Brad Wilson is rockin’blues man. Steaming’ guitarist, writer and singer. He is also a gentleman. I had a phone conversation with him on October 8, 2008, just a few days before his 2008 tour started. He was thoughtful and generous.
Life is good for Brad Wilson right now. He lives in Visalia, the gateway to the grand Sequoia National Park, where he and his wife are renovating an older home. He is starting a new tour and is working on new CD, the Californian.
His musical career started in the seventies when he moved from Sonora to the San Francisco Bay area. It was then was a gene pool of unbelievable talent.
The musical experience that legendary rock promoter Bill Graham brought to the San Francisco Bay area was inspirational. Wilson says, “Bill Graham was the biggest influence on me.” Wilson would revel in what Winterland and the Fillmore had to offer, guitar greats such as Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton.
Wilson has a favorite recollection from that time. “From a blues point of view, Graham would mix old southern artists with big rock stars from England, if you saw Eric Clapton you know you would be seeing Albert king opening for him. Graham told us young kids ‘If you are going to get excited about this music you should understand where it came from.’”
Wilson has gone through several incarnations since the seventies from glam rock to straight blues. He has been a member of a band and now has his own trio. He likes to call himself a rockin’ blues man. He is excited in the way that the blues community has embraced him
In the nineties Wilson had the great opportunity to work with film director John Carpenter. Wilson had songs featured in two of his movies. Vampires and Ghosts of Mars. Actor James Woods introduced him as he performed for the cast party.
Brad has opened for Cheap Trick, .38 Special, Tonic, Paula Cole, Derek Trucks, Cinderella, Dokken, Walter Trout, blues greats Coco Montoya and Lynwood Slim and many others. All Access Music Awards in Los Angeles voted Brad "Best Songwriter", and then nominated him again for "Best Songwriter" as well as "Best Blues Group/Artist." He was also nominated for "Best Blues Band" at LA's Rock City News Awards. Brad has already won this award three times.
His latest CD is Cowboy Songs & Western Guitars. This is a gathering of his favorite songs inspired by the West. Wilson says it is a step toward the next CD. Wilson says, “It captures a little bit of what my new album is going to be. I have traveled the entire state and I want the next album to be a legacy heritage album about California.
Cowboy Songs & Western Guitars is a collection of many genres. Cool Running is about the feeling of living in California. The guitar work has an atmospheric echo of Quicksilver Messenger Service “Fresh Air”. In Black Coffee at Sunrise, he has the Brian Setzer rockabilly sound down flat. Wilson wrote the song after hearing about the black Cadillac convoy that Hank Williams and his band used, to travel through the countryside from gig to gig.
Some of his favorite tracks are Home and Drift, they sounds like Bruce Springsteen, only with Wilsons own solid mark on the songs. The songs are important to him because they speak of the importance of family and home .Knight‘s Bridge Crossing and Got the Feeling are pure rock n roll. Last Call is a song about a man who is closing up the bar and imploring a woman to share the night with him. You can hear the sexy longing in the cords.
Wilson’s heroes are Bill Graham for putting on concerts, and he admires the longevity of Clapton and B.B. King’s careers. Wilson says. “My idea of success is to play music my entire life. I love to have a connection with the audience and share music with people”
Life is good for Brad Wilson. He has a contract with with label and promoter in Germany and will be touring the Netherlands. He is looking forward to his first trip to Europe and sharing his new CD with new fans and new friends.
Brad Wilson is an enormous talent and a wonderful entertainer. This CD would be a wonderful addition to anyone’s collection