It’s now a month since WesFest 7, and we wanted to write you to let you know of the results of the fundraising effort and the concert.

It’s all great news: We raised over $25,000 for the Wes Wehmiller Scholarship Fund at Berklee College Of Music. Not only did we achieve the $20,000 goal, we blew it away and broke the record for fundraising in a single year. This is all thanks to you, and to everyone who contributed in one way or another to making WesFest 7 such a success.

It’s humbling and gratifying for all of us on the team to know that the WesFest community is still growing and thriving, seven years and counting. These continuing successes ensure that future deserving bass students will not only receive support in their educational journey, but also that they and their family and friends will join the growing WesFest community as well. In this way, Wes’ spirit lives on for all of us.

We’ve included the official WesFest 7 press release below, so you can see what we’re sending out to the world at large. Once again, thank you SO much for being on this list, and for all you do to help make this event and effort a success.

Best wishes to all,
The WesFest Team:
Bryan Beller, Stacey Ferguson, Peter Gordon,
John and Paula Wehmiller

********

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Peter Gordon

818-380-3041

pgordon@berklee.edu

WESFEST 7 BENEFIT CONCERT RAISES $25,000
FOR WES WEHMILLER SCHOLARSHIP FUND
AT BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC
7^th annual event breaks all previous years’ fundraising results

LOS ANGELES, CA (April 5, 2012) – WesFest 7, the seventh annual WesFest benefit concert, took place at The Roxy in Los Angeles on March 4, 2012. The results were unprecedented in the event’s history, as the concert and related fundraising drive raised more than $25,000 for the Wes Wehmiller Endowed Scholarship Fund at Berklee College of Music. The total amount generated by the WesFest initiative since its inception in 2006 has now well exceeded $100,000.

Officially supported this year by corporate sponsors Gallien-Krueger Amplification, Mike Lull Custom Guitars, D’Addario Strings, Eminence Speaker, and DW Drums, the WesFest concert series has made the Wes Wehmiller Scholarship one of the leading awards for performance majors at Berklee College Of Music. Established by Wes’ family and friends in 2005, the Wes Wehmiller Scholarship is awarded annually to a continuing student at Berklee who best exemplifies the excellence and grace Wehmiller showed as a bassist and as a human being. The WesFest concert series serves as the centerpiece for a continuing fundraising drive for the scholarship fund, which honors the legacy of Wehmiller, a Berklee graduate (‘92) and highly accomplished bassist, athlete, and photographer who died of thyroid cancer in January, 2005.

The WesFest 7 concert was headlined by rock/fusion supergroup The Aristocrats, comprised of guitarist Guthrie Govan (Asia/GPS, Dizzee Rascal), bassist Bryan Beller (Steve Vai, Dethklok, Mike Keneally), and drummer Marco Minnemann (Steven Wilson, UKZ, Adrian Belew). The Aristocrats’ set also featured special guest guitarist/keyboardist Mike Keneally, the headliner from the very first WesFest concert (and participant in nearly every show) on three roof-raising tunes. “It’s extremely gratifying to see how WesFest has not only continued but flourished, both as a support system for new musicians on the scene and as a way to keep Wes Wehmiller’s name and presence alive,” says Keneally. “I’m forever grateful to the Fest for the way it spurs those of us who loved Wes to refocus our remembrance and appreciation of him, year after year. Long live Wes – and long live WesFest!”

In a long-standing WesFest concert tradition, the 2011 Wehmiller Scholarship winner performed at WesFest 7. London-born bassist Hayley Jane Batt – one of the many international students at Berklee – wowed the crowd with not just her superior bass chops, but with her lead vocal prowess as well. She anchored Danny Mo & The Exciters, a band of mostly Berklee graduates featuring legendary drummer John “JR” Robinson (Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Madonna, Eric Clapton), as well as singer/songwriter Kira Small (Peter Frampton, Martina McBride) on lead vocals. The band was led by Wehmiller’s Berklee Bass Professor and close friend Danny Morris.  Danny plays a key role in selecting the scholarship winner, and is central to the WesFest community both in Boston and Los Angeles.

“Seeing the look on John Robinson’s face summed it up,” says Morris. “We had just finished plowing through the set at rehearsal, and JR said to Hayley, ‘You can play, you can write, and you look great!’ At the Roxy, Hayley and the Exciters threw down a nasty set that lit up the packed house. After the set we were all spent, and that’s how I knew that Hayley Jane Batt rocked the house. Wes was smiling bright – he told me so!”

Other performers at WesFest 7 included many musicians who knew and worked with Wes during his twelve years in Los Angeles, such as Jackie Daum, Joe Brooks, Colin Keenan, Joe Travers, Pete Griffin, Griff Peters, Mike Olekshy, Ali Handal, and The Casualties Of Jazz (featuring Matt Rohde, Chris Golden, and Jimmy Paxson).

Peter Gordon, Director of the Berklee Center In Los Angeles, offered this about WesFest 7: “It’s a real statement that for seven years now, regardless of circumstance, WesFest has continued to grow, as does its impact both in the Los Angeles community and on the Berklee campus in Boston. This annual event, and the energy surrounding it, is making a real difference.”

All WesFest related merchandise – which includes two concert DVDs, the I, Claudius CD Bleed: The Wes Demos, and Wicked: Music From The WesFest Community – are available for purchase at http://weswehmiller.net/wesfest, with net proceeds also going to benefit the fund. For additional biographical information on Wes Wehmiller, WesFest, and all related merchandise, please visit the official Tribute To Wes Wehmiller Website at www.weswehmiller.net.  For more information on the scholarship, or to find out how to contribute to the fund, please contact Peter Gordon, Director of the Berklee Center in Los Angeles, at (818) 380-3041, or by e-mail at pgordon@berklee.edu.

###

Right now we’ve raised about $17,000 through general donations, corporate sponsorships, and advance ticket sales. That’s good. But the larger donations are mostly all in, so the last $3,000 is going to be all about ticket sales to the WesFest 7 benefit concert.

We need to sell 95 more tickets to hit the goal. This is totally doable. I’ve heard from more people than ever that they’re “coming to the show.” But our advance ticket sales are actually a little behind last year at this point.

So here’s my plea: If you know you’re going, or you’re 95% sure you’re going, please buy tickets in advance! Not only It will help us know where we stand and how best to make the final push, it will save you money. Show day tickets are $30 each, while single tickets in advance are only $20, and pairs of tickets in advance are $35. So it’s obvious what to do, right?

**CLICK HERE FOR TICKET PURCHASE AND DONATION INFORMATION**

And of course, if you can’t make the show but you want to pitch in, that’s easy to do as well – just click here to make a donation to the fundraising drive (just enter the donation amount in the field marked “Additional Non-Ticket Donation”).

But if you’re anywhere close to Los Angeles, or are up for a road trip, you’ll see The Aristocrats, Mike Keneally, The Casualties Of Jazz, Danny Mo & The Exciters (featuring legendary drummer John “JR” Robinson and 2011 Wehmiller Scholarship Award Winner Hayley Jane Batt), Jackie Daum, Kira Small, Colin Keenan, and more! (Phew – there’s even more details below.)

Thanks so much for being on this list, for all you do to make WesFest a success, and to keep the spirit of Wes alive and thriving on into the future.

As always, WesFest 7 also features Danny Mo & The Exciters, featuring the 2011 Wehmiller Scholarship Winner Hayley Jane Batt! Click here to read Danny Mo’s take on Hayley. She’s a lucky gal, because she’ll be grooving with none other than the legendary John “JR” Robinson on drums!

This is all made possible by your generous donations, and this announcement also marks the official beginning of the WesFest 7 fundraising launch. Our goal is to raise another $20,000 for the fund this year, and you don’t have to wait until March to donate – you can do so right now by clicking here and selecting “additional non-ticket donation.” There’s plenty of time left in 2011 to get a tax-deductible contribution in before the end of the year.

We’re also proud to have the support of the following sponsors for WesFest 7: Gallien-Krueger Amplification, Mike Lull Custom Basses, D’Addario Strings, and DW Drums.

For complete info on WesFest 7, just click here. Hope to see you at the show!

Click here for the gallery!

The numbers are in and we did it! WesFest 6 raised just over $20,000 for the Wes Wehmiller Scholarship fund at Berklee College of Music.   Here’s the latest press release:

______________
WESFEST 6 BENEFIT CONCERT RAISES ANOTHER $20,000
FOR WES WEHMILLER SCHOLARSHIP FUND
AT BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC
6th annual event continues tradition of musical excellence
and fundraising success

BOSTON (March 24, 2010) — WesFest 6, the sixth annual WesFest benefit concert, took place at The Roxy in Los Angeles on February 27, 2011. For the third consecutive year, the event and related fundraising drive raised more than $20,000 for the Wes Wehmiller Endowed Scholarship Fund at Berklee College of Music. The total amount generated by WesFest since its inception in 2006 has now exceeded $90,000, and is projected to top $100,000 in 2012.

Officially supported this year by corporate sponsors Mike Lull Custom Basses and D’Addario, the WesFest concert series has established the Wes Wehmiller Scholarship as one of the leading awards given by Berklee College Of Music. Established by Wes’ family and friends in 2005, the Wes Wehmiller Scholarship is awarded annually to a continuing student at Berklee who best exemplifies the excellence and grace Wehmiller showed as a bassist and as a human being. The WesFest concert series serves as the centerpiece for a continuing fundraising drive for the scholarship fund, which honors the legacy of Wehmiller, a Berklee graduate (‘92) and highly accomplished bassist, athlete, and photographer who died of thyroid cancer in January, 2005.

The WesFest 6 concert was headlined by fusion supergroup PSP, comprised of drummer Simon Phillips, keyboardist Philippe Saisse, and bassist Pino Palladino. The show marked PSP’s live Southern California debut. It also brought a special energy to the event, as Palladino was often cited by Wehmiller himself as his most important musical influence. “For those of us who really knew Wes and loved his extremely fluid, soulful playing style,” remarked WesFest co-producer Bryan Beller, “it was like going straight to the energy source. We all stood in awe watching Pino do his thing, and the whole WesFest community got a much deeper appreciation for why Wes’ playing was so special.” Peter Gordon, Director of The Berklee Center in Los Angeles, agreed. “With economic challenges all around us, it’s truly impressive that WesFest continues to succeed each year. Having Pino onstage to close the concert was especially poignant and left a very real sense that Wes was ‘in the house.’”

In a long-standing WesFest concert tradition, the 2010 Wehmiller Scholarship winner performed at WesFest 6. Bassist Joshua Tyson of East Orange, NJ brought a deep sense of groove to the show, anchoring a band of mostly Berklee graduates led by Wehmiller’s Berklee Bass Professor and close friend Danny Morris. Morris is instrumental in selecting the scholarship winner, and leads a separate annual concert event in Boston to grow further awareness of the scholarship among the Berklee student body.

“One of the great pleasures in preparing for WesFest each year is the rehearsal the day prior,” says Morris. “It’s there that I truly witness the musicianship and personality of the scholarship recipient. Joshua Tyson understands ebb and flow, how to take the listener on a musical journey, and his set ending solo gave the audience a taste of his groove, originality, soul, and rhythmic beauty.”

Other performers at WesFest 6 included many musicians who knew and worked with Wes during his twelve years in Los Angeles: The Rick Musallam Group (a debut performance by one of Wes’ close friends), Gryphon Labs (led by Zappa Plays Zappa bassist Pete Griffin), and WesFest veterans Tamara Silvera, Ali Handal, and Colin Keenan.

WesFest co-producer Stacey Ferguson affirmed the event’s impact. “As we continue to honor Wes through this scholarship, seeing the family of recipients grow and find success makes it undeniable that this is making a big difference in these students’ lives. We’re extremely grateful for the support we’ve received through the years from the performers, donors, and attendees of WesFest.”

All WesFest related merchandise – which includes two concert DVDs, the I, Claudius CD Bleed: The Wes Demos, and Wicked: Music From The WesFest Community – are available for purchase at http://weswehmiller.net/wesfest, with net proceeds also going to benefit the fund. For additional biographical information on Wes Wehmiller, WesFest, and all related merchandise, please visit the official Tribute To Wes Wehmiller Website at www.weswehmiller.net. For more information on the scholarship, or to find out how to contribute to the fund, please contact Peter Gordon, Director of the Berklee Center in Los Angeles, at (818) 380-3041, or by e-mail at pgordon@berklee.edu.

Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music was through the study and practice of contemporary music. For over 60 years, the college has evolved constantly to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. With over a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing over 70 countries, and a music industry “who’s who” of alumni, Berklee is the world’s premier learning lab for the music of today – and tomorrow.

Hope to see you tonight!!

Click here to get your tickets or make a donation!

And remember, all proceeds go toward the Wes Wehmiller Scholarship at Berklee College of Music.

You don’t want to miss this show!

Owl Story by Thomas J. Cottle

The Wes tribute website was originally created in 2005 so that Wes’ close friends and family could share the memories of Wes, an amazing human being who, while taken from us so young, put so much out there for us to remember that a website can hardly do it all justice. Since then, the annual WesFest gatherings in Los Angeles have created a new, growing, vibrant community that’s raised over $80,000 for the Wehmiller scholarship fund. We felt that it was only right to redesign the website from the ground up, so as to reflect both the incredible life of Wes, and the ever-expanding WesFest community.

It’s our hope that, through the text, pictures, audio and video found within the site, you’ll grow to know and appreciate Wes as we do. Let us know what you think of the redesign, and stay tuned for plenty of content updates, including news about the next WesFest concert event, WesFest 6!