We recently connected with Derwood (Tensas) Willhite and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Derwood (Tensas) thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Rocky Mountain Music Society and Tall Tale Records

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a songwriter and band that goes by the name Tensas, and I write, record and perform an eclectic blend of dark and grungy Roots-Rock music that is influenced by a variety of styles and genres. For over a decade I have enjoyed calling Colorado and the Rocky Mountains my home! My love for both music and living in this stunning region is why I enjoy also spending time helping other artists and bands under my non-exclusive record label, as well as a non-profit called the Rocky Mountain Music Society that I recently founded. Both the Rocky Mountain Music Society and Tall Tale Records are endeavors that allow aspiring musicians and students seeking volunteer work and internships the opportunity to gain experience and network while working and learning in a variety of areas across the music industry!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The mission behind Rocky Mountain Music Society is to provide young aspiring musicians with FREE instruments, education and resources! We’ve just launched new memberships for artists and businesses, and we are planning our first concert / fundraiser this Fall. As a young boy, I grew up in a region with a bad economy and minimal resources for youth in music. I was only in the 5th grade when my k-12 school fired the music teacher, and left me without ongoing access to music and any education surrounding it. As even getting a simple guitar lesson was an hour drive or more from the rural area I grew up along on the Mississippi delta. So sadly, I did not wind up learning guitar and teaching myself until I was 18 years old… That lack of exposure to music made me realize that there are many young people around the world who are music hungry like I am!

This is what gave me a burning desire to do whatever it takes to work, create and help other like-minded folk in the music industry, in any way possible. Also, I started my small record label in an effort to give songwriters and bands the support and resources of a record label, while keeping it fun, non-exclusive and fair share for everyone! Most recently, the label released a debut EP for a talented 17 year old singer-songwriter, who goes by Ghost of Bodie who will be playing his first shows later this year. I’m also planning for Tall Tale Records to host a showcase next year that will feature up-and-coming songwriters and bands from around the region! We’re always seeking to sign both established and new acts under the label, and typically the genre is not nearly as important as your songs needing to have an interesting approach and story behind the writing.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I knew, about 17 going on 18, that I loved music and that I wanted to write and create it, but I just didn’t know where to begin. So I did like a lot of kids and joined the military, and then I soon found myself around other musicians and songwriters that gave me a few tips and help to get going in the right direction finally. Sadly though, I grew up thinking and being told that it’s nearly impossible to earn a living in music and to keep a “real job”. This caused me to spend too much time in my early 20’s only writing and doing my music on-the-side. As there was a strong entrepreneurial side to my mind that kept telling me inside that I could create other ideas and businesses that would give me the money to fund and do what I wanted to in music. Well, it seems I was wrong! So I spent time playing solo and also in a working rock band on the east coast for a few years, and I kept writing songs and recording for myself and others here-and-there after I moved to Colorado around 2011, but while always working on something else not music.

Not just once, but numerous times since then I found out that this approach would never give me the time, money or ability to create the life of music that I wanted. There were multiple brands and companies that I embarked on trying to feed my hunger as an entrepreneur, and a few of them were successful startups. But too much time, thought and energy was needed to start and help grow those non-music endeavors. The more I put in, the more that was required of me and I quickly found myself working 7 days a week, overwhelmed and stressed with the wrong people and things in my life.

Just a few years prior to the COVID pandemic, I was driving one day and collapsed with my daughter and wife in truck and crashed while heading to work one morning. This car crash was a tough wakeup call for me, and I knew deep down right when I woke up from that crash, still laying inside the ambulance, that it was time to do what I loved in music and that I would not let anything or any excuse stand in my way any longer. I spent the following year or so recovering from the crash and working on my mental health, and during that time I decided it was best to just quit and move on from the small startup companies I had about killed myself working for.

First, I started to record music that I had been writing for myself over the years and quickly began to network and get out in the music scene full-time. During that same time I also started Tall Tale Records to protect my music and the other artist and bands I enjoy collaborating with, and my goal with this small label is to be non-exclusive and let creators keep their rights and have the fair majority of their royalties for the songs they write. Yes, COVID in 2020 put a halt to my music endeavors, but luckily I was able to continue writing, recording and releasing music throughout the pandemic. At the beginning of lockdown that Spring, I released a song I wrong about the pandemic and the press featured it being one of the first songs about the pandemic, and this helped keep a bit of traction in the media along with a small stream of new fans online that began to grow.

Taking a pivot in my life and going full time towards music was the best decision I ever made! No the money isn’t good, but that’s not what its about. Making a lower income and sacrifice to be happy doing what I love every day gives me the ability to tell people that I work in music. This has continued to make me a better person, and I feel better for myself and can help the people I love. Things still do go wrong, life happens and growing a music career is challenging… but that it what makes it rewarding when things do go right! Now I have a talented bandmate named Desha that I write and play music with, and working on a new music nonprofit has given me another sense of purpose and feeling that I can help others in the music industry for a long-time to come beyond the songs that I write.    

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TensasMusic.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/TensasMusic
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/TensasOfficial
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@TensasMusic
• Other: www.TallTaleRecords.com www.RockyMountainMusic.org

Image Credits
Megan C. Willhite