About the Music

Willamena is currently involved in producing its fourth album. Below is a description of each album in the band's musical history.

Check out our "New Shows" page on our blog, Willamena Rockin, for current shows, or the main blog page for other discussion and news.

Album: Untitled Project,
Ongoing, Includes Release of Demo EP

Focusing only on the best recording and song-selections, rather than quantity, Willamena's latest production includes a 4-song EP release, now available to sample as a free download. This work provides a sneak-peak glimpse of Willamena's latest work with Grammy-award winning producers and talent. The Band expects this project to result in another full album. For those attending live shows, you may have heard a few of these:

Stone Cold Face
Save Me from the Night
She'd She
I Know Nothing
Why Does Everything
Lonely Highway
Empty Ocean
I Think I'm in Love
Wall of Tears
Black Waltz
He Talked About You

Album: Far from the Current

This album was completed and received from the duplicators on December 27th, 2003. 

Album credits:

Chad Hendrickson ~ guitars, vocals, mandolin, & 12 string acoustic; Ted Mitchell ~ drums; Dylan Nau ~ keys, organ, slide guitar, vocals, electric guitar, alto sax, cool stuff, & accordion; Chris Newman ~ bass, vocals; Lucas Ross ~ vocals, harmonica, guitar

Willamena would like to thank the following musicians for their contributions: Ian Bonnema, bass on 2, 3, 5, 12, 13; Michael Crittenden, acoustic guitar on 12, 13, 14; Nate Danis, percussion on 1,4, 7, 8; Brad Frank, drums on 2, 3, 5, 12, 13; Wendy Laine, trumpet on 10

We would also like to thank the following people for their hard work, love, and support:  Michael Crittenden, we appreciate all the help, ideas, and all the good times at the studio; Chetly Zarko for his hard work in graphic design, marketing, and as our webmaster; Willy & the Poor Boy and all their friends; Jenn McGannon; the fellows in Knee Deep Shag (thanks for letting us use your trailer); Dylan Nau @ Studio D for turning his studio over to us; Lance Hendrickson for everything he does (legal work, driving to the shows, and always critiquing every show we play, every time); Dan & Tonni Dipple for all their support all these years; The Undercats; Bryon & Eri Vlier (thanks for all the hard work); Ol’ Blue (the best van in the world); Junior (the best car guitar in the world); Maribo (the gummy bear that lasted from May to July), Sean Campbell (great work on the flyers); Adam Main for fantastic work with the video camera); and Adam Poling (best sound man east of 131 and west of Augusta). 

Special thanks to Wendy Laine, Jess Larson, Laura Ross (we remembered this time), and Rachel Kelly.

As always, thanks for paying attention and we’ll see you at the show!

One Step Ahead of the Storm
Old jacket and a suitcase; sad eyes on a lonely face;
a lifetime of disgrace and he dreams about coming home a winner.
Thin wallet on a weekend, pretty soon he’ll be blown by the wind again,
Thinkin’ ‘bout going where it’s warm right now, just one step ahead of the storm.
Old car no gasoline, the radio been playin’ Maybeline,
hard luck makes you want to scream, sometimes we all feel like losers.
Strange land and he’s getting hard looks,
hearing melodies while he’s reading thick books,
Wishin’ that he never been born right now, just one step ahead of the storm.
Yeah, he can see the clouds roll in. 
Yeah, he can feel the pressure droppin’, but he’s too tired to care. 
Feels like he’s going nowhere.
He’s just trying to stay warm, one step ahead of the storm.
Warm wind was blowin’ all night. 
The band played good and everything felt right. 
That storm stayed out of sight and he knows that he’ll be coming home a winner.  Life’s like a masquerade; like tequila hidin’ in lemonade;
Knowing that he’s been saved by staying one step ahead of the storm.

Never Gonna’ Change
Why can’t things be like they used to be?
We were free when we were younger.
Everybodygrew up, now they seem so alone. 
Everybody wishes that they could be back home.
Except me, not me, I’m right where I wanna be. 
I’m free, I’m free and I ain’t never gonna change.
People change. 
Friends come and go, but only the old ones remember your name.
Faces change as time grows old. 
The people know when it’s time.
Except me, not me, I’m right where I wanna be. 
I’m free, I’m free and I ain’t never gonna change
Well I wonder if I am still the same. 
Yes, I wonder if doing the same thing, doing the same thing,
doing the same thing every day changes you? 
Not me, not me, I’m right where I wanna be.
I’m free, I’m free and I ain’t never gonna change.

Standing Still
Thought I knew what my dreams were,
thought I knew what I was living for, but old dreams don’t matter anymore. 
Thought I knew my future and I was moving faster than time,
thought I was moving forward when I was in rewind.
Standing still is like falling behind, standing still,
I’m standing still, standing still is like falling behind
Thought I cried my tears, thought I lived through my innocent years,
thought I knew everything that I needed to know.
Thought I was shining, like a star in the night, my life was a black hole,
pulling in the light.
Standing still is like falling behind, standing still,
I’m standing still, standing still is like falling behind.

Nowhere Before
I never been nowhere before, but I hear it’s an empty place.
I pack my loneliness in to a bag of broken dreams. 
It’s never as heavy as it seems.
Does anything mean anything to anybodyanymore?
I’ve never been nowhere before.
Well I’ve seen colors like I seen in the movies,
but I’ve never seen love that can last too long.
I’ve seen truth buried underneath a mountain,
and I’ve seen the light before the dawn.
Does anything mean anything to anybodyanymore?
I’ve never been nowhere before.
Nowhere means everything to me.  It never drags me down.
Nothing means everything when you’re nowhere, when you’re nowhere.
Does anything mean anything to anybodyanymore?
I’ve never been nowhere before.

Drifting Bird
Close to the river, but far from the current,
there’s a house on a bluff and it’s higher than a drifting bird.
It’s filled with windows, so you can always see the view. 
You can see the clouds breaking, you’re higher than a drifting bird.
When you’re higher than the fog, high above it all,
you’re seeing things for the first time.
Yesturday’s wasted and the windows are hard to clean. 
You never saw it coming, ‘cause you were higher than a drifting bird.
Close to the river, but far from the current,
higher than a mountain, that’s a long, long way to fall. 
It’s a long, long way to fall.
When you’re higher than the fall, high above it all,
you’re seeing things for the first time.

Landscape
This landscape that is my heart, changes every day.
You can see the river rollin’ by, and it floods when I’m crying.
It’s cuttin’ through the canyons, tearin’ down a mountain.
Change is everything. This Landscape That Is My Heart.
This landscape that is my heart,
it’s got an open window that you can see me through.
You can see the shadows chase the night.
You can see the morning sun before daylight.
You can feel the wind-blown sand, changin’ the land.
Change is everything. This Landscape That Is My Heart.
Change Is Everything.

Where’d the Love Go?
Where’d the love go?  Where’s that sparkle in your eye?
Where’d the heavy weight come from? It’s pushing down on me.
Stormy clouds are blocking my sun, and I can hear the thunder.
I used to be strong so sure, now I’m startin’ to wonder.
Where’d the love go? I don’t want to be alone! Don’t want to be lonely!
But there’s no comfort, here, in your arms anymore.
Storm clouds are blocking my sun, and I can hear the thunder.
I used to be strong so sure, now I’m startin’ to wonder.
Where’d the love go? Sometimes there’s truth,
but it don’t always help you to see.
Sometimes the silence sounds like a symphony.

Rock and Roll
Send out an invitation, then put on a rock show.
I promise that you’ll hear some loud guitars.
And we’ll keep it simple, yea; we’ll keep it simple.
We’ll do our best to rock the bar.
It’s just rock and roll. It’s just rock and roll.
It’s just gonna’ be a damn good time.
Hey man, I think I heard of your band.
Hey man, I think I heard your band the last time you played the radio.
Hey man, I was at the last show. Followed you down to Chicago.
I really dug that loud guitar!
It’s just rock and roll, It’s just rock and roll,
It’s just gonna’ be a damn good time.

Spring Thaw
Waiting for the spring thaw, Waiting for the turnaround,
Waiting for my heart to break free from the ice and snow.
I see those blue skies, early sunrise.
There’s a slow change that’s bound to come, its bound to come

Passion and Pain
She reminds me of fresh fallen snow,
driftin’ in the wind and floatin’ to the ground.
She reminds me of who I used to be,
and when we used to dream - possibilities.
But now I’m just old, and I feel the cold passion and pain.
I’m done with that game. I can see her through the frost on a windowpane,
the memory remains like icicles on a weather vane.
I know I’m not the only one to lose love,
but when I lose a game, I don’t want to play that game again.
Now I’m old, and I feel the cold
passion and pain.

Back On You
Coming for you, riding a train from the city.
Cuttin’ through everything that ever mattered to you.
You’re crazy to deal,
because they ain’t got no pity.
Don’t forget what was true,
because it all comes back on you.
Murder in the hills,
white man doesn’t fear what he kills.
Sharpen the blade. 
Tell the children don’t be afraid.
There’s blood in their eyes,
but death and dying don’t make them alive.
It’s coming back on you.
Starve while we wait for a vision to come.
It rains everyday and we got nowhere to run.
The vision is dead, when you have to hide from the gun.
It’s coming back on you.
When it all turns away and you feel the decay,
Don’t forget what was true,
because it all comes back on you.

1.   Somewhere.
2.   L-Train.
3.   Diggin His Life.
4.   Taking pictures.
5.   Shelter.
6.   Ghost of July.
7.   Shield your Eyes.
8.   Two-way Mirror.
9.   Old Oak Tree.
10. Gold Digger.

Album Credits: All songs written by Ross/Hendrickson, copyright Ten Lanes Wide. Greg Doss, slide track 2, Nate Dynak, drums, tracks 2,6,7,10. Brad Frank, drums, 1,3,4,5,8,9. Chris Newman, bass, track 10.  Ian Bonnema, bass, tracks 1-9.