The Outlaws

Jake Stockton - Born and raised in Independence Kansas, Jake is the classic boy and his guitar.  His earliest interest in music comes from watching his grandfather sing along to hymns in church. Around age 7 his Uncle Daniel started to teach him to play. The first song he learned to play was a Hank Williams Sr.  song called Jambalaya. Growing up Jake spent countless hours playing music and shows similar to that of the Carter family from the 50ʼs. It was a family affair, moms, dads, aunts, uncles, cousins, and siblings all joined in and contributed to the show. One of his most prominent influences growing up was Chris Ledoux, so throughout the 90ʼs, he tried to emulate that style playing local shows and music theaters, along with festivals and EVERY family gathering. It wasnʼt until college that Jake showed an interest in songwriting but after the loss of one of his closest friends it awoke something inside of him and gave him a way to express his thoughts and feelings.  Throughout the years Jake played music with roommates, neighbors, and friends at local clubs before finally starting a band with his cousin where he met an old outlaw from Texas named Perry Brayman. From there  Jake went on to form what is now Jake Stockton and the Outlaw Souls.  Over a 10-year period, Jake has recorded two albums and opened for several national touring acts, such as; Josh Abbott and Jackson Taylor. Though most of his songwriting collaboration has been with the Outlaw Souls he has also done some songwriting collaboration with prominent musicians such as Mike Stockton (Saturday Night Live Band, Gregg Allman, Delbert  McClinton, Mike Stockton, and The Rhythmators) and Albert Cummings.   When asked what his favorite gig was, Jake replied; “Murfreesboro,   Tennessee with Bad Brad Bryant. The place was called Handlebars and it  was just the two of us, but we killed it and had a great time.”   Jake wants people to listen to his music and apply it to their life.  “Everything Iʼve ever wrote has been from life experiences and things that have led me to where I am today.”  Everybody has their own experience with music and life, you just have to be open to hear it and see that we all have the same struggles and go through the same shit, we should just do it more together.
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Brad “Sticks” Bryant started his music career in the grade school band. I got the nickname “Sticks” from a blind chiropractor that loved to hear me play. I earned several awards throughout high school. I was the first person from school to attend the Kansas Masonic All-State Marching Band. I graduated from Chetopa and attended Labette Community College with a music scholarship. In college, I played in the pep band, jazz band, and orchestra. I didn’t get into bar bands until one Saturday night I got a call from a bar saying they need a drummer for a band that was there. Dad and I quickly loaded up my gear and headed to the bar. I got my gear set up and started to play. The guitar player, also knew my dad, gave him a big thumbs up. That night was wonderful. I started looking around to play in bands. I’ve played with the Honky Tonk Blues Band and Black Widow Band. Jakes's family is friends with my wonderful wife's family. Jake and I have been playing for several years. We even made a trip to Nashville to play in the famous jam night in Mufferrsboro hosted by Donnie Miller.
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Jamie  Webber - born and raised in Coffeyville, KS. Although the opportunities have been there, he took a more “home is where the heart is” approach, and has made his home in Southeast Kansas. Growing up the musical influences were all over the place, whether it was old country while riding with his Grandpa, listening to his mother sing along with Amy Grant records, or watching his Father try to play drums on the steering wheel while listening to John Mellencamp. Another influence on Jamie was his Great Uncle Roy Trotter along with his son Randy, who played in a group known as the Back Roads Band. That was the first time Jamie realized that maybe one day he could be like them. Like most kids growing up in the area, Jamie had his first opportunity in his childhood church to begin singing in front of people. Later down the road after high school, Jamie would finally run across the opportunity to be the lead singer of a band that would later be known as Sacred Purchase. The band only lasted about a year and a half, but were fairly successful playing around the area in local churches, and played a few festivals with bands from across the country. Some years later Jamie would be asked about starting his own DJ/Karaoke business. After finding a couple of partners, Firehouse Karaoke would be launched. The Firehouse guys changed the way people would come out and sing karaoke by not just offering the service, but offering a show to go along with it. Heavily sought after, they ruled the area for almost a decade. Jamie finally decided to walk away from the karaoke business, and wanted to focus more on his growing family. It was through this time that Jamie bought his first bass guitar for another project that he had been involved with, never really learning to play it of course, but it still caught the eye of Brad Bryant. Brad asked Jamie a few times to come jam at an Outlaw Souls practice and when he did, he found a whole group of guys that were like the brothers he never had. He was asked that day to join them at their next show, and I guess you could say the rest is history.
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 Bryan  Whelan Jr. - From the small town of Saint Paul, Kansas. When I was about  5-6 years old I was a big Garth Brooks fan and that’s where I decided I  wanted to play the guitar. Later, I was introduced to AC/DC & Angus  Young that’s where my love for that beautiful cherry red SG comes into play. While mostly self-taught I’ve had some help & inspiration from a couple of my uncles who are great guitar players. Although, I  received my first guitar in the early 2000s. I didn’t pick one up until about 2007 and I have been playing ever since.