Who: Tim Wildsmith CD release with Levi Weaver and Charn
When: 9 p.m. Friday
Where: The Waiting Room Lounge,
6212 Maple St.
Tickets: $5 in advance or $8 day of show at www.etix.com
Information: www.onepercentproductions.com or 884-5353
It's not Tim Wildsmith's first album.
It's not his longest, and he hopes it's not his last.
But it's certainly his best and, to him, it feels more important than anything he's ever recorded.
Wildsmith will celebrate the release of his latest effort, “Little Armor,” with a concert Friday at the Waiting Room Lounge.
The record is full of aching emotion, heartbreak and hope. And with his talent for songwriting, you feel the emotions. You know them.
"Bones" by Tim Wildsmith & The Lost Cause
"One Not Two" by Tim Wildsmith & The Lost Cause
Wildsmith poured his heart and soul (and a lot of time and money) into creating the album, referring to the creative process as an outlet and “therapy.”
“I feel the importance and the weight of it,” he said.
All of his songs and lyrics are taken from his own life and experiences.
“I don't know how to write songs and not be attached to it and not be personal,” Wildsmith said. “I think a lot of it is about trying to figure out life and find a good girl and stuff like that. Then there's a level of trying to figure out who I am from an emotional and spiritual perspective. Some of the lyrics, I'm not sure I want everyone to hear that, but I went ahead and did it anyway.”
Wildsmith's vulnerability, songwriting, lyrics and musicianship stand out on the album. As does the talent of his backing band, the Lost Cause.
The band's name fell into place at a concert a few years ago. Wildsmith wrote a lyric about feeling hopeless in one of his songs, and shortly thereafter, a man at his concert handed him a medal of St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes. Later in the set, the band coincidentally played the Beatles' “Hey Jude.” When Wildsmith floated the idea of naming the band the Lost Cause, all the members felt it fit.
The name of the album, “Little Armor,” fell into place when Wildsmith was reading a novel by Anne Lamott. In the book, the author described a little boy who got his feelings hurt as having little armor, and it touched the singer-songwriter.
“When I was little, I was the kid who came home crying because they were mean to me. My mom would always say, ‘You gotta have a soft heart and tough skin,'” Wildsmith said. “That idea of ‘Little Armor' really sums up all of the songs that I had written.”
A song called “Little Armor” also ended up on the album. Along with the song “Bones,” it's one of Wildsmith's favorites from the new record.
“Little Armor” will be available for $10 at Wildsmith's concerts, but during Friday's CD release show, it will be for sale at half price.
During the show, you'll be able to hear most of the new album, several old songs and at least one cool cover song.
“We'll be playing full throttle. Everything we do is a little bit on steroids. We're all pretty excited,” Wildsmith said.
In addition to himself, the Lost Cause is guitarists Jake Adams and Craig Hughes, bassist Jason Burkum and drummer Matthew Tobias. Burkum and Tobias also produced the album.
A few other folks will join in the fun for the release show, including Mitch Towne of Thousand Houses on keyboards, Matt Whipkey on harmonica and Nashville singer Cheryl LuQuire on vocals.
Contact the writer:
444-1557, kevin.coffey@owh.com
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