Wesley Stace

[Jack of All Parades]

It was nice to read in today's NY Times a most appreciative piece on Mr. Stace. You can find the article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/books ... ?ref=music

It makes me happy that his perseverance and talent have allowed him to build a sustainable career, both as a musician and writer[and not one of just vanity pieces]. I have followed his career with pleasure from day one and to see it bloom and prosper is something to witness. His wit and irony have always been refreshing to my ears. Will be interested in his new album as he appears to have managed to recruit most of the Decemberists to play behind him on the record. It is a nice piece about a seemingly nice and talented man. One of these days I would like to see people get beyond the cliched EC sound alike comparisons. He long ago stepped away from that shadow, and apart from having a somewhat similar tone in his vocal and a natural proclivity for literate lyrics, established his own writing presence and sound.

This song from an album a few years back is an excellent entre into his work- it catches all the qualities I enjoy when I hear him perform:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZzUqpwud10

[pophead2k]

An interview I did with Wes a few years ago for Being There:
http://beingtheremag.com/archives/feature.php?id=329

[Jack of All Parades]

Truly, thank you for sharing that piece. You conducted an insightful interview, clearly were familiar with your subject and you got him to open up and talk about things he might not normally have opened up about. Very well done. You must have been on cloud nine. Is he as disarmingly charming as you make him appear? That was refreshing.

[pophead2k]

Thank you Chris. I had made a personal contact with Wes in a roundabout way after Hurricane Katrina when he offered to replace a couple of signed CDs for me that had been 'drowned'. I suggested we meet in person as I had temporarily relocated to New York after the hurricane. In the meantime, Blue Chair and Red Shoes had started 'Being There', an online magazine. I asked Wes if I could conduct an interview and he kindly consented.

The interview was fun and easy. I did a lot of prep for it, but I was a big fan and very familiar with all of his work. He was great to talk to and very open. It turned out we knew a lot of the same people from Seattle. A lot of folks I knew from a brief but timely run at the top of the regional music charts meant that we had a lot of common ground.

He's a genuine guy and I'm thrilled at his recent successes.