Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Wendell Live!. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Wendell, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I have been singing since I was 7 years old when my mom said “it’s time you join the church choir”. I was hooked. Over the years I have been in choirs, musicals, jazz bands, blues bands, classic rock bands, always as a vocalist. I never had an interest in learning an instrument. Over the 50+ years, I have always been involved in some singing venture, learning along the way from instructors and personal research. But when the pandemic hit, all the venues closed, bands broke up and audiences disappeared.
Well, this isn’t good…..so I decided to set up my own live streaming studio at home and started a weekly hour show “Wednesdays with Wendell Live!”. I built a strong audience and was having a blast covering blues, classic rock, modern tunes and what I call Rat Pack Tunes. You know, those songs made famous by Frank, Dean and Sammy along with other similar artists. But something happened….the audience kept requesting more Rat Pack tunes than anything else.
So when the pandemic started to ease and venues began to open, I took my show on the road. But Frank Sinatra was hard to cover as his style is very unique. In fact, when I first started performing out, I branded my show “Las Vegas Hits” and shied away from focusing on Frank. But I had to embrace his music to take my show to the next level, so I began to put in the rehearsal time and spent hours listening to Frank and reading about his style and career and eventually I got to a point where I felt confident changing my branding to “Sinatra – Doing it My Way” and representing myself as a Sinatra Tribute Artist. It took hard work and a commitment to learn as much as I could about Frank and his music background.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Music is the ultimate time machine. You hear a song and it can transport you to place in time where you remember everything you were doing like those things just happened yesterday. Music also can take you to a place you may have never experienced but only read about or saw in movies. When I’m performing those classic American Standards, whether its “Lady is a Tramp” or “Witchcraft” or “Come Dance With Me” the audience can let its self get carried to a time and place that may be difficult to find today.
I have found the music just makes people happy. At the end of every show, someone will come to me and say something along the lines “tonight just was so enjoyable, you just made me feel so happy and relaxed”. Audience members regularly will tell me stories of how they used to hear this music at home growing up or their story of seeing Frank Sinatra in person or even a few have told me the time they played in a band supporting a Frank Sinatra concert. Helping the audience relive those memories and seeing them happy at the end of a long day is what makes me keep coming back.
I perform regularly as a solo artist but also as part of the Mood Swings Big Band located in Maryland. While primarily a Sinatra Tribute Artist, I also perform hits from artists such as Dean Martin, Bobby Darin and Michael Bublé along with those pop tunes people love to hear from Frankie Valli, Tommy James, Paul Anka and other similar artists.
During my music career, I have had the opportunity to perform in a variety of musical groups and venues ranging from choirs to classic rock and jazz bands to musical theatre to soloist. Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to have performed Classic Rock in Nashville, New Country at Disney Studios Orlando and 50’s Jazz with acclaimed saxophonist and clarinetist Buck Hill.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
There are many things that make being an artist rewarding, if there was only one thing how boring would that be? But the most rewarding aspect of being an artist for me can be summarized by saying you get to take people to a place or have an experience they cannot do by themselves, even though they know such an experience gives them such joy. When I’m performing you can see in the audience’s faces a sense of relaxation and letting them forget about the pressures of their daily life. Having a talent that can bring happiness to other’s is what keeps me coming back night after night.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Wouldn’t it be great if every journey you ventured could be done all by yourself? No….it wouldn’t. You don’t know everything…..you are not the best you can be….yes there are others you can learn from. The best resource you have are others on a similar journey or have been on that journey. One of the best resources I found was an aspiring Country Rock singer who was so helpful in mentoring me on how to build a brand and interact with venues. Where did I find him? On YouTube. The best resource you can access are other people. You will find them everywhere, online, at venues, at the grocery store, literally every where. Your charge is to keep your eyes open and maintain a curiosity of others’ experiences and advice. Then filter out what you hear and learn and then embrace those items you can use.
Oh, of course you are going to hear all the reasons you can’t pursue your journey and why you are going to fail. And you will fail and when you do your challenge is to figure out how not to fail next time. And those who tell you why not to pursue your journey, just listen and tell them thank you….then continue on your journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wendelllive.com
- Instagram: @wendellive
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WendellLiveMusic
- Twitter: @wendelllive1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/wendelllive
Image Credits
Exvoto Studio