$15
Wicked: Music From The WesFest Community is the very first compilation of studio tracks from some of the key WesFest benefit concert series performers, many of which feature killer bass tracks played by Wes Wehmiller himself. Tunes like Tamara Silvera’s “Misery,” Colin Keenan’s “No One’s Gonna Know,” Ali Handal’s “I Miss You” and Tom Langford’s “Hold Me Harmless” showcase Wes in the early 2000’s at the peak of his adventurous musical powers, while Brave Ulysses’ “Without Names, Without Heroes” is a decidedly earlier (mid-’90s) recorded example of his prowess on the instrument.
Other tracks have a different kind of Wes connection: Bryan Beller’s “Bite” is actually a cover of a tune Wes wrote for his riff-rock band I, Claudius; “Ode (To Seattle)” is itself a re-recorded I, Claudius tune, with Wes on bass and drum programming; and Mike Keneally’s unique cover of Gentle Giant’s “No God’s A Man” was actually recorded in Wes’ bedroom studio, with Keneally and Wehmiller collaborating on its production. Most relevant to the WesFest concerts is the track “Thank You Wes,” written by Wehmiller’s Berklee College Of Music bass professor Danny Morris and performed live at WesFest 2 by a band featuring the very first Wehmiller Scholarship recipient, bassist Will Snyder. The remaining tracks (performed by Janet Robin, Kira Small, Jariya, and Mother Eff, all veteran WesFest artists) simply honor the spirit of gathering and generosity that embodies each WesFest event.
Even aside from all of the WesFest connections, the thirteen songs that make up this compilation are just plain cool tunes. Or, as Wes might say, “Wicked.”
Listen to some samples from the album:
No One’s Gonna Know by Colin Keenan
Misery by Tamara Silvera
Hold Me Harmless by Tom Langford
No God’s a Man by Mike Keneally
I Miss You by Ali Handal
Wicked: Music From The WesFest Community can be purchased for $15, which includes all shipping and handling charges. All net proceeds from this CD will go to benefit the Wes Wehmiller Scholarship at Berklee College Of Music.
The Wes Wehmiller Scholarship is awarded annually to a continuing student at Berklee who best exemplifies the excellence and grace Wes showed as a bassist and as a human being. The original WesFest event took place on February 16, 2006, at The Gig in Hollywood, CA, with eight bands performing live in a three-hours-plus concert. WesFest has raised over $80,000. and is an annual concert and fundraising drive for the scholarship.