Kay-Wal Music

I am deeply honored that these three artists entrust me with their songs; their life-works. It is with an awesome sense of responsibility that I do what I can to bring their art to the world, while ensuring they reap their just rewards. These three musicians are the real deal. I’ve been privileged to learn from them honesty, integrity, and creativity; to glimpse their vision of the world we live in. Many may view them as unconventional. I view them as Truth! I’ve witnessed up-close how real honesty can intimidate those around them. I see how they suffer hardship and disconnect from mainstream society with fortitude, and sometimes in awe at the absurdity of it. Artists who’ve lived the highest truth were too often underappreciated and misunderstood in their life-times, so this is not uncommon.

Each the purest of souls, Wally, Jesse, and Nanker are true to themselves, and that is the message, and their gift to humanity. There is no formula writing in these songs. They come from the heart and from real life. They’re plucked from a universal place true artists are tapped into; and in Nanker’s case, directly from the Song Spirit. Listen to the lyrics as they bare their souls, shake things up, and awaken in us forgotten knowledge. They reflect the beauty in nature and simple things, object to injustice, and expose fools for what they are. If you want to know what’s real, know these artists. Help to bring the wisdom they share to a world that is crying out for truth!

Kay-Wal Music was founded in 1989 in the New York offices of BMI in an attempt to make sense of my husband Wally Bryson’s song publishing affairs. We were advised to set up our own publishing company to insure future royalty payments. Wally had previously signed bad deals as a young musician, and it would take us over three decades to make things right. When he grew tired of watching everyone else profit from his work, the only option he had was to withhold any new songs; though the writing continued.

At some point, I just said, enough is enough, and began an aggressive quest, by phone, letter, email, fax, and in person to anyone and everyone that could possibly help; expending more time, effort, and travel expenses in the U.S. and overseas than any lost royalty payments would possibly ever be recouped. But it was more about the principle and legacy than money. These were Wally’s songs; the culmination of all his hard work and talent that created these songs and recordings. These were his “babies” and we wanted them back. When they came up for 30-year renewals, we were finally able to recoup all of Wally’s song copyrights and publishing interests, followed by gaining cooperation from Capitol Records to revert record sale royalties as well. So here we are, over 40 years after Wally’s first songs were published, at long last able to manage our own affairs. I wouldn’t wish what we went through on anybody. And if you knew the creative, soulful, compassionate person my husband is, you’d be as heartbroken as I was that his entire life’s work was tied up, mismanaged, and misused for so many years. But great songs are timeless and meant to be heard. That is our goal.

Wally Bryson wrote his first song, I Love the Man in the Moony, at the age of five. At seventeen, his first songs were recorded with his band The Choir for Roulette Records. His songs come deep from his heart and soul, and nobody’s heart and soul are deeper. Many songs in his catalogue have never been heard, as the incentive to record them paled against his constant fight to earn royalties from the songs already in circulation. After four Capital Records albums as Raspberries’ lead guitarist, he prophesized the band’s demise in the song Party’s Over, his lone contribution to the band’s final album, ironically entitled, Starting Over. Wally wears his heart on his sleeve in love songs, Fortune Wheel and Let’s Just Say Goodbye. He speaks his mind in songs such as Name of the Game and Yer Stale, and makes us think when he asks When Is Your Dream?

Our son’s decision to follow in his father’s footsteps was another incentive for us to get Wally’s affairs in order. Jesse Bryson is a talented musician/songwriter/performer in his own right, but we were determined he wouldn’t suffer the same business fate as his Dad. Jesse started writing at about fifteen years old. He’s consistently built up an impressive song catalogue, recording a live CD with his first band Qwasi Qwa, and another with Wally as The Bryson Group, featuring sixteen of Jesse’s songs. His songs reflect the versatility of the musical genres and roots he’s studied and greatly respects, incorporated with his own generational indie pulse. His early lyrics portrayed breadth beyond his years, and have grown in tandem with his own whimsical understanding of life in our times. Written when he was seventeen, his song Cursed With A Good Heart was a visionary observation of altruism being trumped by a cut-throat society. His song Dry shows a young man’s curiosity about the world, while questioning his place in it.

Nanker Tillis is a former member of the band Eli Radish. He has written over 1800 songs to date, most delivered through the spiritual entity Song Spirit about places and events Nanker’s most likely never seen, nor experienced firsthand. Nanker gives the elusive entity all the credit for channeling the words and music he receives on an almost daily basis. Whether it’s a song about Native American injustice in The Black Hills of Dakota, or invoking the welcoming arms of a promised land in The Gates of Ellis, his songs capture times, places, and emotions as if Nanker himself suffered the pain of discrimination; or centuries ago got an immigrant’s first view of the Statue of Liberty. In reality, he’s a complex soul from simple West Virginia roots, but his words belie his mortal capabilities and experiences. Nanker often begs the Song Spirit to leave him alone, not understanding why he’s been chosen. But as the words and music continue flowing, he has no choice but to receive as they come instantaneously, day or night. Nanker obediently writes down the lyrics and captures the melodies on acoustic guitar or harmonica; and with a few trusted musician friends, puts them down in one-take recording sessions whenever he can. The sheer volume of this body of work is magical in scope. Nanker has no inclination as to how to deliver these songs to the public’s ears, so he has entrusted Wally and me at Kay-Wal Music with the care of these songs. We’ll see what the Song Spirit has in mind.

Kay Bryson
Kay-Wal Music, LLC – Partner
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