Wm Perry

Artist Information

Biography

Failed. Kept moving. Your typical starving-artist story. BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago, followed by several years in the Sign Industry. Front man in a multitude of short-lived bands, playing in clubs and warehouses in Chicago and LA's artsy, marginal war-zone neighborhoods. Now solo artist, self-recording. Moved from Chicago to Cincinnati, an "economic refugee" you could say. Bought a cheap, old house on Craig's List without seeing it first! Now completing renovations to make four floors of combined living/studio space.

RECENT PRESS:
Wm Perry's song "Always Already (Shaking)" to be featured in soundtrack of the movie "Locked In a Garage Band".

Michael Dustdevil's Young Moss Tongue says "a shitload of jawdroppingly stunning songs" and posts two LP's with more than 600 downloads the first week.

Read about Wm Perry’s music and his artwork in David Feltman's article “Wm Perry: Strange Little World of Art and Music” at
www.targetaudiencemagazine.com/uploads/2011/wm_perry.php
"If you like one track on this album ["Flight Risk, No Bond"], it’s guaranteed you’ll love all of them. I can’t remember the last time I got to say that about an album."

Wm Perry's songs featured in six consecutive Young Rebel International Playlists: "Torn Into Tickets", "(I'm So) Bored", "Horseholed", "Big, Broad Daylight", "Blood Red Devils", and "Grimmest".

Instrumentation

Guitars, keyboards, voice, computers:
William McGuffey Perry

Acoustic slide guitar as well as electric guitar, keyboards, and drum tracks. Other instruments may be woven throughout the music with the use of looper effects boxes, along with subtle insertions from Wm's collection of children's toy musical instruments.

Discography

Includes the self-recorded LP's:
Flight Risk, No Bond
Draw Your Own Design!
Entire Approx
It Can't Be Nighttime Everywhere

*You can listen to 50 songs at the Sound Click link below*

Actual influences, as well as some music you, too, might enjoy: Bob Dylan, The Fall, The Mekons, Silver Jews, The Clash, The Jazz Butcher, John Cale, Neil Young, Nick Cave, Mott the Hoople, John Prine, Magazine, The Pixies, Robyn Hitchcock, Golden Smog, Pernice Bros., Fatima Mansions, Leon Russell, Microdisney, Elvis Costello, Camper Van Beethoven, Talking Heads, XTC, Bukka White, The Pogues, Screaming Blue Messiahs, Hank Williams, pre-WW2 country blues, and Rockabilly. And of course, the Beatles, Kinks, and Rolling Stones.

Links

• Facebook
• Sound Click
• MySpace

Audio

• Brain’d (Let Me Tell You)
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• Life During Some Other Time
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• (I'm So) Bored
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• Never Happened
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• Fake Sleep
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• Incentivized
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• Always Already (Shaking)
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• Torn Into Tickets
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• Abandoned House
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• Every Crappy Thing
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• Blood Red Devils
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• Horseholed
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• Funeral Birds
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• Graveful
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• I Took the #'s From All the Trees
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• Awfully Bent Hours
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• Carelessly Suggested Use
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• Mechanical Arm
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• Black Gel
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• Big Broad Daylight
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• Catalog
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• If I Were a Customer
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• Low Hill
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• There, And Environs
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• Dodge
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• Craphead
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• Grimmest
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• Bldg. Mgr.
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• Lose Me In the Light
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• Mmedicine
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• Disclaimer
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• N. Inhaler
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• Pretend It's Possible
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• Robot Tall
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• Key Chains
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• Once Per Day/Night
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• Avoidance
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• Bad Idea
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• Head Holes
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• Roofing Tar
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• Jelly Jelly
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• L-azy
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Lyrics

• Brain’d (Let Me Tell You)
• Life During Some Other Time
• (I'm So) Bored
• Never Happened
• Fake Sleep
• Incentivized
• Always Already (Shaking)
• Torn Into Tickets
• Every Crappy Thing
• Abandoned House
• Blood Red Devils
• Horseholed
• Funeral Birds
• Graveful
• I Took the #'s From All the Trees
• Awfully Bent Hours
• Carelessly Suggested Use
• Mechanical Arm
• Black Gel
• Big Broad Daylight
• Catalog
• If I Were a Customer
• Low Hill
• There, And Environs
• Dodge
• Craphead
• Grimmest
• Bldg. Mgr.
• Lose Me In the Light
• Mmedicine
• Disclaimer
• N. Inhaler
• Pretend It's Possible
• Robot Tall
• Key Chains
• Once Per Day/Night
• Avoidance
• Bad Idea
• Head Holes
• Roofing Tar
• Jelly Jelly
• L-azy

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• "Wm Perry: Strange Little World of Art and Music" by David Feltman [+ Show ]
  

  Wm Perry instantly brings to mind thoughts of fringe artists who gather inspiration from far off pla...Wm Perry instantly brings to mind thoughts of fringe artists who gather inspiration from far off places and transform every day images into strange sculptures. We at Target Audience Magazine strive to shine light in the dimly lit lairs of men like Perry because they so often represent a mix of mediums that push us all to think more creatively. Here we present a collection of his sculptures, paintings, and drawings, and a review of his music, which rides the waves beside Tom Waits without splashing him.
  
  There’s a rough hewn quality to Wm Perry that’s beguiling. Something of a Tom Waits vibe that’s hard to nail down. For example, his newest release, Flight Risk, No Bond is so full of clinking and clanking that it sounds like the rhythm section may have consisted entirely of a silverware drawer. I know that sounds like a slight, but I mean it in the most endearing of terms. This is an album full of unexpected sounds and surprises. It’s a busy album, with most songs requiring repeat listening to appreciate all of the little sonic nooks and crannies. Where Waits is often more stripped down and sometimes outright industrial (depending on what era of Tom Waits you’re listening to) Perry is more full-bodied and softer around the edges, with a vocal delivery that blends Tom petty and Isaac Brock.
  
  The album’s bleakest track, “(I’m So) Bored”, finds Perry in a creepy duet with himself, harmonizing a raspy whisper and a strained falsetto. The result is an angsty dissonance that compliments the churning music. Such depressive moments are rare though. Other songs create a manic upbeat pop song. The multi-layered melodies build to a crazed psychedelic climax few bands can attempt successfully. The man is nothing if not inventive. “Graveful” follows in the same vein with a merry-go-round inspired organ melody that is equally psychedelic, but eases the frenzied pace set by its predecessor. In this digital age it’s rare to see such a canny knack for album composition. Flight Risk, No Bond isn’t built off of a handful of singles – it is a fully realized and crafted structure meant to be approached in its entirety.
  
  Perry carries his craft into multi-media with a series of strange little sculptures and weird sketches that fully compliment his music. The sculptures present a ramshackle mingling of found object and outsider art aesthesis. A binder clip clamped around a dime and plied with what might be used gum forms an unsettling Lynchian meditation of yonic imagery that could only be the work of a deranged mind … or maybe it’s a healthy mind. What do I know?
  
  His drawings often consist of similar subjects as the sculptures but convey a close attention to details. Several small circles are meticulously inscribed in one drawing and hundreds of delicately shaded veins and wrinkles adorn some nightmare organ in another. The rough exterior worked diligently with delicate features draws a perfect analogy between his sculptures, drawings, and music.
  
  Really, the best part of this album is that it’s long. There are 14 tracks, all between three and four minutes, and none of them are cast off tracks. If you like one track on this album, it’s guaranteed you’ll love all of them. I can’t remember the last time I got to say that about an album. Flight Risk, No Bond is a monument to solid indie song craft and well worth your time. You can listen to all of Perry’s music gratis at: www.soundclick.com/wmperry
  Target Audience Magazine - Ellen Eldridge, Editor

• Wm. PERRY - Draw Your Own Design! [+ Show ]
  

  Friday, 25 February 2011 Wm. PERRY - Draw Your Own Design! i'm excited!... words are needed... bl...Friday, 25 February 2011
  Wm. PERRY - Draw Your Own Design!
  i'm excited!... words are needed...
  bloke leaves comment on blog, i follow through to the link & find a shitload of jawdroppingly stunning songs... we go back & forth a bit & end up with two lps you need to hear... with artwork no less!
  if the words; Califone, Jim White, Tall Dwarfs, Swell Maps, Mark Eitzel, mean anything at all to you at all, just hit download... if not, just hit download anyway, you will be covered in lovely...
  here is the first one:
  Blood Red Devils (link to http://www.megaupload.com/?d=H2GW4JV5)
  i'll do the other next week...
  if you care to go directly to the source, may i present Wm. Perry (link to www.soundclick.com/wmperry)
  Posted by Tongue at 21:22
  
  2nd post:
  http://youngmosstongue.blogspot.com/2011/03/wm-perry-flight-risk-no-bond.html
  Tuesday, 1 March 2011
  Wm. PERRY - Flight Risk, No Bond
  No Bond (link to http://www.megauploads.com/?d=OH7GERIX)
  here's the 2nd lp from the genius that is Wm. Perry (link to www.soundclick.com/wmperry)
  Posted by Tongue at 14:56

• The Young Rebel International Playlist [+ Show ]
  

  Wm Perry's songs "Torn Into Tickets", "(I'm So) Bored", "Horseholed", "Big Broad Daylight", and "Blo...Wm Perry's songs "Torn Into Tickets", "(I'm So) Bored", "Horseholed", "Big Broad Daylight", and "Blood Red Devils" have been featured in five consecutive Young Rebel International Playlists, with additional songs selected for future inclusion.

• Wm Perry, Featured Artist [+ Show ]
  

  Songs selected: Funeral Birds Horseholed Life During Some Other Time Black Gel Abandoned House ...Songs selected:
  Funeral Birds
  Horseholed
  Life During Some Other Time
  Black Gel
  Abandoned House
  
  Wm Perry spent years trying to fit what he had into the usual suspect slots. He received a BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago, put time into the Sign industry and fronted a plethora of short lived bands, performing in the artier clubs and warehouse gatherings in Chicago and Los Angeles. He discovered that his path was more as a solo artist. For his part, not a lot has changed.....he still paints and makes music all the time. The decisions are his own now, however, and the results of his choice can be heard on “Flight Risk, No Bond”.
  The album has a demo feel to it but for Wm Perry, that is where the art takes him. The stripped down, scratchy arrangement, the spoken/sung vocals are the first contact. Let Wm’s manner sink in, go beyond the obvious and the beauty of the songs begins to take hold. The curls of guitar patterns on “Life During Some Other Time” mixes with other instruments tuning up and taking aim. The echo of industrial beats opens “Funeral Birds” morphing into a solid groove with the added bass line. Gentle acoustics and singular note rhythms allow the barrage of words to form a clear picture of personal perceptions/observations in “If I Were A Customer”. At its heart, folk, leaning towards its more experimental sibling, psych folk, is where Wm Perry’s music goes these days.

• Wm Perry • Cincinnati • Indie/Singer/Songwriter [+ Show ]
  

  Wm Perry Cincinnati • Indie/Singer/Songwriter This singer/songwriter studied art in Chicago and sp...Wm Perry
  Cincinnati • Indie/Singer/Songwriter
  This singer/songwriter studied art in Chicago and spent time in the Windy City and L.A. art and music scenes before giving up the “starving artist” lifestyle and moving to the more welcoming confines of Cincinnati (he calls himself an “economic refugee”). A devoted home-recorder, Perry performs his “cross-genre” music live with loops and effects or solo acoustic.
  Dig It: Lou Reed asking Bob Pollard to produce a lo-fi solo album. (MB)
  9:15 p.m. Friday at Courtyard Cafe

• Wm Perry [+ Show ]
  

  WM PERRY CINCINNATI, OH Courtyard Cafe September 24th at 9:45PM official URL http://www.s...WM PERRY
  CINCINNATI, OH
  Courtyard Cafe
  September 24th at 9:45PM
  
  official URL
  http://www.sonicbids.com/wmperry
  
  Wm Perry writes & performs tight, well-crafted songs. Honest & not boring, sometimes disturbing, with jangled-y edges. Coming from a variety of art scenes around Chicago and Los Angeles, Wm is a veteran performer with an impressive body of work. Live performances make use of loopers & effects, but he may be “unplugged” or entirely acoustic at times. Wm Perry is an Indie-Rock, self-recorded Singer-Songwriter. Expect cross-genre music encompassing Rock/ Pop/ Alt. Folk/ Americana/ Rockabilly, but you’ll hear he's also well versed in punk and more avant-garde music.
  
  Walking Chicago’s alleys while dumpster-diving has provided the environment for Wm Perry’s songwriting process, both in the stop-start rhythm of these solitary activities and in the ever-changing vignettes of street life. But last year Wm bought a cheap old house on Craig’s List, without seeing it first, and packed up and moved to Cincinnati. Renovations are now being completed that will make 4 floors of combined living/ studio/ recording space. But how will living in a city without alleys affect Wm Perry’s music? Check back later to find out.
  
  Influences include Bob Dylan, The Fall, The Mekons, Silver Jews, The Clash, The Jazz Butcher, John Cale, Neil Young, Nick Cave, Mott the Hoople, John Prine, Magazine, The Pixies, Robyn Hitchcock, Golden Smog, Pernice Bros., Fatima Mansions, Leon Russell, Microdisney, Elvis Costello, Camper Van Beethoven, Talking Heads, XTC, Bukka White, The Pogues, Screaming Blue Messiahs, Hank Williams, pre-WW2 country blues, Rockabilly, and of course, the Beatles, Kinks, and Rolling Stones.
  
  Sounds like: Warren Zevon in cahoots with the Fruit Bats

• "Wm Perry: Discography" by Ellen Eldridge [+ Show ]
  

  If you locked Leonard Cohen, Sonic Youth and Eeyore in a damp basement with access to a home recordi...If you locked Leonard Cohen, Sonic Youth and Eeyore in a damp basement with access to a home recording system, chances are you would get a song similar to Wm Perry's “Funeral Birds.” The indie feeling in this and other tracks could be attributed to the DIY nature of the songwriter's craft. He is a self-proclaimed failure who refused to succumb to economic downturns and moved out of Chicago taking his dreams of self-expression with him.
  
  Lyrical qualities reflect the poetic sentiment offered up by the likes of Nick Cave and Tom Petty. Inclusions from a wide range of influences including pre-WW2 blues make for songs which grip beneath a solid sense of time and rhythm. Perry's work could easily be overlooked, but it carries well and hits upon themes common to many who pursue their creativity despite feeling outsourced or pushed around. “Graveful” reminisces on the idea of how full a grave can get with the scratchy vocal tone of Bob Dylan and instrumentation of varied folk and blues predecessors.
  
  Though Perry is older than the pop icons rising and falling across radio airwaves, listeners will connect to an honest spirit of carrying on after the fallout from failed dreams cascades like snow around us. Though lyrically dark, poignant ideas spill out and the main message to take away from Wm Perry's work is that true artists still exist in basements on DIY recording systems. Wm Perry will perform at the MidPoint Music Festival this Sept. 23, 24, & 25 in Cincinnati, OH. To listen visit: http://www.sonicbids.com/WmPerry
  Review by Ellen Eldridge

Setlist

Will tailor selections to each venue, and it’s possible for performance to be entirely acoustic (when desired and appropriate to the space). Typical sets are 45 minutes, with one or two sets. Shorter sets can be limited to 20 minutes, if needed.

Songs may include:
Life During Some Other Time
Horseholed
Catalog
If I Were a Customer
Torn Into Tickets
(I’m So) Bored
Every Crappy Thing
Funeral Birds
Graveful
Black Gel
Low Hill
I Took the #'s From All the Trees
Fake Sleep
Abandoned House
Robot Tall
There, And Evirons
Dodge
Brain'd (Let Me Tell You)
Keychains
Once Per Day/Night
Never Happened
Lose Me In the Light
Pretend It's Possible
Mmedicine
I'm Un-Amused
Hole In the Ground
Bad Idea
With a Hand Behind My Back
Bldg. Mgr.
Awfully Bent Hours
Radio Jimmy
A Thing or 2
Grimmest
Head Holes
Dump It By the Water Tower
Everybody is Dead
Distraction
Sick Car Motif
Roofing Tar
OPerator’s Chair
Republic of Free Antarctica
Craphead
Avoidance
Jelly Jelly
N.Inhalter
Always Already (Shaking)
Blood Red Devils
Nearly Wiped

Basic Requirements

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