The Walton Sun says the Riders offer sweet tunes for the ride

The CD is primarily the work of Santa Rosa Beach's Shannon Wallace and Dowlin Mayfield, and band members Greg Torres of Niceville, Kevin LaCour of Panama City Beach, and Chipley's Eric Lampley. The CD also includes the touch of Blair Colsen, Tommy Dawson, Tim Jackson, and Greg Barnhill's songwriting, all respected performers and songwriters in their own right, plus Nashville's Sam Bush on mandolin, fiddle and banjo.

For those who aren't motorcycle enthusiasts and wonder what type of music bikers listen to, Wallace says, "They listen to mostly classic rock and country. The average motorcyclist demographic is around 40 years old, so they grew up listening to music that was real and had substance. This album has music like The Eagles, Zack Brown Band, Poco and Jason Aldean. It is a mixture of rock and country with lots of vocal harmonies and an honest message in the lyrics. The songs range from hard-driving rock/country to mid-tempo Americana. We even have a few ballads."

The response so far to the Riders has been tremendous.

Within weeks of setting up a Facebook page last year, even with no music, its fans numbered in the thousands. Today, with accessible music on the page, its fans are up to 40,000 in 83 countries. A translator was added to the site to allow for many non-English speaking fans and 43,000 have now signed up to be on the e-mail list.

"But this music is not just for motorcyclists but for people of all walks of life who want to escape the grind of work, the pressures of life, and enjoy the freedoms we are granted. Hopefully, they will find these things through the message of MeanStreet Riders' music," said Wallace.

Wallace first picked up a guitar at age 13. He has lived in the area since 1983 when he moved here to study nuclear medicine. However, following his first love, he got an offer to play at the old Hog's Breath in Fort Walton and took it instead of going to school. He has since played with the house band at Jamaica Joe's, then Nightown, at Harry T's for 14 years, the Sky Bar, and he now performs with the Village Door's Dream Band and at Cabana Café. He hopes to take the MeanStreet project to the newly-opened First Note Music Hall in Blue Mountain Beach.

Dowlin retired from MCA records after 13 years, where he was involved with producing 37 gold records. He moved here in 2000 and met Wallace in 2008. The two bonded over their Harleys but soon began collaborating on projects.

The MeanStreet project is being managed by a firm in California, which has set the official release date for Sept. 13, when it will go worldwide.

Dowlin said there are radio promotions in the works with an eye on a possible promotion tour of motorcycle rallying spots such as Thunder Beach.

"It's for all the motorcycle riders and those who aren't — it's about freedom," said Wallace.

Check it out on Facebook or on the web at www.meanstreetriders.com, and join the ride.



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