Western Canadian Music Award nominee Daniel Wesley is performing at the Mule on Saturday.
Wesley was given a nod in the Songwriter of the Year category for his tune Fuel to Fire, alongside notable nominees like Ewan Currie of the Sheepdogs for Feeling Good.
“I was putting it together at the beginning of the the Ocean Wide album and it just kind of came together. I started banging out this guitar riff that had a little swing to it and it was fun,” said Wesley. “I started singing along and put paper to pen and this came out of it.”
It is something that has just come natural to Wesley, who holds a track record of putting out an album every two years.
“I love recording but I love playing live too. I don’t know if I like one over the other because they are so totally different. Every time I make an album it’s because I have a bunch of songs I am really proud of, it is not that I feel pressured to put something out. When I am writing it comes natural and I don’t chase it,” said Wesley.
After cutting his teeth putting albums out himself and an indie record in 2009, Wesley has cut his last three records with 604 Records.
“I’m a hard worker and like working my butt off, so I don’t want anyone to hand me something. This is my full time job and I like working with people at the label but I’m also looking forward to a time when I create my own team and do it all myself,” he said.
Ocean Wide gives listeners a taste of a songwriter who has come into his own as a lyricist. Having dabbled in different sounds, including reggae, this record can mostly be put in the category of rock but with a raw emotion and energy.
“I have always played rock music, but this album is a little different style of rock and it’s one that seems more natural to me.” he said.
Tracks like When the River Dries Up shows his vulnerable side, he even admits it caught him off guard.
“For some reason, throughout the process of making this record, I was a little down, and I don’t know why. When The River Dries Up was just one of those times when I was thinking about my wife and all she meant to me. And like another song, Sun Shine Down, it was like me questioning whether I am giving enough. Am I worth enough to have the person that I am with? But as down as I was, both are uplifting songs in their own way. In the chorus of When The River Dries Up you realize that everyone makes things work, whether they go through tough times or not.”
Tickets are $25 and available at The Mule or at Green Beanz Cafe during the day.