Eddie Kesler has always had one foot on the concrete and one foot in the sticks. And with his new solo release, "Wingman", he brings these two worlds together in a collection of songs written over the span of several years. Stories of loss and love, stories of longing for the road as a balladeer as well as longing for home wrapped in the warm confines of a family husk. Stories of maturing, old trucks, lake life, and loneliness. This album is a cup that many could drink from. Kesler spent much of his first half of life playing in bands of all kinds including rock, Americana and bluegrass and mastering many instruments along the way such as drums, guitars, mandolin and bass. Over the years, he’s toured around the east coast and played CBGBs on down. Using the storytelling skills he employs in his day gig as a visual editor and the scores of songs he'd written over the years, he decided it was time to put the knife to the grindstone and finally cut an album himself utilizing all these assets. Kesler plays all of the instruments on the album except for some brilliant pedal steel, handled by Drew de Man and some touching fiddle, drawn by his Georgia Mountain Stringband-mate, Brendan Held. Using no more than a pair of mics and some dedication, Kesler was able to construct a very sturdy album on par with productions costing thousands more and with many more players, yet retaining a raw and honest feel. Being a closet songwriter for decades and never gravitating to the spotlight in several bands as a frontman, "Wingman" was the perfect title for his solo release. His songs pay homage to many of the first generation country artists he grew up on such as Don Williams, Lefty Frizzell, Marty Robbins as well as late-model Americana players like Jon Randall, Son Volt and The Gourds. "As a youngster, I spent all my summers and many weekends working in the country around the lake singing old 40s and 50s country and bluegrass tunes with my grandfather." Kesler remarks. "Moving into my teens, like many my age, I soaked up Kiss, ARS, The Allman Brothers and the like. This album revisits a lot of the music I grew up on that is stamped in my memory along with a lot of the stuff I progressed towards as I got older like Guy Clark, Blaze Foley and Robert Earl Keen. And being mostly a bluegrass musician for the past 20 years, I wanted to also show what all I have in me that's shares a big space besides Bill Monroe and Del McCoury. But there's plenty of mandolin on a lot of these tracks too." With this effort, Kesler is donating all proceeds from the sale of the album to a fund that he set up in his late father’s name at the American Heart Association. “After losing my Dad in 2010 to heart disease and stroke, it really shook my world. I wrote probably a dozen songs about him and the grief I encountered and could have written many more. It has helped me heal and there’s a couple of them on ‘Wingman’. I just felt this was something I needed to do. Some people walk or run to raise money for charity and I decided to make some music for a good cause. I hope I can connect with many listeners possible in the process.” Enjoy…