Confidently starting as a fill-in singer and working his way up to lead vocalist, sophomore Wayne McClung is getting a head start on his hopeful music career as he sings for Treazon, a five-person heavy metal band.
McClung said music has influenced him since third grade when he joined a drama club at school.
McClung said that after joining the drama club, his mom signed him up for a “Triple Threat” program for acting, dance and voice through a private company where he had his first vocal lessons and realized singing was his passion.
“I thought I would be into acting, but after joining the drama club, I realized singing was more of my thing,” McClung said.
When he was younger, McClung said his parents opted to buy him an MP4 player instead of a cell phone. On it, he discovered different songs and genres that he loved.
“My dad made me download a lot of rock songs and paid for me to have around 10 songs when I first got it,” McClung said. “I remember my first song being ‘Walk This Way’ by Aerosmith, and ever since then I have loved hip-hop, rock and heavy metal.”
McClung said he started writing his own songs during his junior year of high school. Now, he has written 13 songs.
The creative writing major joined Treazon in August of 2023. While he writes songs and contributes to the main lyrics and melodies for the band, he said his major helps him to produce better lyrics.
“I have always wanted to incorporate music into my life,” McClung said. “Having creative writing as my major helps me produce more meaningful and creative lyrics.”
McClung said his inspiration derives from listening to other music. When he is trying to write a song with a jubilant tone, he said he will listen to upbeat music with a quicker tempo and witty lyrics. McClung said he also writes humorous lyrics to make himself and his audience laugh.
“Listening to other songs helps me get ideas for metaphors and structures that I may want to include in my songs,” McClung said. “It helps me decide if I want to tell a story and how broad or narrow I want the lyrics to be.”
Along with McClung, Treazon consists of two guitarists and two drummers, including lead guitarist Dylan Nightingale who helped start the band.
All social media and graphic designs are handled by Nightingale, he said. Additionally, he writes the music for guitars and has contributed to lyrics for three of the four songs they have released.
Nightingale said he enjoys performing with McClung and his dedication to making the band successful inspires him.
“Performing is something that is very special to me,” McClung said. “I don’t think anything can beat the experience of people hearing songs that you wrote.”
The band would not run as smoothly as it does now if McClung had not joined, Nightingale said. McClung has more ambition than a lot of musicians that have tried out for the band, Nightingale said, describing him as a “go-getter.”
“I definitely think he adds something to our band that was missing before, on the first demo,” Nightingale said.
Nightingale said their main goal is to get signed to an indie metal label for promotion and production of physical merch. Both Nightingale and Clung introduce ideas to each other at practice and figure out a plan to conjure up their latest song from those conversations, Nightingale said.
McClung said that practices usually run around three hours once a week, depending on the availability of the band members. Practicing is something that he looks forward to – not only to spend time with the members but to better his vocal skills as well.
“Vocals-wise, he’s definitely the best singer for our band, but he can also play guitar and piano very well from what I’ve heard,” Nightingale said. “He has a good ear for music.”
Eastern Kentucky University music industry major Eli Schwartz from Lexington worked with McClung on several musical theater projects in high school and continues to write lyrics with him.
“Wayne is so eccentric, and his presence on stage is like none other that I’ve ever seen,” Schwartz said. “His dedication to his craft is inspiring, and the thing I admire most about him is that he always wants what is best for not only his band members but also the people around him.”
Schwartz said that he has experienced McClung’s hardworking and trustworthy abilities first-hand from making music together in high school. After spending many years together growing up, he said he knew that McClung would succeed in life.
“Wayne is such a fiery soul and has so much gumption,” Schwartz said. “He is the kind of guy I would take to war with me.”
Getting to watch McClung progress in music has been inspiring, Schwartz said. McClung’s musical talent has only gotten better since graduating high school, he said.
“Wayne and the band have come a long way with how little they’ve been together,” Schwartz said. “I truly can’t wait to see what they achieve in the future.”