Group performing with Them Dudes at The Cave Friday

By Tanya Gamble
(Image above (L-R): Dylan Howard, Connor Best, Collin Lacki, Thomas Tedesco)

Hywater remains a testament to the power of authenticity, a strong work ethic, determination, creativity and the belief that anything can be possible in the world of music.

Hywater, led by lead vocalist Thomas Tedesco and guitarist Connor Best, also includes keyboardist Collin Lacki, drummer Dylan Howard and his brother, bassist Will Howard.

The group is performing at The Cave this Friday, (June 13) with Them Dudes. Doors are at 7 p.m. ,with the show beginning at 7:30 p.m. It has shows coming up in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, this summer as well as local performances.

They also have new single out, titled “Hindsight.” Here is the lyric video:

In a recent interview, the band revealed why they decided to change their name to Hywater.

The band, which originally went by Tedesco Knows Best, changed its name to Hywater to better reflect the band’s makeup. The band started out as a duo consisting of Tedesco and Best.

“It started with Connor and myself,” said Tedesco. “We went by Tedesco Knows Best. It was a play on our names and then once Dylan and Collin came into the fold, we figured we needed to come up with a new name.”

“We originally came up with Scarlet Heart. Scarlet Heart won originally. So we were called Scarlet Heart for 24 hours,” Dylan Howard said.   

“Then we had a change of heart for some reason. I thought to myself one day ‘come hell or high water we need a new name!’ So then I was like, ‘Oh! We can take a part of that phrase and make it our own,” Tedesco said.

The phrase “Come Hell or High Water” signifies an unwavering determination to achieve something, even if it involves overcoming challenges, and this is the band’s motto.  

Tedesco has a family connection with the late Niagara Falls native and Buffalo Music Hall of Famer Tommy Tedesco of The Wrecking Crew. Tommy Tedesco died in 1997 after playing on thousands of recordings and hundred of its.

“Tommy is my cousin,” said Tedesco. “He played on a lot of classic records. Records by The Monkees and The Beach Boys. Then of course there’s the great documentary that his son Denny did called ‘The Wrecking Crew,’ which is a great show,” Denny was actually in town not too long ago and showed a new documentary he’s got going out (“Immediate Family”), so we saw him then and it was a real fun time. Good to see the family.”

The group said they all were originally inspired to pursue music by playing Guitar Hero growing up.

Best started playing music as a kid. “I started playing piano when I was five, and then I moved up to guitar and bass and mandolin. Next I wanna learn how to play the banjo.”

For Dylan Howard, music was engrained in his family. “My dad plays guitar, bass and he does a little everything. So, I always grew up with music all around. He had his guitars laying all around the living room. I started playing drums in the third grade and kept taking lessons,” he said.

When it comes to their creative process, the members all bring a different style to the group.

“A lot of the time it’s the five of us sitting in a room together. And someone will throw out a riff or chord progression and each guy will throw their own thing into it and from there we mold it or form it into a song,” Best said.

“I think it’s kind of interesting because we all have fairly different influences,” Dylan added. “Tom is a ’80s guy. Personally, I take influence from late 60s into the 70s psychedelic-blues rock drummers and a lot of drummers from the ’90s.”

“For me as a guitarist, I take a lot of my inspirations from progressive rock players from the late ’70s and a lot of metal guitarists and neo-classical guitarists,” Best said.

The group combines their influences to create their sound as a band.

“We take all those things and kind-of mold them all together and that’s a typical way a Hywater song will come together,” Tedesco said. 

Hywater suggests listeners check out songs like “Up in the Air” and “Mr. Chooser” off of their latest EP “This Way Up”.

“’Up In The Air’ is a particular one. I love the way it was written. Especially with all the guitar work that personally myself and Tom did with the rhythm tracks. Because we tried to do something that was a little poppy and it just turned into something that was a little more borderline hard rock,” said Best.

“And that’s definitely credited to our producer R.J. Demarco who we worked on that with,” said Tedesco.

“It’s probably my favorite to perform live and permits its own special challenges every time we do it,” Tedesco said. “Collin added the missing piece to the song, which made it great.”

Best said he enjoys playing either “Up In The Air” or “Mr. Chooser.”

You can check out Hywater’s music. You can also find more information on their music on Instagram.