Delilah DeWylde and the Lost Boys

With all the popularity and interest there is today in what is referred to as “New Country”, what would posess four seasoned musicians to go entirely the other direction?
Call it integrity, going against the grain, being niche-y, whatever. Delilah Dewylde and the Lost Boys march to the country shuffle of a bygone era; before country was on FM radio, before country artists had personal trainers, and most certainly, before country sounded like rock and roll with fiddle. Mixing self penned songs with old country hits (and unknown gems) by such artists as Hank Williams, Webb Pierce, Ernest Tubb, and Buck Owens to name a few, Delilah and the Lost Boys come out on stage looking and sounding like a 45 year step back in time. Dressed to the nines in the tradition of pre-color television country singers and musicians, donning matching western suits and playing the finest vintage musical instruments in the finest old school way.
The leader of the band of course is Delilah, playing upright bass and singing lead. A veteran of the West Michigan music scene for over 15 years and an alumnus of rockabilly institution Dangerville, is also a holder of the secret of standing on the bass while she plays it. Don’t ask her how it’s done, as it’s a secret. Upon forming this band, she thought of asking her three(!) ex-husbands to join her. As reluctant as one would think they’d be to such an idea, the three Lost Boys decided to give it a try.
Ex husband number one is Lee Harvey on lead guitar. His serious demeanor onstage is not lament for miss Delilah as much as it is reverence for the precision of his own technique. Whole lotta pickin’, not a lot of grinnin’. My money is on lament.
Ex husband number two is D.J. McCoy, not of Hatfield and McCoy fame, but country nonetheless. D.J. is a veteran drummer with countless bands over the past 20 plus years from all across Michigan. Any drummers who see our lad D.J. in action more than once will note that he has a different vintage drum set virtually each time he plays. May be compensation for loneliness…
Ex husband number three is Johnny Hiwatt, who has been a gigging musician for over 18 years. He is a steel guitar picker and also will step forward with his acoustic guitar and sing close harmony with miss Delilah on selected songs, trying to remember and trying to forget at the same time. Poor Johnny.
The four of them started playing gigs together in spring 2005 and had rather immediate and surprising success. Surprising because they weren’t entirely convinced that Michigan was interested, or ready, to embrace four western clad thirty-somethings playing music that has no presence on modern radio or television. But that was precisely the reason the crowds came. You can’t get music like this on radio or television anymore. They found out that neighboring states felt the same way as well. As things have progressed, they have gotten sharper, tighter, and their repertoire has expanded, but they have been diligent in keeping their sound the same, as they believe their original concept is a good one and one not to stray from. And besides, there are plenty of New Country acts out there.
Confinement Records