 |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
            |
||||
 |
 |
|||
 |
||||
|
|
Biography [the story continues] Responding to positive reviews for that first album in the United States, in 1978 Wes visited America for the first time, eventually arriving in Texas for a planned two-week stay which lasted eight months and developed into a twenty-year association. During these years Wes worked with and for many Texas legends, including Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmour and Alvin Crow. In November 1984 he became the first non-Texan to be awarded a Songwriter's Recognition Night by the Austin Chronicle at Austin's famous Soap Creek Saloon, where he also recorded his seminal live album, Thanks for the Chicken. He was also the first non-US national to be signed to America's leading contemporary songwriters' publishing company, Bug Music. Wes's overflowing CV includes spells as a record producer (for Freddie Krc, Ponty Bone, Texan poet Roxy Gordon, singer-songwriter Terry Clarke and Irish singer Joe Giltrap) and as a guitar-playing guest on albums by the likes of American singer-songwriters Kimmie Rhodes, Richard Dobson, Randy (RC) Banks, Heather Myles and Billy Swan, as well as those by Kate St John, former Long Ryder lead Sid Griffin, Ponty Bone, The Shakin' Apostles and The Coal Porters. Add to those the award-winning music score he wrote for the Children's Film Foundation movie, "Big Wheels and Sailor"; the haunting Arabic-inspired soundtrack he composed for "Voices In Exile", the highly praised Channel 4 TV documentary first screened in 1998; and a seven month spell in 2001 at the National Theatre in Nicholas Hytner's outstanding production of Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale"; and you get some idea of his versatility and eagerness to explore new musical avenues. David Sandison UPDATE: Recent highlights include a three month European tour with Heather Myles in 2003; 2005 summer UK tour with The Unholy Trinity (Wes, Terry Clarke and Tampa's Ronny Elliott); Sid Griffin's Birthday Gig at the New Players Theatre; accoustic gig with Heather at the Forum, opening for Dwight Yoakam; and highly acclaimed band gigs at Oxford Street's 100 Club in 2004 and 2005. Since the Terrapin/TRP label was put to rest in the early nineties, Wes's recordings have appeared on a variety of labels. However, 2005 sees the relaunch of Terrapin Music, now with its own 24 track digital facility, Glebe Studio, and Wes's recordings (and those of others on the label) will be back on the shelves.
|
