Biography
** INNAUGURAL MARY GATES VENTURE FELLOW **
Seattle singer/songwriter WES WEDDELL built a regional following through his efforts to produce local-minded material: in 2001 he received the inaugural Mary Gates Venture Fellowship from the University of Washington to travel the state researching history and writing about his findings, which in turn earned him a sizable following from local media sources. The resultant CD, “My Northwest Home,” features these nine songs based upon history and lore from all corners of the Evergreen State.
** PERFORMING SONGWRITER TOP-12 DIY PICK **
His latest CD, “Songs to Get You From Here to There” (late-2006), was a Top-12 DIY pick by Performing Songwriter Magazine, which defined Weddell’s style as “folk meets rockabilly meets lonesome cowboy waltzes.”
The album features twelve original songs that span the in-between places and experiences that make us human. From “Carry On,” the poignant, true story of a World War II bomber pilot that won the 2006 Tumbleweed Songwriting Contest and which has found further life in a choral arrangement, to the rockabilly romp of “You Left Me With No Choice”; the steady and playful drive of “Every Now & Then a Sunset” to the contemplative turns of “Autumn’s Calling” and “Hills That I Call Home”—the stories remind one that journeys come every day.
** WINNER, 2006 TUMBLEWEED SONGWRITING CONTEST **
“Let there be no doubt,” writes Tom Petersen of the Victory Music Review, “Wes Weddell is a major Northwest artist, a major talent in American music, and he’s here for the long haul.”
Hailed a “Modern-Day Woody Guthrie” by the Seattle Times, a highlight of Wes’ performances are the stories that accompany the songs—effective in intimate settings and large-hall/festival environments alike; as one presenter raves: “Wes Weddell has a gift for story-telling, wisdom beyond his years, and a troubadour spirit that will serve him and his audience for a long time to come.”
(Sample: “Ballad of the Whitman Greeks”)
** GIFT FOR STORYTELLING **
Many of the players on the album join Wes for Seattle-area shows, and the full effect features guitar, bass, organ, drums, cello, and plenty of male/female harmonies.
(Sample: “Every Now and Then a Sunset,” “You Left Me With No Choice,” “White Hats and Wild Times”)
The Pullman, Wash., native also recently founded Puget’s Sound Productions (www.livelocalmusic.org), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to presenting community live-music events around the greater-Seattle region.
** VIDEO OF LIVE PERFORMANCES AT http://www.youtube.com/WesWeddell **
Instrumentation
WW: guitar; vocals; harmonica <solo>
Occasional guests: vocals; bass; drums; organ; cello
FULL-BAND lineup: guitar; bass; drums; organ; vocals (3-5 people)
* MORE MUSIC SAMPLES AT www.wesweddell.com *
Discography
"Battlefields and Broken Deals" (EP, 2001)
"My Northwest Home" (LP, 2001)
"Songs to Get You From Here to There" (LP, 2006)
Links
| http://www.wesweddell.com |