Kayleigh Kann
The wisher
Kayleigh is a vocalist, performer and writer who is building her creative kingdom; full of faith. She is also the founder of Wisher. Born in Ann Arbor Michigan, Kayleigh moved around a lot as a child. Her dad put Black Sabbath in headphones on her momma’s belly while she was still growing eyelashes. So from the time she was born she was inspired and drawn into music. Her mom told her when she was a toddler she would run to the television set whenever Bear And The Big Blue House's theme song would come on so she could go dance.
Her dad, Aunt Janene, Uncle Mark and even her mom inspired her musical influences growing up. Her mother introduced her to artists like Norah Jones, Christina Aguilera and The Dixie Chicks. Her Dad inspired her with music like The Beatles, Paul Simon and Pink Floyd. The first song she ever sang on a big stage was Cowboy Take Me Away by The Dixie Chicks. She’s classically trained in voice. She took choir and piano from a young age. She was cast as Jane in the musical, Tarzan her senior year of high school.
Her favorite band is Avenged Sevenfold and her favorite singers include Christina Aguilera, Lzzy Hale, Joss Stone, Ronnie James Dio, Ozzy Osborne, Mike Patton, Hayley Williams, Amy Lee, Brendon Urie, Patrick Stump, Tarja Turunen, Floor Jansen, Corey Taylor, Axl Rose, Freddie Mercury, Natalie Maines, Amanda Seyfried and, of course, M. Shadows & The Rev. A few more of her notable favorite artists are Eminem, Kenny Loggins, Queen, Mr. Bungle, The Doors and Bo Burnham.
Kayleigh works hard to accomplish versatility. She aspires to reach a wide audience with a good moral message that supports her values - Honesty, integrity and empathy. She writes often and loves to read. She has an invested interest in anti-human trafficking organizations and animal rescue. Pairing these ideas with a heart for people who struggle with addiction, she finds solace in her relationship with Jesus. She loves people and believes strongly that the world needs more empathy and inclusivity. It's also important to know about Kayleigh, is that she is indeed, as she looks, a pirate and she is the captain of this ship.
Emily
Guitar
Emily started playing guitar at the age of 13 and derived from the influences of classic rock and metal. She likes bands such as The Misfits, Queen, Guns N Roses, Metallica and every thing else in between.
She has a large collection of axes including the brands of Ibanez, Jackson, ESP and Schecter. Her guitar influences are Jason Becker, Randy Rhoads and of course Nita Strauss.
Outside of Wisher, Emily is also an electrical and computer engineer, even working towards a masters degree in automotive systems engineering with a concentration in vehicle electrification. Also, along with her guitar collection, Emily also owns two english bulldogs named Freddie and Gunner (guess where those names came from ;))
Noah (The Boa) Stixx
Percussion
A bit of a late bloomer, Noah “The Boa” Stixx began seriously pursuing music when it became apparent that a future in basketball at the University of North Carolina was never going to materialize due to………reasons.
Like many of the current Wisher crew, Noah also attended the DIME where he and Jake joined their first original band, a project by the name of Liz Ivory while simultaneously looking to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Commercial Performance for Drums. Noah joined with Kayleigh a year later to eventually conjure together what would eventually become Wisher.
Having had only old Keith Moon videos as reference to try and imitate and no prior formal training or experience playing drums of any sort ahead of DIME, Noah often felt behind in terms of technical ability and took quite a while to gain the confidence that he now possesses to be able to perform to the high demanding standards that Wisher as a band sets for itself as well as the standards Noah sets personally for himself.
Stylistically, Noah credits drummers such as Keith Moon, Kai Hahto, Morten Lowe Sorensen, Alain Ackerman, Tommy Lee, and Nicko McBrain and countless others from which he draws inspiration. Musically, Noah’s partial towards European melodic, symphonic power metal the likes of which include Nightwish, Sonata Arctica, and Iron Maiden, as well as classic rock such as The Who, Deep Purple, Guns n Roses, and Motley Crue.
Noah has placed all of the chips he has on making Wisher a special entity, striving each and every night to give audiences a divine experience that they will remember for years to come. His greatest hope is that Wisher can illicit that same exhilarating, joyful feeling within others, that only music does for himself.
Jake of Snakes (Heavy Hands Hilliker)
Bass
Jake grew up in a small town on the St. Clair river listening to Van Halen, The Police, and Rush, playing Guitar Hero. The bands that stuck with him the most, however, were the masters of metal from the 80's - Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Judas Priest, that kind of vibe.
He got his first bass when he was 15, and after high school, attended Detroit Institute of Music Education (DIME) music college where he met many other musicians that exposed him to jazz, blues and many other genres. These experiences strengthened his abilities and his fingers. He also met Noah there, but whether this was a good thing remains to be seen. ;-)
The one thing that's always present in his playing is aggressiveness and lots of overdrive, because metal bass should sound disgusting!
When he is not playing with Wisher, Jake works as a chef and has an adorable black kitten named Freddie Meowcury, who sits on his lap while he plays video games.
Up the irons!!
Drake Ely
Guitar
Drake Ely is a Detroit guitarist who has been performing professionally since 2015. Originally moving to Detroit to attend the Detroit Institute of Music Education, he now tours with different acts and teaches. His favorite color is black, and his favorite restaurant is the Glass Onion.
Images by Thom Seling at Seling-The Moment Photographs