Bill Dewey and the Dynammics to perform ‘country-tinged rock ’n’ roll at Frontier Days By OBAID KHAWAJA, Messenger staff writer Bill Dewey, who fronts a Johnny Cash tribute band that will be playing at Frontier Days, said the resurgence in popularity of his foremost influence during the last few years has been a refreshing change to when he was a teenager. ‘‘When I was in junior high, I used to get ribbed,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s really kind of refreshing to see ... people broadening their horizons. That’s what’s happening with Cash; they’re finding he’s a rock star.’’ Dewey will be bringing his own style of country-tinged rock ’n’ roll to Frontier Days June 2 when his three-piece band, Bill Dewey and the Dynammics, perform under the Big Top. He is reluctant to limit his music to just one genre and said he has different influences for his guitar playing and singing style. ‘‘I’m a traditional country singer and a classic rock ’n’ roll singer,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re not locked into any genre. I just call it dynamic, I guess.’’ Dewey got his start in music at an early age when, at age 9, he joined the Drum and Bugle Corps of America. He went on to play cornet and trumpet in high school band before switching back to the guitar. As a child, he had used toy guitars as a prop while pretending to imitate his favorite singer. It was during his visits to a nursing home to see his grandmother that he started performing for people at the insistence of Shirley Suby Hall, who was a resident at the facility and encouraged the young Dewey to sing and play for people. He formed Bill Dewey and the Blazin’ Broncos after leaving high school and began playing at small venues and recording locally. After several lineup changes, Dewey changed the name of his band to Bill Dewey and the Dynammics. He has toured nationally and even recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tenn., where Cash and others made their mark. Dewey’s musical influences aren’t all traditional, however, and he grew up listening to a lot of the popular bands of the late 1970s and 1980s. He adds that he’s a ‘‘huge Kiss fan’’ and tries to incorporate certain elements of their style into his live performance. ‘‘The intensity of what we do ... the energy and the perpetual exchange of energy between people and us,’’ he said. ‘‘When they’re into it, there’s that perpetual exchange of energy.’’ Bassist Jay Funk has played with Dewey for about 20 years, and drummer Jared Wingert joined the band about a year ago. Wingert grew up in Fort Dodge and began playing drums at age 6 — he said he was ‘‘playing in bars’’ by the time he was 11 years old. As a teenager he played in several local bands and was playing a show with his band, Silverbend, when he saw Dewey perform. After the show, Wingert approached Dewey and told him that he’d be willing to drum for them if they ever needed a drummer. ‘‘I just called him six months later and said, ‘I’m still around,’’’ he said. ‘‘What impressed me most about the guy is he’s just a professional.’’ The trio has played at a number of local venues and recently played at the Wild Rose Casino and Resort in Emmetsburg. ‘‘We’re shifting into another gear and hopefully we can shift into another gear after that,’’ said Wingert, adding, ‘‘(But) I’d go back to any place I’ve played in ... because I love it.’’ Copyright 2007— The Messenger