Podcast with Webb Wilder, who brings his band to Kirk Avenue Music Hall on Friday night
Webb Wilder | File photo
He tried to talk himself into being a furniture salesman, because that’s what his family did. But the rock ‘n’ roll life, and with it the music business, was a calling for Webb Wilder.
He’s glad he did it. And through decades of a solid career with a dedicated cult following, the roots-rocking Wilder has impressed more just his fans.
We do a podcast with Wilder, who brings his band to Kirk Avenue Music Hall on Friday. Along the lines of conversation, he remembered a real pick-me-up he received while doing a classic rock festival in Lillehammer, Norway.
First, the background: Wilder’s early recording career included a cover of Ian Hunter’s “Big Time,” a song that has become a Wilder fan favorite. When Wilder and his band went to Lillehammer for the days-long festival, he saw Hunter playing there, too.
Hunter didn’t perform “Big Time” at that show, but later, a journalist approached Wilder with a message from Hunter.
The reporter said: “Ian Hunter told me to tell you that he missed your show,” Wilder remembered. “But after he heard your arrangement of ‘Big Time,’ he started doing it your way.”
We stream the Webb Wilder and the Beatnecks version of that number on this podcast, along with another favorite, “Poolside,” and one of Wilder’s more recent numbers, his own “Too Cool For Love.”
Check out Hunter and Mick Ronson’s original version of “Big Time” at http://youtu.be/xRTI8R5-UaE.
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June 6, 2012 - 2:22 AM
Excellent performance, as always, by Webb and the band. Anybody that does Jumpin’ Jack Flash better than the Rolling Stones, in my humble opinion, is worth seeing. It was my first time to Kirk Avenue, and it is a really neat setting. The acoustics are great. Very quaint.