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‘Way Out Wayne’ is man of many talents

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Courtesy Photo Wayne Kendziorski has been a staple in the Alpena music scene for many years and performs often locally. He plays the guitar, bass, saxophone, harmonica and also sings. He also likes to walk in the woods with his dog and spend time with this wife.

ALPENA — Wayne Kendziorski didn’t even know how to play an instrument when he formed his first band many years ago. His drive and dedication propelled him to learn how to play many instruments, as well as become a mainstay in the music scene locally and around the state.

Kendziorski said his first band was formed on a whim with some close friends and he was the bass player. Strangely, none of the teens knew how to play instruments. From that time Kendziorski has become proficient at not only the bass, but guitar, saxophone and harmonica.

Later he moved downstate to find a band that wrote, performed, recorded and published original material and ended up auditioning and joining the Rick Hall Band. After coming home he formed RH Factor and today plays as part Little Band of Alpena and as Way Out Wayne.

Kendziorski said he didn’t listen to a lot of albums growing up, but had the radio on often. He said he was heavily influenced by Carlos Santana, John Fogerty and Paul McCartney. He said another large influence was a local guitar player whose band was making noise nationally.

“The Frost and Donny Hartman, they were my idols,” Kendziorski said. “There were actually several guys from around town that when they played I was just in awe of.”

When Kendziorski moved back to town he also wanted to reconnect with his friends. Besides joining a band, he hosted a party at his home that featured jam sessions with local musicians. So much fun was had he decided to make it an annual event. Since then it has grown into a staple event each summer called French Road Bash.

“I went door to door and invited people on French Road and then literally went though the phone book and picked out random names and sent them invitations,” Kendziorski said. “We had a stage, then one year we added a second stage, then a third stage. It has grown into an amazing thing.”

When he isn’t working or playing, Kendziorski said he enjoys taking walks in the woods with his dog and likes watching sports with his wife, Yvonne. He said the Tigers have become one of his favorite teams, along with the Lions, but if he watches too much sports, he becomes antsy and finds something else to do.

“I used to think baseball was boring, but then I realized it can be quality time with my wife, so we started really getting into the Tigers,” he said.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached via email at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5689. Follow Steve on Twitter ss_alpenanews.

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