John Wesley (guitarist)
John Wesley | |
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John Wesley (Wes) onstage solo at the 2009 Marillion weekend in Montreal, Canada. | |
Background information | |
Origin | Brandon, Florida, United States[1] |
Instruments | guitar, vocals, bass guitar |
Years active | 1979–present |
Associated acts |
Porcupine Tree Fish Mike Tramp Autodrive Sound of Contact |
Website | http://www.john-wesley.com/ |
John Wesley, also known as Wes Dearth (born John Wesley Dearth, III in June 1962)[2] is an American singer, songwriter and guitar player. John Wesley's professional music career began in the early 1980s in the Tampa, Florida area where he founded 1991 Southwestern Music Conference's showcase act Autodrive along with drummer/producer Mark Prator. The following year, Wesley embarked on a solo career and became the opening act for British rockers Marillion on seven consecutive tour legs around the world, especially North and South America, the UK and Europe.
In 1998, Wesley and ex-White Lion frontman Mike Tramp were the opening act for the Peter Frampton/Lynyrd Skynyrd tour. Following this was several world tours with Marillion's former singer Fish. In 2001, John Wesley was the primary co-writer of Fish’s Fellini Days album. Most recently, John Wesley has performed as sideman, guitarist/vocalist for Porcupine Tree, during the In Absentia, Deadwing, Fear of a Blank Planet and The Incident world tours.
In 2005, Wesley produced and recorded his fifth studio release, Shiver. The album was co-produced by drummer and co-owner of his Tampa, Florida recording studio, RedRoom Recorders, Inc., Mark Prator, and mixed by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree. In 2011, Wesley partnered with UK native Dean Tidey (live guitarist with Feeder), to produce his EP, The Lilypad Suite. Wesley’s sixth full-length studio album, Disconnect, was released in 2014.
On August 24, 2007, Wesley announced that he was making his back catalog of solo material available for free download on his website.
In March 2013, Wesley performed with Sound of Contact as their live guitarist for the Marillion Weekend concert in Montreal.[3] He then joined the band for their European tour in May 2013[4] and was a part of two Sound of Contact music videos produced in relation to the band's debut album, Dimensionaut.
Other musicians Wesley has worked beside include Sean Malone, Steve Hogarth and Steve Rothery. He has also performed as an occasional fill-in bassist and lead guitarist for Florida-based group Sister Hazel.
Studio and touring personnel for the John Wesley band:
- John Wesley - Lead guitar and vocals
- Patrick Bettison - Bass
- Mark Prator - Drums and Percussion
- Dean Tidey - Guitar
Discography
Studio albums
- 1994 - Under the Red and White Sky
- 1995 - The Closing of the Pale Blue Eyes
- 1998 - The Emperor Falls
- 2002 - Chasing Monsters
- 2004 - John Wesley:TEN
- 2005 - Shiver
- 2011 - The Lilypad Suite
- 2014 - Disconnect
- 2016 - A Way You'll Never Be
- Fellini Days by Fish (co-writing and performing credits)
- With Porcupine Tree (performing credits): In Absentia, Fear of a Blank Planet
- With Porcupine Tree (engineering credits): Fear of a Blank Planet, The Incident
- With Ruud Jolie: For All We Know (Album)
Singles
- 1994 - The Last Light
- 1995 - John Wesley
- 2003 - Fly Boy
Live releases
- 1998 - Waiting for the Sun to Shine in Paris
- 1998 - Wesfest 98
- 1999 - Starting the Engine II
- 1999 - WesFest 1999
- 2000 - The John Wesley Bachelor Party Tour
- 2002 - The Chicago and Frisco Bootlegs
- 2006 - Live at Katie Fitzgerald's
- 2009 - Oxford
- 2010 - Live at the L'Olympia
- 2013 - Live at Morrisound 30th Anniversary Show
- With Fish: Issue 30 CD (From the 1999 Haddington Convention)(2000), Candlelight in Fog (limited edition live album, 3000 copies only)(2000), Sashimi(2001), Fellini Nights (2002)
- With Porcupine Tree: XM, XMII, Rockpalast, Arriving Somewhere..., We Lost The Skyline, Ilosaarirock, Atlanta, Octane Twisted
Videos
- With Porcupine Tree: Arriving Somewhere... September 2006, Anesthetize June 2010, Octane Twisted November 2012
- With Sound of Contact: "Not Coming Down" May 2013, "Cosmic Distance Ladder" May 2013
References
- ↑ "Brandon guitarist tours with British rock band Porcupine Tree". The Tampa Tribune. 2010-04-22. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
- ↑ Public records shows a birth date of Jun 1962 for John W Dearth in Florida.
- ↑ Sound of Contact LIVE in Montreal March 24 Opening for Marillion. Sound of Contact. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
- ↑ Sound of Contact Announce European Tour With Spock's Beard. Sound of Contact. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
External links
- Official website
- John Wesley's facebook profile
- John Wesley's Reverbnation profile
- John Wesley's Recording Studio
- Online fan newsletter subscription link