Elonzo Wesley Live on Local Music Somewhere

Q & A with Elonzo Wesley

Hey there, welcome to rBeatz.com with Local Music Somewhere with your host, Greazy Keyz. Today, I’m here with fantastic singer -songwriter Elonzo Wesley, aka Jeremy Davis. How’s it going, Jeremy? Welcome to the studio. 

Doing good. Thank you for having me. 

Fantastic. Well, we’re so glad you’ll be here to talk about yourself and your music and your background and perform some tunes for us at the end of this segment. So, first off, you know, tell us about Elonzo Wesley. Like, where’d the name come? 

My name is Jeremy. We were talking about this off air, so I was like let’s talk about this on the podcast. My name is Jeremy but yeah my moniker is Elonzo Wesley. That was my dad’s name. He passed away when I was a kid. He was a drummer and I think he one of his dreams was to be in bands. So when I was starting a band, starting to perform. I was like, that’s kind of the perfect band name ’cause it’s also spelled a little differently, like it’s E -L -O -N -Z -O. A lot of people spell it A -L -O -N -S -O. So it’s kind of like a little Beatles twist on it, at least in my mind, so. 

Awesome, so that’s very cool, I love that. So yeah, you’ve been one of the most consistent singer -songwriters, musician, performers in Charlotte that I’ve known for the past at least what 10 years. You started out as just Elonzo. I remember back in the day, you had a like a trio that you played with and then you sort of changed it up a little bit changed. I even say even she kind of changed your format, kind of going from a rock band to more of a folk artist. Performing not only as a solo artist as Elonzo Wesley, but then you know duo, a great combo that you kind of put together. So tell us a little bit about that, you know, starting out as Elonzo and where you were into, you know, currently.

Originally it was just Elonzo. That was my first band. And that was kind of going along with it being named after my dad. My sister was as a keyboardist. So she was in the band and her husband Dan originally. So that was kind of, it was a family thing. When we started, I didn’t know anything about being a musician really other than playing guitar and writing songs. So we did that. And then I realized some bands aren’t going to take it to the professional realm, if you will. And that was a point where I changed it, I wanted to change the format of the music because I learned a lot and and the original band was more of an indie rock sound. Which I loved, but I kind of wanted to do more of a singer -songwriter thing. But I didn’t want to lose the family thing with the name and everything. So my dad’s name is and was Elonzo Wesley, his middle name is Wesley. So I just added on the Wesley, but yeah, Elonzo Wesley has been more intentionally like folk and when it’s a band, it’s a string band format. So we’ve had mando fiddle now, have a steel player playing, which is really fun. 

Is that David? 

Yep. David’s fantastic. 

He’s fantastic. He’s really come a long way on the pedal still particularly.

Yeah, I met him a few years ago when he was playing, saw him playing somewhere and yeah, he’s a super cool guy. That’s the thing about being in bands. I’m already like a little bit going on a tangent, but just hanging out with people that are fun to hang out with.

Absolutely. 

Like you’re a super, I’ve hung out with you at shows and stuff. Meeting cool people is one of the (best parts). Dave’s definitely one of those guys where we immediately were like friends. He’s a super amazing musician. I realized right away like oh, I’m gonna learn some stuff from him, just the same way with you. 

Well, thank you. So, obviously with your father as an influence there, and I love how you tied that in and kind of kept that flow for your family name, but who are some of your other influences musically, your inspirations? 

I think like my initial kind of guitar person was Bob Dylan. 

Amazing. 

My mom, a lot of my musical tastes came directly from my mom, just kind of being like, this is the stuff that like when I got old enough to kind of be interested in music. I started like kind of trying to find it myself, she’s like, okay, we’ll check this out. And so when I first heard Bob Dylan on the radio, she gave me an album and she’s like listen to this and then just blew my mind immediately. That was right when I was starting to play guitar. So it was literally just like at the same like within like a week span. That was a big initial inspiration and just thinking of hearing his music in a way that’s like when you hear pop music sometimes. You bob your head and it’s fun, but it doesn’t have always like the same like tonality or people say vibe a lot. Yeah, like the vibe is different, right? It’s still entertaining but you’re like what’s happening here? And then it kind of made me interested more in songwriters and sort of that element. Who’s the person that’s making this song, not just the sound of the music, but the writing of it? So definitely, Dylan and then Paul Simon was big. My mom was really into Simon and Garfunkel, so I went from there to Paul Simon and Still Crazy After All These Years is one of my favorite songs.

Just gave me chills. That’s the one before the one record that came comes to mind for me as well. 

Yeah, so fantastic. Yeah Willie Nelson, I kind of forget about him sometimes. Back then, growing up, like I think we’re like roughly the same age, there was no streaming music. So whatever music happened to be like laying around on a physical format like a cassette tape or a record, that’s what you listened to unless you listen to the radio. Which I did, but then when I started wanting to find things and being inspired by things, it was what was laying around and there was a Willie Nelson and cassette that was I don’t remember what the actual record. It was like a greatest hits probably. It wasn’t like Red Head of Stranger, but that stuff blew my mind too. It made me more interested because I was already kind of picking up on like singer -songwriters and there was just like this connection to the like authentic -ness of it, the authenticality. Is that a word? 

Yep. We’ll take it. 

The authenticity.  But yeah, just the way he played guitar and the sort of rawness of it was really super inspiring. And then also just as a songwriter, he’s written some of the most amazing songs that exist. 

So I want to go back to the Bob Dylan record. So he is obviously one of the most proficient songwriters of our era. What record was it though? 

I think that was also a greatest hit. ‘Cause I remember specifically, we went to a place that was like a record store, but we bought CDs. My mom had just this one day she bought like a bunch of stuff at the same time. She got the greatest hits and it starts with Like a Rolling Stone. Yeah, it’s the one with a silhouette photo of him where he’s like on stage. It’s like a picture you’ve probably seen like a thousand times, right? So it was one of those, but I mean I have other favorite ones after that. I’d never really listened to that and so she was like okay no, really like, sit down and listen to this and then she hit play and it’s just like I had never really experienced music that way. 

I love that. That’s a great story so with your transition to like indie rock to folk, I mean what is it about folk music that resonates with you? That really connects and makes you want to continue that that legacy?

I think the authenticity of it or just my like desire to be authentic. There’s a whole conversation around recording technology and how records are made and stuff like that but I think a lot of the music that I was inspired by was just kind of leaning that way. And then when I got into a band, we just sort of went into more of the rock sound just naturally playing together. But there was a certain point where I was like, I feel like some of the songs I’m writing are supposed to be more— The music wasn’t always matching the vibe that I was hearing when I was writing it. But that’s also just the way that a band will interpret a song too, you know what I mean? 

That’s what makes personalities kind of interject into the song, yeah, that’s what makes it so unique.

That was always something I wanted to do more intentionally. As I got more experience I was able to be more intentional. 

I think that’s amazing. It’s been really cool because again you’ve been one of the most consistent musicians in the Charlotte music scene for the past 10 years. It seems like you’re really consistently busy. Whether you’re playing solo, with duo or whatever kind of combo you can put together. Seems to be a big surge, maybe not with the mainstream, with Billy Strings or Sarah Farrell, kind of coming up with the folk /bluegrass. Have you seen any of that sort of sprinkle down, to like, our level of folk music and audience interaction and attendance?

I think so. Especially when you have a string band. We live in the birthplace of bluegrass, sort of. In this region, yes I would say that. Especially when I’m in the string band format it’s like bluegrass adjacent, it’s not exactly. We’re not playing, you know, Bill Monroe tunes, but it’s similar and I think that definitely spills over. People are really interested in just that kind of music for different reasons. One of the coolest sounds I remember seeing, like Dave Rawlings machine. 

Yes. Oh my gosh. 

Similar in that they’re not bluegrass, but they’re playing as a string band, and just something about that energy that is unique. 

But speaking on that band, were you at the Neighborhood Theater show when they came a few years back with John Paul Jones on Mandolin?

No.    

Oh my gosh. 

No.

That was amazing. 

I saw Dave and Gillian play just like as a duo.

Man, that alone is amazing. But yeah, a few years back, they went to the theater that had Dave Rawls’ Machine with John Paul Jones on “Mandolin” all night long. 

I’ve seen some videos of them doing “Going to California.” 

Oh man, yeah, fantastic. Very cool.

But no, I think there’s definitely been a resurgence of that. It’s always there, but it’s more mainstream popular for whatever reason right now. There’s something that’s different about that versus like when you watch like a pop musician, even like Taylor Swift, she has a band and I’m actually a Taylor Swift fan, I’m not saying anything negative. The vibe of the live element of it is different than seeing a string band play with acoustic instruments, even if they’re plugged in it’s still just not it’s like a different way of performing.  

Absolutely, yeah, love it. How do you balance those elements of traditional folk elements with your unique style and your voice? What’s your approach that way? 

I mean, I think that It’s actually a little bit in flux right now because, you know, before COVID, it was very much like the band scenario for me, at least it was a little different than it is now. I had had things in my mind that I want to try playing with the percussionists, which we’ve been doing. So I’m playing with pedal steel, which we talked about. So that’s just like, in a little bit of a growth phase of like, let’s figure out like how this music sounds as a group of people. Then especially moving it to recording, which is what I’m working on right now. We just released a song that has those elements on it, but that was mostly done by me in the studio, so we haven’t really gone with this format into the studio yet. 

So with drums, you’re saying or percussion, is it? 

Mostly hand percussion. 

Interesting. Who’s playing that for you? 

My brother -in -law Dan is back in. 

Oh, fantastic. 

Yeah. And then there’s one song that, there’s some stuff that I recorded during,

again during quarantine that never came out that I’m still kind of thinking about putting on. That has a drum kit on it.

I love that. So what role does like storytelling or role -playing take in your music? Like when you’re songwriting? I mean, do you mainly write songs from your own perspective? Do you like to try to use other people’s perspectives? Do you like to tell stories? 

I do kind of a little bit of all of it, I would say. There’s one song that we have called Regular Guy, and that’s definitely like a character. I’m not talking in the first person, like I’m being somebody else in the song. I’m kind of making fun of them in the song, but I’m taking on their persona. And then there’s other songs where I’m taking part of my life experience and usually like kind of embellishing some of the details to hopefully tell a better story or tell an engaging story, but where it still has the truth to it that I relate to as having been my own experience. And I feel like that hopefully translates when I sing it. That would be the goal. 

I love that. So Charlotte, not necessarily known as a music town, but again, I see you as being one of our consistent torch bearers in the musical community. So, what are some challenges that you personally have faced in your career and how have you overcome them in a town where we may not always get the recognition that we deserve as singer -songwriters and musicians?

Yeah. Just connecting with people that are in the music industry. My goal has always been to grow and do it as much as I can within reason, which I’ve done. Sometimes connecting with people that are more in the industry is a little bit tougher because there’s just not as many of people here, so they don’t have as much time for me. If you go to Nashville and hang out at a bar, you’ll talk to someone who probably works as a talent buyer or everyone’s doing something, but I have been lucky enough to to meet some of those people like Taylor Winchester. He was in the band and still plays, but he also works professionally in the music business in different areas, but you know, and that’s one thing I’ll say that’s really cool about Charlotte is there’s not as many people, but everyone kind of knows everyone. 

That’s true. 

If you’re in the music scene. Eventually I met Taylor and then I met Micah, who does Midwood Entertainment and– 

Micah Davidson, yeah. 

Micah Davidson and like the guys from Codex, it just kind of starts like spreading out. Rick’s doing the Confluence thing. I know he was on here so that’s like another element of people like him trying to bring in more music folks that can help from that side. I feel like the biggest challenge for no matter where you’re at in your journey, is continuing to grow and do more of what you want to do. I think people like Rick are really important. There hasn’t been as many of those people in the past necessarily. 

It’s exciting to see elements like that come back into Charlotte. Let’s see, when I first moved to Charlotte, like in the late 90s, we had like you know several big concerts, outdoor concerts that would have major bands and local bands be a part of. Obviously a lot more independent listening rooms, venues to play at but you know it’s kind of receded but now to have Confluence and music everywhere kind of regenerate those same elements. I think it’s been really awesome. I want to say that I just love that you’ve been so prolific and consistent and your musical integrity has maintained for the past 10 plus years as what you do. Hats off to that because you know, I know a lot of musicians who have to end up playing in the wedding band or playing cover band, and you seem to be really consistent with saying in your original music lane and being successful in that. So tell us about that. You know, what’s your approach to that and booking yourself and being consistent to what you want to perform? 

I mean, I think it’s in the way that you approach it, in the way the places you kind of go after where you’re trying to perform. I definitely sort of do a blend of venues and working gigs, but I look at it like I’m gonna play like I have a set of music that I’ve created that I can play for a number of hours. I don’t really get into the conversation of like what exactly am I going to play. I just say here’s my music, here’s what it sounds like. If you think I’m a good fit, I’d love to put for perform here and I think that’s really key. I think that specifically to my music, I’m not like high energy or like super upbeat. The music can be upbeat and can be high energy, but like sometimes those are words that you hear people saying that are booking things. Sometimes I learn that’s not for me. That’s not the place that I should pursue. It’s gonna be kind of a frustrating experience for me and the person who’s hiring me. A big part of my strategy is just connecting with the places that are looking for what I do. Because there’s all those places out there. You know, I will say, being a singer -songwriter and having a string band, those are kind of flexible in the kinds of spaces you can play.

It’s brilliant, though. 

So that helps. When you’re creating your sound and you’re working on that, you can, that’s something you can think about is, how does this translate in a small space? How does this translate on a big, on a big stage? Like, what do I do? What are the things I can do to kind of be able to do all of those things and be really busy? Because if you’re an independent musician and you know this, I respect you so much just the amount of things that you do and the quality and everything is like, you’re such a good performer and player and you’re just crushing it. You have to be able and flexible and again, just find those places that are like yeah, man I really dig what you do. When the people are saying that and they’re paying you like that’s a good feeling. That’s the goal. 

That’s the goal. 

I’ve definitely been at places where I can just tell they’re just like man, this is not what I want. I’m like that’s fine, just don’t, let’s not do this again. 

Let’s get this over with.

No hard feelings. 

Right, move it on. Well man, this has been a great conversation. We have just a couple minutes left before we get into our live performance segment, so do you have any words of wisdom for maybe any aspiring young folk singer -songwriters or any rockers who might be tuning in and listening to our interview today?

Words of wisdom? Just keep going, just keep going. That’s really it, like the longer you do something, the better you’ll be at it. Hopefully you’re having fun at it. I think that if you’re miserable, maybe you don’t keep going. 

That’s right, so again, you know, talking about my career, my hands are in a lot of pots. Cover music is one, but as you know, I say this to everybody. If everyone wants to hear Brown Eyed Girl, I love playing Brown Eyed Girl. If no one wants to hear it, I hate playing it. So, yeah, I mean relate to that, about that connection with folks. 

I will say for me too like I’m super happy to do it. I love it. Whether it’s like the best gig in the world or the worst gig in the world. Ultimately, I’m still just like, this is awesome. right? 

What impact do you hope that your music has on listeners? 

I think I hope it just helps them engage in their own lives in a positive way. And maybe maybe they feel a connection to some something bigger than themselves.

Listening to your music myself, there’s no doubt in my mind that you’ve made that impact on a person or lots of people out there. 

Thanks, man. 

So thanks Jeremy for coming in and sharing your gift with us. We look forward to hearing some music from you here in just a moment. All right, we’re gonna take a short break.

*break*

Welcome back to Local Music Somewhere. I’m here with Elonzo Wesley. We’re gonna have Elonzo play some songs for us, but before we go into that, we have some super speed questions we wanna ask you about your music, Jeremy. 

Go for it. 

Question number one. What about your favorite performance to date? 

Well, this was years ago, about opening for A Shovel and a Rope. 

Oh, fantastic. Where was that? 

The Visualite. 

At the visual light theater. 

They played Dave Letterman for the first time, like right after, like pretty shortly after that. So that was pretty cool. 

That is amazing. Question number two, your dream venue. Where is it? 

Probably somewhere on the Mediterranean. I don’t know yet. I haven’t found it yet. I think it’s out there. 

I gotta say, I saw you’re playing Bald Head Island coming up a lot in the summer. Have you played there yet? 

Not yet. 

Oh man, it is a great spot. I mean, it’s a pain to get there, but once you’re there, it’s one of my favorite beach -going experiences of North Carolina, so. 

I just played at Beech Mountain, that was really cool.

Yeah, I love that. All right, question number three. Would you rather have an amazing vocal range or be able to play every instrument? 

I would say vocal range.

Really? 

Yeah, I love singing, even though I always wish I was a better singer, but I love it. I’m one of those people, like if you live with me, you’re like, I hate you because you never stop singing. You’re always singing in the middle of the night. 

Totally, imagine you singing like Mariah Carey level. 

No, I definitely would, I would go with that. 

One more question here. Would you rather sign a six album record deal or be a music influencer with millions of followers on social media? 

Easily influencer. Yeah. I mean, and this day and age, like, that’s where the money’s at. 

It’s true. I mean, record deals these days are not the deals of the past, so, yeah. That’s great. Well, thank you for taking time to answer those questions, and let’s get into some live music with Elonzo Wesley. 

Alright, yeah, this is a song called Rule of Seven.

*song*

Thank you so much, Elonzo Wesley for coming in the studio today to perform and to talk with us about his music aka Jeremy Davis. Thank you Jeremy for being here and we look forward to seeing you out on the road.