HIAWATHA — “Kerwood” — not just a community in the township of Adelaide-Metcalfe in the County of Middlesex in Ontario, Canada (according to Wikipedia), but also the name of a recently formed local Christian rock group.
The group, formed by vocal front man, lead guitarist and general instrument wizard David Kerwood of Hiawatha, began after a Craigslist meeting between Kerwood and bassist/backup vocalist Casey Rush — of Troy — in August of 2016.
“It was actually my one ditch effort to put a band together; otherwise I was going to start doing a solo singer/songwriter act instead,” Kerwood said. “Casey was looking for another musical adventure at the time and answered my ad.”
In November, Highland resident Caleb Lackey and Hiawathan Jeff May were invited to fill out the group.
“Casey knew Caleb as a utility multi-instrumentalist from church and wanted to work with him more,” Kerwood said. “ I knew Jeff as a fill-in drummer from church. I knew he was a lot more rock-oriented of a drummer and figured he’d be a good fit for the style we were imagining.”
Lackey sings backup vocals and plays guitar and keyboard for the group while May single-handedly mans percussion, though not in a Rick Allen of Def Leppard sort of way.
Kerwood’s (the man’s) first collaborative effort — a band he played in the eighth grade — involved a karaoke machine PA system, a microphone taped to a cymbal stand, and a drum track created on Kerwood’s computer and recorded on a tape recorder.
“It was a LOUSY gig, but I adored it and wanted to do it for the rest of my life,” Kerwood said.
He stuck by that dream through high school and college, performing in several groups, including Leave Thursday, a band he formed with his younger sister and a family friend.
“[Leave Thursday] recorded an EP, took a weeklong tour through Kansas and Missouri, and did several other things in my bucket list: we played Lawrence Dumont Stadium in Wichita, performed at festivals, did several sets at the Kansas State Fair, and shared the stage with national touring bands like ApologetiX and Radial Angel,” Kerwood said. “The band died when I graduated college, however, and I still had ‘the bug’ to play in a band.”
It was this “bug” that ultimately inspired Kerwood to put feelers out last year for like-minded musicians.
“As I was approaching a couple of major milestones — 10 years of teaching and my 35th birthday — I wanted to try once more to put together a band that might pick up where my old band left off,” Kerwood said.
Kerwood (the band) plays original Christian modern rock songs as well as contemporary worship music. They played their first gig at the end of November of last year at the First Baptist Church Family Life Center in Hiawatha after only two rehearsals and, in the words of Kerwood, “haven’t looked back since,” averaging about two shows per month.
Dave Kerwood earned his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Wichita State University and his Master of Music degree from Kansas State University. He lives in Hiawatha, with his wife Alicia, daughters Genevieve and Zoë, and a third daughter on the way.
Casey Rush began playing guitar in college, after a friend convinced him that he had to play guitar to get a girlfriend.
“I learned in about two weeks, and it never got me a girlfriend,” Rush said. “I started out in a punk rock band as lead singer while in college. We never got past the practice phase.”
After college, Rush began playing with the worship band at his church, later taking on a role leading that group. He has since assisted other area churches in forming their own worship bands and currently leads the worship band at the Baptist church in Troy while also playing in a Christian group called Kith and Kin.
Caleb Lackey started playing guitar in the sixth grade when his parents purchased him an acoustic guitar.
“I played trombone in high school and I sang in the choir through high school and college,” Lackey said. “I’ve written several songs for the guitar and other various instruments. My musical influences vary, but the band that got me to start playing the guitar was Green Day.”
Lackey graduated Fort Hays State University with a Bachelors of Arts in Music Technology.
Drummer Jeff May began playing drums in church when he was 28 years old — roughly 17 years ago. His church’s worship band needed a drummer, and though May had never played drums, he was able to slowly pick up the instrument and found he enjoyed it.
“I have a big family background in music – it’s always been part of my life. I grew up listening to family members and have an aunt and uncle who are in the Kansas Music Hall of Fame for their jazz and blues,” May said, noting it’s his kids who inspire him the most as both have a love for music and performance.
The group will also be working on recording its first EP as they plan to play in several gigs this summer.
Kerwood — the man and his band — will be playing at the Resound Festival in Bethany, Mo., on June 9 this summer, and will be opening for Christian rock artists Colton Dixon and Building 429 at the “Rock the Ridge” festival, hosted by Northridge Church in Sabetha, on Saturday, July 8 starting at 4:30 p.m. The band also will be playing at Imagine 11, a downtown music festival on Sunday, July 16 in St. Joseph, Missouri.
You can find mofre information about the band @kerwoodband on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and at www.kerwoodband.com.