TOBY WAYNE AND DISTANT THUNDER

One of Southwest Oklahoma's best up and coming Alternative Country Bands “Toby Wayne & Distant Thunder” have just released their debut album “Strangers” the band’s first studio album . The album consisting of ten songs 7 written by Toby Wayne himself and the powerful tittle cut "Strangers" penned by two of country music's most talented writers Parkman/Black .Also featuring a guest appearance by legendary Red Dirt/Texas Country guitarist/singer/songwriter Travis Linville.

A compelling, Country / Southern Rock LP capable of wooing rock, and country fans alike in multiple demographics, “Southernman” written by Tim Brackeen is as pure, hard southern rocking, and emotional as it gets.

“Its music from the heart that hits you right between the eyes.”

In crafting the new album the idea was to go directly into the studio to maintain the vibe and capture the spirit of our live shows!No frills no effects just a group of guys playing the music they love!

The Band formed May 2006 by two brothers Toby Wayne and Kris James, and in that short time together they have gained a wide fan base", consisting of most people who have seen them play live,building a solid fan base the old-fashioned way: one fan at a time. Their dedicated

fans have followed them from gig to gig, from dive bars to concert halls, as their music seems to appeal to most people; regardless of age.

“We have extremely high hopes for the new album, as it’s reflects us in every way. The record is now available for purchase through Toby Wayne & D T's official web Site, It is also be available for digital download on nimbit, myspace ,and will be released to I tunes, Rhapsody, and Napster in February or March of this year.

More information on dates, venues, and cities for the tour can be found on the bands website along with high resolution photo's.

www.tobywayne.com

www.myspace.com/tobywayneanddistantthunder

Contact Information

Company Name: Toby Wayne & Distant Thunder

PR Contact Name: Toby Wayne

Email: tobywayne@live.com

Website: www.tobywayne.com

FORMED IN 2006 BY 2 BROTHERS TOBY WAYNE AND KRIS JAMES THE BAND HAS WON SEVERAL BATTLE OF THE BANDS AND BEEN A PART OF SOME OF THE BIGGEST FESTIVALS IN THEIR AREA!

WE PLAY OVER 180 SHOWS A YEAR FROM KANSAS ,TO TEXAS AND ANYWHERE ELSE THAT WE ARE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO PLAY

MERLE HAGGARD

ANY SOUTHERN ROCK

PRETTY MUCH FROM PINK FLOYD TO WAYLON JENNINGS

MESA BOOGIE

FENDER

OCEAN

PEARL

SHURE

Richard Carter

For the Times Record News

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Toby Wayne and Distant Thunder will do whatever it takes to get people out on the dance floor.

The Frederick, Okla., Red Dirt band, which leans toward traditional country and Southern rock, has even played Michael Jackson to get people on the floor, singer and rhythm guitarist Toby Wayne said.

Toby Wayne and Distant Thunder say if you like Merle Haggard and Lynyrd Skynyrd, chances are you’ll like their sound.

“We believe they need to get out there and dance. We’ll do whatever it takes,” he said with a laugh.

Toby Wayne and Distant Thunder has been together for almost three years now.

“If you like Merle Haggard and then Lynyrd Skynyrd, you’ll like us,” he said.

The dance music the group plays is more about “getting out and two stepping,” he said. The group covers a wide range of material, ranging from John Mayer to Garry Allen to Stoney LaRue to the Temptations (the old Motown soul band).

Distant Thunder released its first CD, “Stranger,” in August, and the members are getting ready to re-enter the studio in January to start their second one.

The band is getting light rotation on the Outlaw 94.9, and the guys recently hired a radio promoter to push their music out to Texas radio.

Wayne became a full-time musician when he formed the band. The group played 180 shows in 2007 either as a full band or scaled down to perform acoustic sets.

“I’ve been wanting to do music full time for a while, but the opportunity was never there with the right people to actually do it until about 2-1/2 years ago,” he said.

His little brother (Kris James, the band’s bassist) pushed him into singing. “I love singing, and he was wanting to form a band, and that kind of forced me into lead singing,” said Wayne, who has always been a drummer or keyboard player. Distant Thunder is Wayne’s first band to front.

Rather than rely on other people who really didn’t care as much about making music professionally as they did, they decided to take matters into their own hands.

Wayne’s music career began at the age of 2. His family had a band, and his uncle taught him how to play guitar. Back then, he would sit on stage and sing two songs.

“I’ve been doing this for quite a while. I’ve been in bands with some great musicians, including a high school fiddle player who went on to play with Kevin Fowler.”

Wayne writes most of the songs himself, and guitarist Daniel McAdoo also writes. The other members of the band help write and also contribute to the arranging.

That includes James on bass and vocals, Chase Thompson on drums .

The group already has written enough originals that when the band plays a 90-minute show, about 85 percent of it is their material. “If we are doing three hours, it’s probably 50-50 to keep the crowd there,” he said.

All of the members of Distant Thunder now have the same goals and are willing to do what it takes to make their music better known.

They are working toward introducing more and more of their original material to crowds.

“Our short-term goal is to get more radio play and more people at the shows. Our long-term goal is to be able to keep fresh new music and new places to play and more fans,” Wayne said.