Will Gillespie
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Will Gillespie

Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2014

Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Established on Jan, 2014
Solo Folk Singer/Songwriter

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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The best kept secret in music

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"LOCAL ARTIST SETS THE NEW STANDARD"



LOCAL ARTIST SETS THE NEW STANDARD

MFM Communique Local News

Sudbury – Local artist Will Gillespie will turn another page of his musical chapter as he edges his way onto the stage to perform his first CD release concert. On Thursday, March 10th, Gillespie, accompanied by Ottawa’s Salo, will step under the spotlight at the Townehouse Tavern to perform songs from The New Standard, his new CD.

Produced by Gil Spy and recorded and mixed by Gillespie and Martin Lees from Death of Cash Records, The New Standard lays out 10 expressive tracks. Also contributing to the release were Dave Jeffrey from Lessismore Studios and Dolores Dagenais from Blue Newt Music.

With hints of blues and jazz to delight the listener, Gillespie’s gentle melodies celebrate the beauty found in dark and lonesome places. Eloquent sonic textures and strong, melodic arrangements make this album strong all the while gentle. With creative instrumentation and concise lyrics, the musician captures the essence of emotion through his work.

With a bright coloured booklet, designed and illustrated by Jack Nicholls, the album speaks to the soul. Also highlighting appearances from musicians such as Jeremie Brazeau (drums), Eric Hoop (double bass), Marc Donato (mandolin and banjo) and André Chrétien (guitar), this opus brings to light streams of blues, country and jazz

From nature to operas, Gillespie’s influences reflect his softer side. Holding a broad musical spectrum, this honest performer’s creative and emotional sides are depicted through his musical expressions. From guitar to piano to ukulele, Gillespie draws from all manners of musical styles and creates his own graceful techniques.

- MFM Communique


"WILL GILLESPIE to UNVEIL "THE NEW STANDARD" at TOWNEHOUSE CD RELEASE PARTY"

by Ben Rowe, A&E Editor

For Will Gillespie, It's a chance to take his burgeoning music career to the next level.

The Sudbury resident has been playing music since he was four years old, listenning to his family play songs on the piano in their basement in South Porcupine, Ont.

"My grandmother, who I did my first recording with when I was five, she used to always- and I was too way young to understand this- but she tried to show me how she 'jazzed up' old standards and turned them into jazz songs right in front of me," Gillespie rememberred. "That influence sort of sank in a good sixteen years later."

Now, Gillespie is releasing his first self-made album at the TowneHouse Tavern on Thursday, March 10th. He's brought some friends with him, too. The band Salo, a trio of people Gillespie has known since his highschool days, will hit the T-house stage after Gillespie's band. There will also be a curtain show beforehand, where members of Huntington's and Cambrian's music faculties will play jazz music.

"That curtain show worked out okay for me, because my band will be a good segue between a hard-core jazz band and a heavy, melodic rock band," Gillespie explained.

Right smack dab in the middle of the two is Gillespie's mix of jazz-influenced music, which he tried to explain.

" I used to say it was like if Niel Young and Crazy horse tried to do Cole Porter tunes," he said."It has a little of that dirty, jammy kind of tone with jazz voicings and lots of ninth cords and that sort of thing; singer-songwriter pop played with more of a jazz mentality.

"My stuff, night by night, is slightly different. There are similar set lists every time we play, but the arrangements are very loose and jam-based," he finished.

Gillespie listed Niel Young, Rufus Wainwright and the late, legendary guitarist Lenny Breaux as primary influences of his own music.

"I steal from them, for sure," he laughed."But some of my stuff goes more along a Tom Waits vein."

His new CD, The New Standard, is a mix of new songs, with some of Gillespie's old favorites.

"There are a couple of songs from previous releases, so it's a bit of a best-of."

An appearence at the Northern Lights Festival gave Gillespie his first opportunity to put together an album, which he called Fireworks, but that effort was primarily to ensure he had some product to market at the festival. This is the first time Gillespie has done the majority of the instrumentation and post-production himself. In fact, he explained that, aside from a drummer, an upright bass player, a mandolin-and-banjo player, the instruments on the album were all played by him.

"It's my first self-produced thing, and it's the first one I've promoted this much," he explained.

Gillespie has an extensive compilation of songs, and narrowwing down the list for an album proved difficult, he said. The large collection of his writings are the result of learning music at a young age.

"I wrote my first melody at about four, but I didn't write songs on a regular basis until high school," he said.

While he learned how to play music on a piano, it was the guitar that eventually came to be his primary means of artistic expression. Mostly, the transition was predicated ny necessity.

"A guitar is portable and affordable compared to an acoustic piano," he laughed."I got a guitar on my 16th birthday and I've basically played that one since."

It was this guitar Gillespie took with him to school, and it's the same one he brought to Sudbury when he moved here a few years ago, filled with cliches, he said. He showed up in Sudbury with "a backpack full of clothes and a guitar."

"I was a bit of a walking stereotype back then; I did the folk stuff and started out with a pony tail."

After the Townehouse show, Gillespie has plans to continue making music.

"At the moment I'm also working on getting together with more people and trying to figure out the next recording; and I'm doing demos already on a four-track."

Gillespie plans to move to Kingston in the Summer to be closer to a hotbed of music activity: Toronto. He has been booked already for four shows there already in April, where he hopes to garner some attention for his unique sound.

Before then, though, Gillespie's CD can be found found at Mudshark (the former location of the Green teapot) or Records on Wheels, both on Elm Street in downtown Sudbury.
- Lambda, Laurentian University Newspaper


"Will Gillespie plays solo"

Will has been trouncing our stage for several years with his subdued jazzy tunes. He is probably the most prolific songwriter living in Sudbury. Check out his new album and go to his new site - Townehouse Tavern Callender


Discography

"Will Gillespie" (2012 - William James Gillespie - WJG 001)
"Learning How to Let Go" (2014 William James Gillespie - WJG 002)

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