny’s "Mrs. Frazier" in 1989, I can attest to one simple fact: The members of the Wheelers band helped me find my own voice in music. If I could be so bold as to imaging that anyone in Paducah has EVER been inspired or encouraged by any of my bands, it all goes back to Wheeler Underwood, Jay Grace and Kenny Martin. I think anyone who enjoys the thriving local music scene we all share in Paducah now should come by our show on June 11th. Not only as a sign of respect and gratitude for what they’ve helped build, but to simply here some amazing, original music by these Western Kentucky legends."
