Wes Speight
Seattle, Washington, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2008
Music
Press
Wes Speight and the Visual Dialog There are a great many blues-rock bands in Seattle these days, but the one led by songwriter Wes Speight (often stylized "Sp8") is notable for its particularly gritty and gutty take on the genre. - Seattle Weekly
Wes Sp8 (aka Wes Speight, natch) strikes me as a ravenous consumer of pop music. Though he nonchalantly identifies himself as a singer-songwriter, he seems eager to experiment with just what the term means. From song to song, he tests out different personas of the classic singer-songwriter - whether showing off the swagger and oppressive distance of a Jim Morrison, the chilly command of an Ian Curtis, or the rough, masculine soul of Greg Dulli. As a singer, Speight possesses a soulful voice, which he bends and distorts to fit whatever effect he's going for. - Weekly Volcano
This one man band had some help from his friends and these 13 songs are among the catchiest I have heard this year. No genre can hold Mr. Speight down as he jumps from one to the other from track to track, or even within a single song. "True Blues" is my 2nd favorite song this year. Wes you definitely "put the tools to use."
- By Tim Basaraba
The common feature of Speight's languid, arty alt-rock songs is darkness; he often sounds like a male version of Chan Marshall. Despite its title, the singer/songwriter's latest is ambitious enough to be more interesting than much of what Seattle has to offer - Seattle Weekly
WES SP8 creeped into my mind over time and I’m happy for it. His music gets better and better as the days go on and we’re excited for his new Rejection Letter EP. It’s reflective, stripped down, classic and bold. Any of the four songs are worth highlighting here, but we’ll bring to light “From us formed us” which has drops of Leonard Cohen tones, “Karma Police” tones and something all his own. - Monarch Review
Without Wes Speight Seattle was 1/2 as cool. As a community of friends and musicians his return from Nashville was like the second coming of Christ…if Christ was a brilliant songwriter with impeccable hair. - Nada Mucho
Discography
Please EP
Spirit EP
3SongThing
Lie&Wish
HACKNEYED
Photos
Bio
Wes Speight, a Seattle singer/songwriter originally from Tennessee, has played many of the venues in Seattle WA and Nashville TN and has toured to places such as Portland OR, Vancouver BC, Manhattan NY, San Diego CA, Louisville KY and Manchester TN. His music varies widely from bluesy to tribal to acoustic rock.
Speight's music career began in his teens, dabbling at piano and drums. He bought his first guitar at 19 and "started writing bad songs right away." He has since become a bit of a musical virtuoso, adding harmonica, bass, synthesizer / keyboard, mandolin, and percussion to his list. He is also a creative film maker who aspires to compose the musical score for a film someday. Music, says Speight, "is my religion, my god, my savior and my reason."
Speight's first album, Please EP, was released in 2008 under an independent label. Since then he has released 3 more full length albums independently: 2011's Lie & Wish, 2012's Hackneyed and 2014's Transmigration. A critically acclaimed and fast-rising talent, he will be touring in the U.S. and internationally.
Currently with Outer Realm Management
http://outerrealmmanagement.blogspot.com
Write up from MUSIC TREE FESTIVAL 2014
Band Members
Links
