In a day when people are so easily distracted, the hopes and dreams that we all aspire to fulfill seem to be laid to rest before they are even pursued. The music of ‘Onna’ is here to serve as a reminder that hope is not lost.

Based out of Western NC, Onna consists of vocalist and songwriter: James Matthew Taylor, drummer: Bryan Ledbetter, and bassist: Pete Small. It was here, during the fall of 2009, when Taylor began composing the songs and sound of ‘Onna’ while working construction with his father as a means of income. Many times, it was on the jobsite when Taylor would find inspiration for his songs through conversations with his dad, daily obstacles on the job, or as a means of motivating himself through frustration. He wanted to reach beyond construction and pursue his own hopes and dreams of writing and performing that would inspire others to not only dream of hope, but to actually take initiative in order to achieve their aspirations.

After completing numerous songs, sifting through ideas, and determining the ones that completed the unified thought, Taylor teamed up with friends and former bandmates Ledbetter and Pete to help bring life to art…each bringing to the table their own fresh ideas and new perspectives on the songs. It was then that the band enlisted help from long time friend and music producer, Oran Thornton, to help capture and combine the theme of hope with melodic hooks.

The band headed to Nashville, TN on January 1, 2010, to begin production on the EP. Recording kicked off at Omni Studios. With limited time and only one day budgeted for Omni, egos were checked at the door in order to achieve the greater good. Both ‘Onna’ and Oran reached out to fellow Nashville musicians Fred Eltringham (Wallflowers) and Trevor Thornton (Flick) to join in on the process. The total length of the process lasted a mere five days, but what the band walked away with were four songs that reawakened their own musical hopes and aspirations: An EP that is appropriately entitled, ‘Barely Awake.’