KEN WILBER
Ken was born in Oneonta, NY on October 29th, 1980. He was born three months premature and spent the first few months of his life in the hospital, before he was strong enough to come home to his parents. As a result of being born prematurely, Ken suffered from severe asthma in his early life. Because of the respiratory issues he experienced, he spent a lot of inside and spent much of his time listening to old record albums his grandmother had given him.
His earliest musical influences were Conway Twitty, Merle Haggard, George Jones and Johnny Cash. His family remembers him at a young age staring at the records as they played, trying to understand the music he heard. Ken learned to sing by trying to emulate the people he heard on the recordings and would keep at it, until he could copy every little inflection of the vocal performance.
In high school Ken discovered his second love… theater. He made his theatrical debut at the age of 14 in a high school production of “Fame.” From there Ken performed in every production that his local drama club put on. Ken decided to pursue his love of theater and attended C.W. Post College in Long Island, NY where he studied theater and acting. Ken left C.W. Post, after a year of study to be closer to home. Ken next studied theater at SUNY Oneonta.
At this time Ken started working with local theater groups and performed in over thirty productions with Tri-Town Theater, The Out of the Woodwork Players and Afton Community Theater. Ken has directed two plays for the Out of the Woodwork Players and served on the board for Afton Community Theater and The Out of the Woodwork Players.
While working with the local theater groups, Ken started a band with his friend Will Gallagher, who played the drums. They recorded a demo of a few songs the Ken had written at a local recording studio in Stamford, NY. The recordings caught the attention of Kerry Fallot, who played lead guitar and Dan Fallon, who sang harmonies and played Bass. Kerry and Dan had been school bus drivers for Ken and Will when they were in school and decided to help the two of them start a band. The band Fly By Nite was formed and they were soon playing locally every weekend at the local watering hole “Babcocks.” Fly by Nite played together for a little over ten years, before dissolving in 2012.
Ken Also sang with the southern rock Group J.D. Mistress. Ken was brought in by guitar player Rich Rogers. He played with them for about six months, where they played several dates locally and had the opportunity to open for Molly Hatchet and Blackfoot in Albany, NY.
After Fly By Nite dissolved, Ken and Kerry Fallot set out to begin writing and arranging music for Ken’s first album “Rollin’ My Own.” They set up a home recording studio and began recording basic tracks for the album. Things were moving along slowly, because they had no real knowledge of how to record an album and were learning as they went.
During the recording process, Ken had the opportunity to play country music Legend Hank Williams in a local theatrical production of “Hank Williams: Lost Highway.” During the production, Ken met Michael Leo Brothers, who had a recording studio in Greene. At Michael’s request, Ken moved the production of his album to Mike’s studio in Greene, NY, where they began working with the raw tracks from the earlier recording sessions. Mike brought in engineer Jim Servedio to assist with the recording process. Several local musicians were brought in to record on the album. After recording and editing a few hours a week, the album was completed in 2017.
Michael Brothers had attended The Recording Workshop in the 1980s where he was instructed by Tony Cottrill. When the mixing was complete, Michael suggested that the record be sent to Tony in Gallatin, TN for mastering.
Shortly after the mastering was completed, Tony contacted Michael and Ken to come to Nashville to record a demo session for Sonny LeMaire of Exile fame. Ken went to Nashville in February of 2018 to record three songs that Sonny had written with several other Nashville writers.
As a result of the first sessions, Ken decided to record his second album in Nashville. Ken returned in October of 2018 and began the recording process for his second record.
Highlights:
“Freedom Song,” “Bread On The Table” and “I Could Get Used To You” all Produced by Sonny LeMaire of Exile were released to digital platforms on Dec 4, 2000 with a radio release on January 22nd for Freedom Song
“You've Gone to My Head” penned by Sonny LeMaire, Rory Bourke and Charlie Black - release date 1-18-19
Self produced his first album “Rollin My Own,” released in November 2017
Former lead singer of the band Fly By Nite for ten years and was a singer in the southern rock band J.D. Mistress
Opened for Molly Hatchet and Blackfoot
Learned to play guitar at the age of 16
Started performing in theater as an actor at the age of 14 in a production of “Fame”
Attended Long Island University on the C.W. Post Campus where he studied theater and acting
Served on the board of directors for Afton Community Theater and The Out of the Woodwork Players in Bainbridge, NY
Currently, works for the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office as a Corrections Officer and the mounted patrol.
Avid Vinyl record collector, has an online store through discogs
Married his wife Amanda in 2014, they met during a theatrical production of “The Music Man,” and Daughter Ava was born in 2017