Wesley Wolfe: Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keyboards

Base of operations: Carrboro, NC

MP3s at www.myspace.com/wesleywolfe
Website at www.wesleywolfe.net

Biography:
Chapel Hill based multi-instrumentalist, Wesley Wolfe has been writing songs you've never heard for years. STORAGE, his first “official” release was recorded mainly at home, having played nearly every part himself. A longtime fan of the Chapel Hill music scene, Wolfe relocated from Rockledge, FL to Chapel Hill, NC in the fall of 2002.  A bartender by night and a songwriter by day, Wolfe has self released other material and played with a number of different bands in the area.

Touching on themes of the early stages of adulthood and decisions that come along with it, STORAGE combines acoustic sounds and singer/songwriter sense. The melodies throughout echo influences such as Superdrag, Guided by Voices, Elliot Smith, and John Denver. The album is rooted in acoustic guitar, while being backed by an array of sounds including fuzzed guitars, harmonized vocals, and cello. STORAGE’s songs reveal themselves with many different personas, moving from tensely epic ("Wintery Mix") to calmly observant ("Then on Sunday") and certainly not short of sing-alongs ("Sorry Only Counts the First Time" and "Another Weed"). STORAGE goes out of its way to ensure that the listening experience is heightened with repeated spins.

Similar artists: Elliott Smith, Guided By Voices, Superdrag

Discography:
V/A "Ten Years Of Thinker Thought" Thinker Thought Records 2011
Jared Grabb & Wesley Wolfe "Jared Grabb & Wesley Wolfe" digital Thinker Thought Records 2010
"Storage" LP Odessa Records 2010
"Storage" digital Thinker Thought Records 2010
"Dumb Children" digital reissue Thinker Thought Records 2010
"Storage" CD Self-Released 2010
"Dumb Children" Self-Released 2007

"Wesley Wolfe is a singer-songwriter from Carrboro, NC, a town in Orange Country that likes to brag about being a home for artists and farmers. There are a few bars and you shouldn't have a hard time tracking down the one where Wesley is working. Between shifts he is a musician who has just released Storage, his second album. As a true DIY guy he did most of the work himself: vocals, guitar, bass and drums. Christopher Homick lended a hand playing cello. Elliot Smith is obviously a big influence and his lyrics are pretty bleak. He likens himself to a seed that grew to become Another Weed: "I'm The Iliad & The Odyssey a cry baby's diary / Thrown into the fire sending out smoke signals to you / I quit the Boy Scouts long ago and I never learned to untie the ropes / Or how to suck the poison out of everything". All the Weltschmertz aside, Storage is captivating effort, with Wolfe's rollicking acoustic guitar and basic drum fills serving as a counterpoint for the seriousness of his words." - Here Comes The Flood

"A very short and seamless collection of acoustic songs played mainly by Wolfe himself. The lyrics and melodies contradict themselves somewhat – introspective vs upbeat and it totally works! You might think he’s just another songwriter making music to complain, but check it out and you will be pleasantly surprised." - WKNC 88.1FM in Raleigh, NC

"A little more than a week away from his second album release on April 20th – Chapel Hill based bartender by night and songwriter by day, WESLEY WOLFE has apparently been writing great songs you’ve never heard... and for years at that. “Storage” is the first official release to be distributed by Odessa Records and has quite a few introspective tracks that are worthy of repeated listens, from the slightly dark snow-laden dream conjured up by “Wintery Mix”, to the Homeric tale featured here, “Another Weed”. The latter is moored with cello flourishes, perfectly timed guitar-work interwoven exquisitely with drums, diminutive yet effective chimes and some pretty superb lyrics and vocals that anchor it all. We’ve read that the album was originally intended as a acoustic guitar and vocal record but a chance meeting with a friend inspired Wes to push the musical envelope a bit, and it definitely pays off here. Overall, this is a release well worth your time and money." - Charles Stepczyk of Insomnia Radio

"Love Songs For Misanthropes: You could accuse Wesley Wolfe of suspended maturity. The lifelong songwriter counts hearing his mom's ABBA tapes sometime around second grade as his earliest influence. "I'd get a melody stuck in my head all day," he says. "Eventually the idea came to change the words. Now here I am, years later, still 7 years old." Decades later, in the fall of 2002, Wolfe left his hometown of Rockledge, FL, for one reason. "There wasn't much of a music scene in the Space Coast of Florida," he explains via email. "All the twenty-somethings were growing up and putting down their instruments. I had to go somewhere where it's normal to play music for the rest of your life." He decided on Chapel Hill because that's where his favorite music - "Archers Of Loaf, Polvo, Superchunk, and Merge (Records)" - came from. But to suggest that Wesley Wolfe is immature does great disservice to his emotionally nuanced and carefully constructed songs. Like Lou Barlow and Evan Dando before him, Wolfe aims to embody the word bittersweet with his every song. His speakers are unsure, cynical and sarcastic. They're world-weary, confused and thoughtful. They're also hopeful. He opens his brand new album, Storage, with a perfect love song for misanthropes. "We'll tread through the bullshit of this human zoo," he sings at one point, before declaring, as the chorus, "You're my only ray of sunshine." But that sort of clever flip from bleary-eyed resignation to simple-yet-profound joy is a defining characteristic of Wolfe's songwriting. The characters that inhabit Storage exist in an illogical and disappointing world. But they keep right on living. It's apparent on his debut, Dumb Children, (which Thinker Thought re-release on April 14, five years after its original recording), in which Wolfe gives voice to misguided, skeptical, and guilt-ridden speakers. He might sing, "we're living proof that bad dreams come true, too," but in a way he's acknowledging the good ones at the same time. "I've listened to some songs that I wrote when I was 14 and into punk rock. Very disturbing," he explains. "I just want there to be a little more life experience in my lyrics. So my goal, is rather than just, 'you suck,' the new me says, 'everything sucks and life is great.'" - Bryan Reed of Shuffle #7

"Can't say I've ever had that much stock in the ol' singer/songwriter canon. Indeed, let's be honest, most of it is gratingly miserable/horrible/crap. Wesley Wolfe bravely strides into this morass and does ok. Better than most (though that wouldn't be hard). Definitely some nice semi acoustic pop pleasant ditties in there and an occasional smart turn of phrase. He's no Mountain Goats, but then again, is considerably better than Elliott Smith. So, there you go." - Ramsey Kanaan of AMP Magazine #101

"While listening to Wesely Wolfe’s latest album, Storage, I couldn't shake the feeling that I’d heard it somewhere before, but I couldn't pinpoint it. After repeat listens I was still stumped and felt I may inevitably have to relinquish all hope for the “RIYL” label that reviewers love. In an effort to cleanse my mind of the album, I decided to watch a movie. Suddenly, in the middle of Darjeeling Limited, I realized this is where I heard this music. Not in this movie specifically, but in this Wes Anderson-/indie-type film. You know the kind: slow-paced, sometimes awkward conversation encompassed by a soundtrack of indie-ish bands you've yet to hear (maybe Garden State is a better example, but I wasn't watching that). It was in this style of film that I knew Wolfe’s music belonged, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Storage is filled with slow-to-mid-tempo tracks that can range from the intriguing to the redundant. At its best the album features lyrics that simply yet delicately tie together complex subject matter. Wolfe is never short on simple lines that encompass thoughts and feelings that could fill pages. At its worst the album feels exactly like its title suggests: storage for half-finished songs and ideas. On more than one occasion songs seem to amble about until an appropriate hook is found and then they sort of just repeat and dwindle out. The frustration with these songs is twofold, because you know Wolfe can write more cohesive songs, and they seem to cut out right when the song is at the cusp of getting interesting. Musically, the thing that is striking about the album is that I wouldn't pinpoint it as a solo effort. While Wolfe can be classified as a solo artist (he played many of the instruments on the album entirely on his own), you don’t get just a guy with a guitar here. Wolfe certainly can go the acoustic route (“Food Chain”) but Storage really shines when it stretches out and features an array of instruments from fuzzy guitar tones to cascading drums and even a cello. These moments add flair to some of the album's most interesting and repeatable songs. “Gone for Good” is one of the finest examples of Wolfe’s range, starting with simple acoustic guitar and vocals, building momentum with a keyboard, then climbing into a soaring guitar solo before slowly exiting with a series of layered and harmonized vocals that stay with you long after the song is done. These moments are the times where Wolfe shines as both a songwriter and musician. You add up all the pieces and what you have with Storage is an album that frustrates you with its own possibilities. The parts of the album that seem less stellar actually suffer more because other parts of the album are so remarkable. On a weaker album some of these tracks might just slip by, but on an album where some of the tracks are downright impressive, the flaws are much more glaring. While it is upsetting to give a mixed review of this album, I am comforted by the unwavering belief that Wolfe’s best work is still ahead of him and (much like the aforementioned Wes Anderson) he’ll likely eclipse himself several times over." - Rich (Dante3000) of Punknews.org

Track Listing:
1. Welcome To Earth
2. The Great Big Picture
3. Perception Is Reality
4. Someone Else's World
5. Bad Son
6. They Say
7. Bad Dreams Come True
8. What Should I Do?
9. I'm Tired Of Making Mistakes
10. It's Time

Press:
"Simply put, Wesley Wolfe had thoroughly impressed me with Dumb Children and I was only on the first track! The multi-instrumentalist plays, well, all instruments - bass, drums, guitars - and rips through 10 songs where you can actually feel his heart beating on his sleeve. Originally self-released in 2007, I begin to wonder why I've never come across any of Wolfe's material in the past. Regardless, the past is forgotten here and what I have to look forward to is the multiple releases to come by this young Chapel Hill resident. The opener 'Welcome To Earth' begins sparingly. slowly building that crescendo until it reaches a, um, midlevel. Very low key, lower fidelity, but it doesn't foresake the songwriting in the process. From that point on, it's almost magical as 'The Great Big Picture' showcases his nimble finger and dexterity. The thing is, it only gets better from that point on. While his influence may range from Superdrag to GbV, it's obvious they stretch further than he might think. Elements of 70's pop and rock abound throughout but always keep Dumb Children grounded in the present. 5/5" - Eddie Ugarte of Ghettoblaster Magazine

"Three bites of the same tasty apple: Those curious about the advanced craft of the solo-recording Wolfe's 2010 sophomore prize Storage (the astute PopMatters called it one of the finest pop records this year) will be equally served by either that or the reissue of his previous 2007 debut, Dumb Children. In both cases, the Carrboro, NC bartender makes records that sound like full bands, avoiding the curse that afflicts too many go-it-alone, would-be Phil Spectors.  On both albums, he builds his tunes outward, using simple folksy acoustic guitar as this base before adding sonic delights on top: a spare, repeating lead guitar line or ringing scratchy electric here, a sleigh bell or piano there, a unique drum rhythm at will.  Having enticed, his songwriting comes natural, with comely verses and choruses that bite hard, and a voice that compares favorably to The Dimes' Johnny Clay.  Newcomers cannot go wrong with either Dumb or Storage.

"As well, Wolfe placed a song on the split 7" (also for purchase digitally) that appears on neither LP, and is more quality.  With its double-timed acoustic plucking, it's particularly Dimes-like, methinks-at least until the contrasting Pete Townshend power chords appear like deus ex machina!  Meanwhile, his friend Grabb, whose most recent solo LP Where Do You Hide Your Love Songs? I reviewed last issue, offers another slice of his winsome, quick-paced folk-pop that seems so refreshed after the heavier metallic ballast of his Scouts Honor records." - Jack Rabid / The Big Takeover #67

"Wesley Wolfe is a champion of simple lyrics that talk of the morals and life lessons we all learn. There’s a certain respect to be had for a guy who talks about growing up and learning without throwing an “artistic” veil of allegory over it. He’s frank and honest and encourages his listeners to join him in his positive outlook on life and all its necessary struggles. All of this is channeled through a straightforward power pop lens that veers ever so slightly into the garage/noise rock world. The total package of lyrics and music on Dumb Children projects a concept of innocence and childlike naivete that is often absent in our current day. For that his work is to be lauded. 4/5" - Josh Mock of Ghettoblaster Magazine #25

"Love Songs For Misanthropes: You could accuse Wesley Wolfe of suspended maturity. The lifelong songwriter counts hearing his mom's ABBA tapes sometime around second grade as his earliest influence. "I'd get a melody stuck in my head all day," he says. "Eventually the idea came to change the words. Now here I am, years later, still 7 years old." Decades later, in the fall of 2002, Wolfe left his hometown of Rockledge, FL, for one reason. "There wasn't much of a music scene in the Space Coast of Florida," he explains via email. "All the twenty-somethings were growing up and putting down their instruments. I had to go somewhere where it's normal to play music for the rest of your life." He decided on Chapel Hill because that's where his favorite music - "Archers Of Loaf, Polvo, Superchunk, and Merge (Records)" - came from. But to suggest that Wesley Wolfe is immature does great disservice to his emotionally nuanced and carefully constructed songs. Like Lou Barlow and Evan Dando before him, Wolfe aims to embody the word bittersweet with his every song. His speakers are unsure, cynical and sarcastic. They're world-weary, confused and thoughtful. They're also hopeful. He opens his brand new album, Storage, with a perfect love song for misanthropes. "We'll tread through the bullshit of this human zoo," he sings at one point, before declaring, as the chorus, "You're my only ray of sunshine." But that sort of clever flip from bleary-eyed resignation to simple-yet-profound joy is a defining characteristic of Wolfe's songwriting. The characters that inhabit Storage exist in an illogical and disappointing world. But they keep right on living. It's apparent on his debut, Dumb Children, (which Thinker Thought re-release on April 14, five years after its original recording), in which Wolfe gives voice to misguided, skeptical, and guilt-ridden speakers. He might sing, "we're living proof that bad dreams come true, too," but in a way he's acknowledging the good ones at the same time. "I've listened to some songs that I wrote when I was 14 and into punk rock. Very disturbing," he explains. "I just want there to be a little more life experience in my lyrics. So my goal, is rather than just, 'you suck,' the new me says, 'everything sucks and life is great.'" - Bryan Reed of Shuffle #7