Grand Rapids singer-songwriter Dale Wicks: Striving for compelling, thought-provoking songs

The guitarist and singer has focused primarily on his solo career while performing across Michigan, but he’s eyeing a full-band project, too. (Story, video, podcast)

 

Dale Wicks strives to write and perform music that’s uniquely “thought-provoking,” much like the songs of Neil Young, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Ryan Adams and Randy Travis that have influenced him over the years.

“If I hear a song that I like and it makes me think about something that I wasn’t thinking about before I listened to it, whether musically or lyrically, then that’s the basic litmus test of a good song or not. I try to do that with my own stuff,” says Wicks, 33.

“I try to stay away from the regular, typical boy-girl kind of songs, but when you’re feeling inspired, those will happen, too.”

The Grand Rapids singer-songwriter with a rootsy, Americana vibe has taken that approach while expanding his audience over the past year with more consistent gigging across Michigan – from the Lake Michigan shoreline to the Detroit area to Traverse City.

He’s also got more than one studio album in the works, following up on his 2013 release, “Someone Else’s Songs,” a solo project of original tunes on which he played most of the instruments. The new projects include finishing up a “lost album” he never completed with new vocal tracks and embarking on his first full-band recording.

On Wednesday, Wicks brought his acoustic guitar and engaging voice to the studios of News Talk 1340 AM (WJRW) to perform the track, “Someone Else’s Song,” as part of Local Spins Live. Check out the podcast of the show here, with a video of his in-studio performance below.

STARTING TO PERFORM AT AGE 13 AND A ‘SKA AND PUNK PHASE’

In keeping with Wicks’ singular songwriting M.O., the song reflects the feeling of “being in a part of your life that was not what you chose and you feel like you’re not doing what you want to do.” (He concedes that titling his album, “Someone Else’s Songs,” may have been a bit misleading, considering all eight tracks are original tunes.)

Wicks’ musical trajectory began at a young age: Growing up in Caledonia, he started playing bass with his dad’s contemporary Christian band at age 13. From there, he picked up a guitar, went through “a misguided ska and punk phase,” and played in bands such as Snake Oil Charlatans, Cycle and Our Last Autumn before focusing on his solo career.

He’ll play solo at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18 at Elk Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids, followed by a Dec. 26 show at Grill One Eleven in Rockford. He also plays two January shows in Grand Haven – Jan. 10 at The Pavilion Wharf Deli & Grill and Jan. 17 at C2C Gallery.

“I’ve done a lot of solo shows because then you don’t have to pay a band,” he jokes, noting there are other advantages in being a solo performer, including playing cover songs as part of his sets.

“It’s fun. Everybody else, no matter how prolific you are, there are millions and millions of song that you like to do, and you can learn something with every cover song you do. It doesn’t have to be just trudging through the same songs week after week.”

He adds: “I try to learn something with every song that I do whether it’s an original or a cover. I try not to do what I’ve done before.”

It all pays off, he says, when fans really listen and show their appreciation after a show.

“At least one person listens at every gig, and you’ve gotta take into it that they’re not necessarily there to see you, either. They’re just there enjoying an evening with their friends, and hopefully, you’re helping them do that a bit better.”

Get more information about Wicks and his upcoming performances, and listen to more of his music at dalewicks.com.

Copyright 2014, Spins on Music LLC