Macon’s Wes Heath Dives Into Local Music Scene

By Chris Manson July 26, 2007 Issue

According to the artist himself, Wes Heath sounds like “Willie Nelson, John Mayer, Van Morrison, Keith Richards, and Larry the Cable Guy all playing putt-putt outside the Playboy Mansion while wearing helmets that held Jagermeister or Jim Beam instead of beers, all the while discussing the idea of taking over the world one strip club at a time.”

That’s from his My Space page, where original musicians — in this instance, a guitar-brandishing singer-songwriter — are warmly received. Heath gets a similar welcome at the Baytowne Wharf Funky Blues Shack. He plays a lot of his own compositions and a current hit by the Plain White T’s (Hey There Delilah) that I am actually familiar with. He can also summon up a tune familiar to 40-somethings—Message in a Bottle, which Heath correctly attributes to “The Police” as opposed to “Sting” or “Sting and the Police.”

“I’ve been on the road touring for the last five years,” Heath says. “I did three albums and just wanted to take a year or two off. The Regular Guys got me up on stage and I played with them. Then the manager of the Funky Blues Shack brought me in, then Rum Runners. Next thing I know, I’m playing seven nights a week.”

He was actually planning to join the Navy. “I was tired of being on the road and trying to get a record deal. I was going to go to dive school and study underwater welding. I was on my way to the recruiter’s to sign the contract when (Funky Blues Shack’s) Joe McKenzie called.” Heath’s intentions were noble. He wanted some “solidarity” in his life. He wanted to travel, see the world, serve his country. But he wasn’t ready to give up on music.

Heath comes from Macon, Ga.— home of Little Richard, Otis Redding, and the Allman Brothers. “It was like growing up in a musical heritage. You have the Dirty South rappers, the country scene — all the musicians helping each other.” Since relocating to Seagrove Beach, Heath has found the same spirit among his new musical peers. “Jacob Mohr, Cadillac Willy, Zack Rosicka — everyone’s been really, really cool. Nurturing. All the shows I’ve gotten have been through word of mouth.”

He’s headed back to Macon for a few days after tonight’s gig. Heath will soon be opening for Corey Smith in Atlanta. “Smith had left music completely and was teaching elementary school. He’s huge now all over the south.” Heath has also appeared on the same bill with one of my favorite bands, the Drive-By Truckers.

The current schedule finds Heath at Baytowne Wharf’s Funky Blues Shack Monday and Wednesday nights from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday nights he appears at Rum Runner’s, Sundays at Helenback on Okaloosa Island. There are a couple weekend slots at Uncle Ernie’s in Panama City Beach, too. “That’s a real locals’ place,” he says. “Some of the coolest people come and hang out. The sun sets off the back of the deck and you can see it perfectly.”

He admires contemporary singer-songwriters Ray Lamontagne (“amazing”), Amos Lee (“another guy who was gonna be a school teacher and got back into music”) and Patty Griffin. Heath also likes the prolific Ryan Adams. “I’ve seen him three times. The first time he was solo, and they brought out an old Victorian lamp and a record player. He’d drink wine and put on albums during the set breaks. He put on Madonna and sang along with Like a Virgin.

“The big two for me are David Gray and James Brown.” When Brown passed away last Christmas, Heath and some pals were performing in Macon. “We took about six shots in a row in tribute to him. I think I played Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag six times, too.” As a performer, Heath has also drawn inspiration from a cat named Will Hoge. “I’ve seen him in a theater with 1500 people and a bar with a hundred people and it’s the same show. His live show is balls to the wall!”

Heath is currently working on a new album of original material. He’s written about 80 songs that he absolutely loves — more than enough for a double-disc. He pressed about 1000 copies of his three previous CDs — Looking Back Now, a five-song EP recorded in a buddy’s house “with the vocals recorded inside an old oak armoire,” released in 2003; 2005’s Wes Heath; and a live recording in 2006. “I’m a big believer in the more you put out, the more people you’re gonna reach.”

I’ve only heard a few of his original songs, but Heath gets them across brilliantly. “The general message I get told is I’m good at being ‘specifically vague’ or ‘vaguely specific,’” he says. “The songs mean something different to everyone. You have to leave it open enough because everyone relates to it in a different way.” Some of these tracks are at myspace.com/wesheathmusic, but you’ll have plenty of opportunities to hear them in person.

Chris Recommends:
The Harptones: Love Needs/The Jive Five: Here We Are! (Collectables)
Spoon: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Merge)
Ryan Shaw: This Is Ryan Shaw (Columbia/One Haven/Red Ink)
Otis Taylor: Definition of a Circle (Telarc)
Lucinda Williams: West (Lost Highway)
John McLaughlin, Jaco Pastorius, Tony Williams: Trio of Doom (Columbia/Legacy)

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