Thomas Wynn and The Believers

SIMPLY LIVIN’

      

I’m sure our parents had us stand like this. Or it could’ve been Jordan, since he always had a flare for being dramatic. Either way, I think I should have been first in line.

I always wanted to live on a farm with all the old ways of living. I have plenty of books on it. Old iron tools and pieced together wooden boxes. I also used to be a lot tougher than I am now. I ran screaming for my roommate the other day because there was a roach on my dogs food bowl. I used to be able to just squash it. You had to be tough to live in those times. Everything caters to convenience now. I’m not complaining, I just admire how it was. Hard workers, taking nothing for granted. I bought a school bus when I was seventeen and converted it into my home (with Thomas, some friends, and my parents help). I loved it. It felt good to have made my own little home. Of course, I couldn’t sleep in past 9AM because of the heat. But still, I loved it. With that in mind, I’m glad I am where I am. We couldn’t be at this point without a vision of what could be and the follow through to make it. 

LEARNING WHILE BELIEVING

          

This picture proves the innocence of children. To us, it seemed like a perfect platform to dance and laugh. When in fact, the location is at a grave in Jamestown, Virginia.

When I became older and my mom showed me this picture and told me where we were, I was mortified. Now, after some time I see it as a sweet moment. I’m uncertain how those buried came to rest or what the story of their lives was, but I can hope that if they did somehow feel our presence, they would have enjoyed it and maybe reflected on their own lives. This brings me to acknowledge so many things in my life now; to take a step back when offended or unsure. To look for another angle and see as a lesson or a truth about myself. Trying to learn from others and not just my own mistakes. Getting back to how I lived as a child, learning from everything, the good and the bad.

Sing Along

      

I’m sure every family has at least one picture like this. My sister Leah, with her wool-like sweater, me with the ruffled dress and probably socks with lace. Although, Jordan and Thomas are missing their bolo ties. We were more than likely picnicking after church as we often did. Still singing songs from the morning service. Well, at least my mom was.

My mom used to sing in the choir. I remember watching her as she stood on the left, in the alto section. I always felt like I could hear her voice above everyone else’s. Though, I probably just heard it in my head since she’d sing her parts all week. Either way, my mom is one of the few who got me started on singing. I used to sit-in during her choir practice and draw, until one day, she gave me the choir book and told me to “…sing along”. That’s pretty much how it all began. I loved the choir; voices in harmony, the unity, all of it. Over a few years and joining a girls choir I learned to read music and I didn’t stop there. I’ve kept going since.

It still excites me to learn and grow in music.

TRUCK MADNESS

     

As usual Thomas is covered in some sort of filth. But it never seemed to stop me from hugging him.

My sister Leah would love fixing our hair in weird ways. Jordan was always clean and tucked in, Thomas was always dirty, and I was in between somewhere. This picture was taken in our front yard, which as I’ve said before, is where we practically lived. Making mud pies and setting traps for intruders. One of my favorite memories of that age was my dads old truck. He used to pull it up in front of the house and we put a tarp in the bed of it and filled it with water from the hose. Our own swimming pool. It was great. That truck has a lot of other memories too. There were holes all on the floor board and you could see the road. So that was entertainment enough as a kid. I still remember though, my dads jokes, my favorite being “you know nine times outa ten I can spit on your foot” and he normally outdid himself. It was a clever way of making us want to wear shoes. 

BEACHING AROUND

       

Just another day at the beach. That’s my oldest brother Jordan on the left. Sometimes when I look back at old pictures all I want to do is recreate it. I think of how different the picture would turn out with our current bodies and personalities. How much we all have changed. With my wet little ponytail and our smiles enjoying the beach and just our time together.

I’m not a great fan of the beach anymore. I don’t think my brother Jordan is either. Too much sand and unfortunately, I don’t tan - I burn. Though the last time I remember really loving the beach was last year. Thomas woke me up at about 7am (which is just ridiculously early for me) and made me and India (my dog) go to the beach with him. When we got to the dog beach, the water was so high around shrubbery we had to walk waist deep in water to find sand. Poor India was having mixed feelings; she had never been to the beach and had to swim. We were dodging jellyfish and I even had a stingray graze my leg, which India saw and tried to bite. Anyway, we finally found a huge stretch of sand with hundreds of warm sea water puddles. India had a blast running around and Thomas and I laid in the shallow puddles in the sand. It was a very nice morning.

SEEING IS BELIEVING

      

Once again - education on family vacation. This is Thomas and myself standing at the Arlington Cemetery in Virginia. Even at a young age, I still remember the heaviness of this sight. It’s one of those visuals that don’t seem to leave, that almost provoke thought. I can relate it to the first time you see New York City. You always see movies and hear how big it is but when you see it with your own eyes, it really is remarkable. Same thing, you see movies of battle and read history books but until you see it…

We’ve been so fortunate to have been raised being shown things of importance. That truly has shaped the way we see and live. 

HOW WE GOT TO BELIEVING

For the next few weeks, journey along with me as I take you back in time to revisit some of my fun and great childhood memories with Thomas! I’m hoping it’ll be a cool way for all our fans to get to know us a little more and how it is we got to sharing the stage and performing. So here we go…

       

Our front yard is where most of our pictures were taken. We practically lived out there.

Playing, building, chasing, instigating…and somehow we could normally pull it together for a picture. I’m sure right before this little hug, there was some trouble brewing. We were in our “please don’t get your clothes dirty” - so we probably were about to leave for our usual field trips. Mom was always coming up with fun but educational field trips for us. She’s always added learning into everything. I used to hate it. Now I love it and laugh at it - so reliable. She would play trivia games at our birthday parties and give out pennies when you got the answer right. We’d all be walking around with cups and change instead of running around. Thinking back, it was awesome.

Olivia Wynn - A Believer

             

Photo by: Asbury Photography

In the light of a new year I have been searching for a new outlet. Not used to “blogging” in anyway but after some friendly convincing I have decided to jump on board. I’m not quite sure where to begin other then I sing in Thomas Wynn and the Believers. I’m Olivia Wynn a.k.a. little sister of Thomas.  We’re from Florida born and raised (I’ve been told you can tell that in our music). We sing about life and all that comes with it and I feel our music reflects that as well.

I can’t speak for everyone but I feel as if I am on a roller coaster sometimes on stage.. hanging onto every second of the show.. waiting just like everyone else to see what’s next. I love that about music. It’s more than just written words and chords. It’s energy, love, and everything you could ever need to get through - even just for a minute.

Our dad introduced us to music very early on. He’s a drummer and wanted us to love good music but not become musicians. Unfortunately when you love good music and have an amazing musical inspiration as a parent that is the outcome. We started playing everywhere we could. Raised in the church we sang in the choirs and lead the worship bands. Thomas took a harder route for a while in a hardcore band with my other big brother Jordan on bass while I went onto singing in a cathedral girls choir. Someday I’ll fill you in on the weird musical comical genius of Jordan but today is not that day.

For now I’m going to sum this up in saying, I’m excited to have found this new outlet for myself and hopefully get to share some great music and meet some great people.