AMERICIANA MUSIC SERIES PRESENTS ANOTHER AWESOME SHOW >>>
Americana music is as much a melting pot as the country it takes its name from. The music genre cuts a wide swath these days, encircling just about anything that involves singing and songwriting by, well, an American. Bill Monroe, the Carter Family and ilk were the seeds of what we know today, while a few roots dug a darker, alcohol-laced, honky-tonkin' offshoot (see: Hank Williams). Sprung by this groundwork, true Americana has been blossoming ever since, from Johnny Cash to the rough anthems of Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams.
2004 Gig Harbor High School graduate Jaime Wyatt has followed the growth of Americana music. At 14, she put pen to paper and started working out chord progressions on the guitar. In her middle teens, she stepped on the Antique Sandwich Company's worn-out rugs and blew the Tuesday night Victory Music Open Mike crowd away. By 17, Wyatt had joined the Lakeshore records roster.
Wyatt, 26, has followed her musical dreams, traveling the American roads and taking new roots in Los Angeles. Between her own studio recording and touring, she has shared the stage with Lucinda Williams, John Fogerty and even landed on the set of Desperate Housewives. Her version of Americana incorporates pop music and a little R&B, but has lineage in blues and country. Wyatt knows the American roads well. When she's not touring solo, she the third singer/songwriter with Jane and Jonathan Sheldon in the heart-on-the-sleeve band American Bloomers, which just released a new EP, Part One.
Wyatt returns to Gig Harbor Friday for a performance at Morso Wine Bar. We sprinkled a few questions her way.
WEEKLY VOLCANO: What do you miss most about Gig Harbor?
JAIME WYATT: Fresh air, slower lifestyle, enthusiasm for local music and community causes, my mom's baking ... Oh yeah and El Pueblito restaurant has really good tortilla soup. I have yet to find a soup that compares.
VOLCANO: What did you have blasting in your car on the way to high school? Did those musicians influence your work?
WYATT: I lived on Fox Island and the Metzger brothers, Joe and Josh, would pick me up blasting Zeppelin, Beatles and lots of Jimi Hendrix. When I started driving Tom Petty, Bob Marley, Jeff Buckley, Neil Young and Lucinda Williams were in heavy rotation. High school was predominately my classics era and a much larger part of my general education!
VOLCANO: What advice would you give to teens trying to make it in the business?
WYATT: hmm, I don't wanna sound like I know a lot about anything, but here's what I've discovered works for me: Write songs and more songs, study song structure, melodies and lyrics. Keep it simple. We are here to have fun and help our friends and fans enjoy themselves. Learn covers and play them in your own voice. What works in the studio, doesn't always work for live shows, so be open to change. Find joy and satisfaction in the process of writing and playing with others, because the kickbacks - including money and recognition - will take a while. Luckily, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are good for the soul. Last but most importantly, learn to take direction and criticism. It takes a healthy amount of conviction to want to perform and promote yourself, but even more humility and listening skills to evolve as an artist.
VOLCANO: So ... what's this we hear you have a Desperate Housewives story?
WYATT: My other band - American Bloomers - played a charity benefit on the set of Desperate Housewives right on Wisteria Lane! It was pretty cool to meet most of the cast and hang out on set. Terri Hatcher is super nice and loves music. She sang some songs with the band from TV and sounded really good.
VOLCANO: Will you be performing new material at Morso?
WYATT: Yes! I will be playing songs that will be released on my record titled This Side Up in 2012. One new song, "Neon Love" is going to be on the soundtrack to a new movie with Katherine Heigl, alongside Colbie Caillat. Another song, "Walked Through Fire," was co-written and produced by Barrett Yretsian who did Christina Perri's recent hit, "Jar of Hearts." I'll also play songs from my self-titled EP on Lakeshore Records, recorded on Vashon Island with Pete Droge. It pays homage to some of the classics by singing some fun covers.
Wyatt will perform with Chicago-born rocker Ted Wulfers as part of the Americana Music Series produced by Michael ONeill and Morso. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased by calling the restaurant at 253.530.3463.
[Morso Wine Bar, Friday, Dec. 9, 8 p.m., $25, 9014 Peacock Hill Ave., Gig Harbor, 253.229.0187]