End-of-Year News Tidbits

A few scattered notes as 2010 winds to a close--thanks to everyone who had a hand in this year's successes!!

-By the Side of the Lake appears on KBCS DJ Larry Lewin's list of best recordings from 2010 and the Wildy's World music blog's Top 60 Albums of 2010 (#23: you may recall the glowing review from earlier in the year), capping a nice run of airwave and cyberspace successes for the new disc (many highlights in the Press-Kit section at www.wesweddell.com). 'Lake' also sneaked (snuck?) back onto the Washington State Roots Music Report charts this month.

-Seattle's flagship NPR station, KUOW, has been featuring "Not Enough" (audio/video), one of my Bushwick Book Club songs, in a recent segment.


-And, sadly, the scheduled January 8, 2011, performance at Isadora's in Snoqualmie, WA, is canceled on account of the venue closing its doors effective January 1.


Happy New Year!

Seattle, WA: Can*Can - Bushwick Book Club (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe)

These are just too much fun. If you've forgotten the premise: The Bushwick Book Club songwriters read book, then give show of original songs inspired by book. This month's offering, back at the Groovy Can*Can: C.S. Lewis' second Chronicle of Narnia, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. (If you missed October's Slaughterhouse-Five throwdown, recap here. And thanks to KUOW 94.9-FM NPR for the week-long plugs!) And my particular angle: Turkish Delight is, in my songwriter-humble opinion, gross. (Working title: "Edmund Gets Served.")

What makes these shows really tick, aside from the diverse talents and touches of each participant, is that they read as one big, fun show--not a jumbled, overcooked in-the-round, but one quirky, goofy-but-sincere celebration of literature, music, and art. Check your reputation at door, and jump in the middle. Can't wait for next month: Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

Spokane, WA: Fall Folk Festival

This has got to be one of the more underappreciated regional festivals...though certainly not by its attendees. The Spokane Community College venue focuses the action in one nice spot, with all of the various stages close by and a big craft-and-jam fracas in the middle. Performances kick off with a live radio broadcast show featuring a cross section of festival performers (honored to make the cut!), co-hosted by Carlos Alden, an old friend from 'Project' days (nearly ten years ago [gulp]...stay tuned for anniversary plans!) and frequent muse-prodder. My full set is in an unpretentious conference room, with a Power Point projector inches above my head and a lovely white-board-scribbled mountain scene behind me. Folk, all right. And here comes the snow...

Some Gigs, Some News...

Renton, WA: Lindbergh High School (plus Commission News)

Though I can name many different musi-performance roles I embrace regularly and eagerly, this one caught me a bit off-guard: sole speaker at a school Veteran's Day assembly. Yes, you are correct: I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of my country's armed services.

WW Band organ/keys player Brian Hoskins spends his days teaching choir (brilliantly!) in the Renton schools. A few years ago, his middle school kids premiered--and later reprised (audio/video)--my choral arrangement of "Carry On," a wonderful experience for me and nice tribute to the late Don Shawe, a World War II veteran and the song's inspiration. Many of those kids are now at Lindbergh, and Brian's Ad Astra choir chose to perform the piece (they all apparently remember it!) as their selection for the school's Veteran's Day assemblies. I, of course, happily agreed to accompany the group and perhaps say a few words about Don.

Somewhere in between, however, I became not just a component of the Leadership Class' program, but the featured speaker! So Don's life and words got center stage for a few moments this morning, along with my 'this is one story--every veteran and servicemember has his/her own (as do their families!)' disclaimer. So it goes...

Thanks to Brian and the kids for getting it up on its legs with such scant notice. I will never tire of hearing that many voices sing my song! (And honor Don and those whom his experiences represent...) And I will get to experience it all over again next spring as the LHS Ad Astra group has commissioned me to compose a new, original work for them to premiere! (More details coming soon.) Honored, excited...and ready to get to work am I!

Redmond, WA: Swedenborg Church of Puget Sound

At the risk of saturating the market, I'm making my third appearance this year with these swanky Swedenborgians--sure is nice how they celebrate music and songwriters and insist on having both as part of their weekly services! As I alluded to previously, I enjoy the art of picking songs from my repertoire to fit the particular theme, conceding that often said 'fit' has as much to do with how I present/introduce a number as the song-itself-as-independent-entity. "Ghosts, Goblins, and Spirits - Halloween and All Saints Day," however, is an area I have pretty much left alone in my writing... I can run with seasons, though, and also steal a post-sermon opportunity to share my newest creation: "Not Enough," written for the Bushwick Book Club (Seattle) and touching on some of the themes of grief and uncertainty that Rev. Paul Martin addressed in his talk.

AND...for those clamoring, you can hear a quick recording of "Not Enough" here!

Seattle, WA: Beery House

For the past fifteen years, the unassuming Beery House atop Seattle's Capitol Hill has hosted an astonishing variety of musicians--sometimes performing, sometimes just crashing between wayward road dates--and gatherings, and I'm honored to add my name to the list (and partake in the always-filling potluck) after having been a lurking attendee for years. Someday someone'll write a book about wonderful secrets like this 'venue,' and we'll learn just how many people have keys to Max's and Teresa's back door.

Seattle, WA: Can*Can - Bushwick Book Club (Slaughterhouse-Five)

You knew this was gonna be memorable: twelve songwriters asked to pen a piece inspired by a different novel each month and then give a show (in the Can*Can's ultra-funky confines, no less); tonight's offering: Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five. What a wide and wonderful range of interpretations (and a lot of "so it goes" refrains...), from the slapsticky and suggestive to the darkly serious, and many waypoints in between. I titled my too-many-words (as usual) tune "Not Enough" as it sprung chiefly from the following passage:

Rosewater said an interesting thing to Billy one time about a book that wasn't science fiction. He said that everything there was to know about life was in The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. "But that isn't enough anymore," said Rosewater.

Kudos to organizer Geoff Larson (who plays on By the Side of the Lake!) and *all* of the other Bushwick Book Club-Seattle members and songwriters! Next month's pick (which, sadly, I will miss as I am playing in Spokane): William Goldman's (and S. Morganstern's) The Princess Bride. And hey - I finally made The Stranger Suggests!

UPDATE (10/30/10): Video HERE.

Renton, WA: Sartori Education Center

A little forum on songwriting for Sartori's Creative Writing Class, taught by a former guitar student. Came in ready to play a bunch of examples to illustrate various ideas, comparisons, etc., but was pleased to forgo such a performance-heavy approach in favor of honest discussion. Also enjoyed sharing my own notes from a songwriting master class with Texas legend Eric Taylor (so accomplished that he can get away with being a Texas songwriter and only having two names), lending my voice to his thoughts and observations as they resonated with me. Hope I get to see/hear some of the songs the class produces!

Leavenworth, WA: Icicle Arts Festival

As I told the audience at the performance where I served as a judge, I'm of two minds regarding songwriting contests: I appreciate and understand their role in the celebration of original music and as a means for some of gaining traction in the industry...but, at the same time, the very idea of comparing and rating songs along one particular continuum is tough to digest. So congrats to *all* Icicle Prize finalists for this accomplishment and for keeping at it: Ben Bonnema; Michael Carlos; Chelsey Craven; Michael Dickes (whose song has been most stuck in my head since); Rachel Lippert; Hannah Loeffelbein; Brian McMahon (2nd Place); Margee Peterson (Audience Choice); Andrew Thompson; Nadine Van Ness; Sandy Vaughn (3rd Place); and Beth Whitney (1st Place)--and student finalists: Marija Bosnar (1st); Chloe Grace Caemmerer (2nd); and Claire Seaman (3rd).

Also charged with sorting out this madness were my other co-judges: Dan Maher; Linda Waterfall; Andre Feriante; Andrew T. Miller; and Aimee Mell. Most of us gave workshops the day previous at the stunning Barn Beach Reserve, and all were treated splendidly by the Icicle Arts folk, who pulled of the whole thing smashingly. Indeed, anyone who wants to put me up on the Sleeping Lady grounds (even feeding me occasionally) is more than welcome to do so!

Richland, WA: Tumbleweed Music Festival

Over the years (this is #8) I've likely exhausted available positive adjectives for describing just how pleasant this event is, yet extreme pleasantness is what I have to report yet again. Fun as always to see friends old and new, roast fellow songwriters while emceeing the contest (and presenting the handmade-by-yours-truly trophy: congrats to Tracy Spring!), play a set of my own (that was a lot of folk assembled to hear it!), and hang by the river. And I modeled this years theme of "Paying Forward - Giving Back" with a stint on local TV ... and a performance of "Thanks to the Many" in the Sunday Evening Concert. Same time next year...?

A Little of This, A Little of That...

Big Rapids, MI: Jensen Family Reunion

The Big Rapids Jensens are second cousins of mine (with varying degrees of removal), and two years ago one asked me if I would pen a tune about the family farm outside of town as a gift to the clan. No one lives on the property presently, and those who did (a long generation older than me) remember very tough times, but a spirit of 'this place won't go to seed on my watch' persists, and the 120 acres have thus become a wonderful play-spot for the youngest generation of Jensens (et al - for a delightfully loose criteria for 'family' also pervades). I sifted through various cousins' journals and thoughts on the place and emerged with "On My Watch," which I recorded on "By the Side of the Lake." Playing it on-site was, in a word, special.

Mercer Island, WA: Youth Theatre Northwest

For the past many years, one of my regular side-gigs has been sound design (and occasional music-direction...when the serious musicians won't touch a show) at Youth Theatre Northwest on Mercer Island, a wonderful outfit that gets remarkable results from the kids it casts in its shows (and it casts only kids). Kinda fun, then, to spend an evening with the other artists and designers showing said kids and their families what our 'other lives' look like at this Faculty Showcase.

Redmond, WA: Swedenborg Church of Puget Sound

Must've passed my Super Bowl Sunday audition 'cause I'm back--nice, welcoming feel and pace to these services, and very appreciative of and eager for the music. Also neat that the guest speaker is an eloquent and sharp member of the Baha'i faith, brought in to share views and start discussions--a fine way to do things in my humblish opinion.

Lynwood, WA: Tacos Guaymas

Like Crossroads, this one doesn't at first seem the kind of place that'd work, but it's amazing what supportive staff and good sound'll do to a place (not to mention great food!). And hopefully folk'll clue in in this mall-centric burg. Steff Kayser, point-man Ray Boyce, and Ron Dalton join.

5-Star Review of 'Lake' - more

Wildy's World, an independent music blog from one Wildy Haskell in upstate New York, has published a five-star review of "By the Side of the Lake"--some highlights:

Seattle singer/songwriter Wes Weddell is not only a jewel of the Emerald City's musical crown; he's also one of the biggest boosters of DIY music in the American Northwest. Aside from winning songwriting awards, recording 3 critically acclaimed albums and working as an in-demand session and side-man, Wes Weddell also established a not-for-profit organization, Puget's Sound Productions, to assist in the development of community live music spaces in the Northwest as well as supporting independent musicians in pursuing their craft. The idea of a folk singer/songwriter as Renaissance Man may be hard to get your head around, but Weddell breaks the mold. His latest album, By The Side Of The Lake, features Weddell's masterful story-telling style and distinctive character voices against the backdrop of musical arrangements that simply won't leave you alone...

If it wasn't apparent before now, By The Side Of The Lake makes it abundantly clear that Wes Weddell is a master craftsman as a songwriter. Weddell's easy going delivery and simple mien make him instantly likeable, whether on CD/MP3 or on stage. Weddell has attracted a crack band over time, but it's the singer/songwriter himself that keeps people coming back again and again. By The Side Of The Lake brings folk music back to its roots; telling true stories about real people and places. Weddell will make you laugh and make you cry; inspire anger and thoughtfulness. He'll entertain and educate you with his songs if only you will listen. Like the great bards of olden times, an encounter with Wes Weddell will leave you a little richer in mind and spirit than when you started. By The Side Of The Lake is a Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc; a must-have album.


'Lake' has also gathered reviews from a couple of Dutch Americana websites: altcountryforum.nl and altcountry.nl.

Seattle, WA: House Concert

I have written before how wonderful house concerts can be, and how much they depend on the graciousness and benevolence of the host--and, well, that all remains true...and wonderful. A delight, as always, to see so many faces (many familiar) so focused on the performance, and to give 'em a good show! (Others presenters are welcome to take note...) And no tear-down or rough travel after!

Northwest Folklife Festival

I'm getting some pretty cagey looks from the group of underage smokers huddled at the foot of Key Arena's north steps, but I'm merely jogging a few flights to get the blood going some before my set. Nonetheless, it feels like I'm playing with my feet the last few songs, though I'm flattered by just how many folk are sticking it out in the cold-but-not-too-wet. Tomorrow and the next day I'll don my 'Community Coordinator' hat (the staff-like badge just encourages folk to ask me questions for which I haven't a clue re: helpful answers) for the second-annual Emerald City Song Circles celebrating original music at the festival...indoors! Ah, Folklife--there's none quite like you...

New Full-Band Video

Several songs from April's full-band CD Release concert have found their way to the WW YouTube site--enjoy!